2018 F-150 Limited 73,000 miles
Driving down the interstate the other day and the entire back end went out. Got it towed to the ford dealership near me and they told me $4,500 to completely rebuild the entire rear end. Anyone had a similar problem or got any advice. A new rear diff assembly from ford is back ordered and they have no clue when it will be in. So, even if I want ford to do the service it would be months before they get one of the parts in. No one else in town will touch it because it is so new and so complex. The only way any dealers will touch it is they do a rear diff swap.

 

I must be missing something? Questions first, do you know if it is the super 8.25 or the 9.75 and does it have a E-Locker? As far as the rear end goes ( please chime in if I'm wrong ) there is nothing new and complex about the rear ends in these trucks. You would find the same basic internals (besides a e locker) in a 1990 F-150 and a 2018 F-150. Just different gear set and diff size. Now as far as rebuilding them, not your average joe can do it, but that doesn't mean its a rocket scientist's job. It just needs a specialist that does gearing, transfer cases, transmission rebuilds, ect. Which are not that hard to find. Especially if you are near a large metropolitan area. The patience and skill it takes to install a ring and pinion properly with out chewing it up in 1000 miles is a dyeing art because people don't spend the time to do it right anymore. I would GUESS that's no more than a $2k job.

 

$2k labor is the average going rate to do BOTH differentials. $4500 is asinine

 

9.75 and yes it’s an electronic locking. I live 30 mins south of nashville in a very big city. I’ve called 4 or 5 different places near me and the only way they’ll fix it is if they can do a rear end swap but they all say either they don’t have time or they don’t want to mess with rebuilding a truck that new. And Ford is outrageous.

 

Tell me about it, I’ve had a Ford dealership do all service since it’s a newer truck but I won’t be letting them do this one. They want to charge an arm and a leg and there’s no telling when the part will arrive. Could be 2 days could be a couple months.

 

What really went wrong? I.E what is the root cause of the failure?

Seems odd to go out instantly with no warning....but there is always a first time!

 

Time for an upgrade. Go to a 4WD shop and see how much it is to replace with a Detroit or Thorsen rear end.

 

Are you calling general mechanic shops? Try transmission shops. This should not be a job they would do since they specialize in this type of job for a living. I could see your corner mechanic turning it down.

 

I’ve called trusted shops that people I know have had work at these places. One of them is literally called Mr. Transmission. So yes it’s been specialized places and they will only swap it not rebuild it.

 

I'd swap it with a junk yard rear end. They'd probably even do it for you.