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Maintaining Your Ford Differential: Service Guidelines

May 8, 2025
Ford Service Department in Heath, OH

Differentials are often neglected when it comes to car maintenance. But these little gear systems that control the wheel axles play a crucial role in your safety and vehicle handling, allowing the outer wheels to rotate faster on a turn, which protects the tires and ensures maximum traction. To keep your cornering smooth and secure, here’s an outline of good Ford differential maintenance. 

Maintaining Your Ford Differential: 4 Service Guidelines

Change the Differential Fluid

Differentials are relatively low-maintenance components, with fluid that lasts for 30,000 to 50,000 miles. However, it’s best not to forget to check and change this fluid, as low or degraded differential fluid can rapidly lead to overheating, locking, or worn-down gears. Have a professional examine the fluid in each differential at least once a year.

Inspect the Seals 

The seals on your differentials keep the fluid in and contaminants out. Have these seals carefully inspected once a year for signs of leaks or worn patches that might allow dirt and debris to enter and ruin the fluid. Any malfunctioning seals can quickly be replaced. 

Watch Out for Signs of Trouble

Difficulty Cornering 

As the primary task of differentials is to smoothen your cornering, a fault will be noticeable whenever you turn. Your car might pull to one side, become hard to control, or even lose traction at corners.

Strange Vibrations

If the gears inside one of your differentials are insufficiently lubricated, friction will rise. This results in excess vibrations and potential overheating.

Grinding or Whirring Sounds

Struggling differentials will also start to emit strange noises. You might hear grinding or whirring when changing speeds or navigating a corner.

Uneven Tire Wear

With a bad differential, the wheels and tires will be rotating at improper speeds whenever you corner. This causes damage to the tires and means the treads will wear down at uneven rates. 

Leaking Differential Fluid

If you spot a small puddle of fluid under your wheel axles, you probably have leaking differential fluid. It’s wise to have the leak repaired and the fluid topped up before you continue to drive. 

Schedule Routine Ford Differential Maintenance

As with any car part, routine maintenance is the key to long-lasting differentials. Our experienced technicians will be happy to keep your differentials in excellent condition with regular inspections and prompt repairs. 

Allow us to optimize your car’s handling and traction with routine differential services. Visit Coughlin Ford of Heath in Newark, OH, today. We put customer satisfaction first and foremost in all that we do. 

Posted in Coughlin Ford of Heath Service, Ford Technology, Heath Ford Service | No Comments »

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