Truck was in the shop for alternator and mechanic let me know that my front differential was leaking, though I've not seen any drips anywhere so it must be very slow. Here's the thing - Ford dealership replaced the cover two years ago when doing some other transmission work. This is a 2018 5.0. Is it unreasonable to have expected not to have to do this repair again?

 

Depends on where it is leaking.

 

Things wear sometimes over a two year period. It might need attention again. You decide. I would hate to lose an axle because I didn't want to fix a leak a second time.

 

I didn't say I wasn't going to fix it. I'm kinda hot that the local Ford dealer made this repair two years ago when the truck had 38K on it and now it has 56K and its leaking again. To me it sounds like shoddy work which is why I asked.

 

my first hunch would be to check to see if the vent tube is blocked, is it leaking from the same spot? If it was shoddy work IMO it would have leaked right away not almost 20k miles later

 

My local dealership changed the front pinion seal on warranty back in 2017. It is now leaking again, but not real bad, just seeping enough to wet the outside of the differential housing, but not enough to drip on the ground.

The rear pinion seal went bad last winter and I had to change it out when the weather warmed. It left a oil slick on the driveway.

 

I don't understand why you gravitated to the shoddy work conclusion. There are many reasons why a leak might develop. Sometimes it is luck of the draw.