The mechanic told me today that the carrier and pinion bearings are going bad in my differential.
He will not replace the bearings.
The only thing he says he will do is replace the whole differential.
The estimate was $9,000 which is outrageous.
I can buy a rebuilt differential for $1,550 or a rebuild kit for $500.
Either way I think the differential has to come out? Which is about 8 hours labor to take out and replace.
What do you recommend I do?

 

take a used unit to a rear end shop. i can do it in 4 or 5 but 8 sounds about right if it’s by the book. bearings and seals are a little under $100 total. another $100 for the output shaft rebuild kit

if nobody else is willing to do the job i’d just keep driving the car with a loud diff

 

The carrier and output flange bearings are common and can be obtained locally from bearing suppliers.
The PINION bearings are not easily found. I could never match them up at a local supplier so I just ordered them from Jaguar.

The pinion seals can be ordered from aftermarket suppliers or the Jag dealer.
The output flange seals can be matched or get from the dealer.

Probably need the 'crush-tube' from the dealer? (I forget)

I rebuilt a few 'back-in-the-day' because of the WHINE and I used to charge $1,000.00 parts and labor out-the-door.
Just use all the shims as they are and replace the bearings/seals.

 

I just got a quote from a gear shop to rebuild my diff for $600 but I have to bring him the diff out of the car.
I'm tempted to buy a used diff and have him rebuild it and then swap it.
I was asked by a used diff source if mine was locking or non locking?
Also are the gears Dana 44?

 

Sort of. The Dana 44 is actually based on the earlier version of the Sailsbury diff the previous generation XJ6 and XJS have, but things like bolt hole sizes and splines for the output flange are different. It's possible to make Dana 44 gears work, but it's not a drop in substitute.

 

The housing can take any D44 carrier and gearset but the current carrier has its own unique ring and pinion and set of bearings.

Pinion:

Inner: HM89446/HM89410 AKA NTN 12252

Outer: M88043/M88010

Crush Sleeve:

12456

Carrier:

SKF 3485


Salisbury Transmission was a subsidiary of Hardy Spicer/Birfield that held the license to build Dana Spicer’s Salisbury (41, 44, 60) type axles. They became part of GKN in the 60s and sold to Dana in the 90s.

 

I'm also not aware of any D44 gearset that has the locating pin on the pinion for the driveshaft centering bushing.

 

yes the pinion extension is unique to the 15HU. if you want to use D44 gears you need to use a 1310 yoke and call the driveshaft shop.

count iblis here made a custom extension for a dana 44 gearset + 10 to 26-spline adapter for the tripod flange to keep the jurid, and also custom 30 spline stub axles.

 

Having rebuilt the GKN Salisbury 15HU diff in our '93 XJ40 (the same diff used in the X300), I can tell you the following from personal experience:

1. If you don't have any noise from the differential, but have oil leaking from the seals, the vent tube may be clogged.

2. Failure of the output shaft bearings is far more common than failure of the carrier bearings. Are you certain the mechanic hasn't mistakenly confused the two? It is difficult to diagnose carrier bearing failure without removing and disassembling the diff. The output shaft bearings can be replaced without removing the diff. The common symptom of output shaft bearing failure is oil leaking from the seal and a howling or growling noise if the bearing is really bad.

3. Symptoms of pinion bearing failure are oil leaking from the pinion shaft seal, and a higher-pitched whine sound like a jet engine, especially when lifting your foot off the throttle pedal and coasting from speed. Replacing the pinion shaft bearings requires removal of the differential.

4. Removing the Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) is not as difficult as you might expect, and there are other worthwhile services you can perform while you have it out, such as replacing the big lower subframe bushings, wheel bearings, rear shock bushings, etc.

5. Replacing the carrier bearings is not difficult at all. Replacing the pinion shaft bearings is tedious, because it requires getting the gear mesh correct and the pinion bearing preload just right for quiet, long-lasting performance, and requires special tools, such as a means of restraining the pinion flange while you apply around 500 foot-pounds of torque to the pinion nut to compress the crush sleeve to just the right degree, and a precise inch-pound torque wrench to measure the preload with and without the carrier installed. For this job I purchased a Snap-On 4X torque-multiplier (converts 125 ft.lbs input to 500 ft. lbs. output) and a Snap-On dial inch-pound torque wrench accurate to within 1%, and I fabricated a pinion flange holding tool from a 4-foot length of 3/8"X3" bar stock.

6. There is not much documentation available for rebuilding the 15HU, but Bob (motorcarman) and JaguarPete from the Jag-Lovers forum shared very helpful Jaguar and Dana Spicer documentation with me that helped tremendously, and I was able to interpolate specifications such as gear lash from the Dana Spicer references.

7. If Coventry West is still rebuilding 15HU differentials, that would be an option worth consideration, or hiring a good rear axle specialist to do the rebuild for you as previously mentioned.

But before you launch into a rebuild, it would be worth getting a second opinion from a knowledgeable Jaguar specialist (you need a new mechanic anyway - $9,000.00 really is outrageous). Who knows? You might just need an output shaft bearing!

Cheers,

Don

 

when a mechanic quotes a crazy high price like that but nomrally prices are reasonable, it's likely they are insinuating they have no desire to do the job

 

Drove it around town today and on the freeway. The noise is not loud yet but I can tell it's there.
I listened when I let off the gas and there is no change in frequency at all.
Honestly it sounds to me just the same as when the passenger side output bearing went bad.
I'm going to have a Jag mechanic look at the car next and really diagnose it.
If it's just the driver side output bearing I'll replace that since it doesn't involve removing the differential.
The mechanic that said it was pinion and carrier bearings was not a Jag mechanic and he wasn't willing to just replace the output bearing.
Instead he told me it would cost up to $9,000 to replace the diff which is insane.

I did call Coventry West and they can send me a rebuilt diff for $895 + refundable core charge.
If it requires replacement I'm thinking of paying the extra to go that way since it would reduce the lead time involved..
Last time I changed the differential gear oil it came out black and there was evidence of moisture intrusion.

 

It is a lot of work, when I had it done ( to change to a limited slip) I think my mechanic billed me for 12 hours of labour. I think that's a fair amount, based on removing one from a different car later. Clearly $9,000 is either the "no way do I want to do this" or "I haven't a clue what I'm doing" price.

 

For my '97 X300, I bought a rebuilt diff from Coventry West, Inc. for $1250 with shipping. I had a local garage R&R the diff and also replace the rear struts at the same time. $800 or so. After replacing the front struts and new tires, it is a very nice driving car. The old diff made a bad noise on deceleration especially when downshifting..

 

Can someone direct me to a place to buy a rebuilt XJS 95-96 differential. Mine is make a grinding noise. You can hear the bearing grind on the right axel side of the diff. I’m in SF Bay Area.

I’ve been quoted $800 to rebuild mine plus parts. JabBits had a kit for $500. Does that sound right?

 

Hi SFCarguy,

Welcome to the Jaguar Forums! It's great to have you with us.

For many years, Coventry West in Lithonia, Georgia rebuilt Jaguar differentials. You would have to contact them to see if they are still doing so.

However, you may not need a complete rebuild if the only problem is the right output shaft bearings. The bearings and seals were still available the last time I needed them. You can look up part numbers at parts.jaguarlandroverclassic.com. Check with our forum sponsors Jagbits and SNG Barratt to see if they can provide the parts.

This video gives a basic idea of what is involved in replacing the bearings and seals:


Cheers,

Don