Ring Gear....Chipped Tooth!!

[Marauderjack]

Hey All.....

Going over the F-350 I decided to check the rear end and found this!!:argue:

I emailed pix to my Ford wrench and he said if it ain't making any noise don't worry since the pinion runs in the center of the tooth??:cool:

When I asked what caused it....He said could have been something broke long ago (153K miles) and chipped the tooth but never caused any suspicious noise?? I spoke with the previous owner and he said he towed horses with it for 4 years and the only trouble he had was HIGH fuel consumption and the trans went out.....rebuilt in Feb. '06!!:beer:

What do y'all think......Opinions??:confused :

Marauderjack:bandit:

[O's Fan Rich]

Hey All.....

Going over the F-350 I decided to check the rear end and found this!!:argue:

I emailed pix to my Ford wrench and he said if it ain't making any noise don't worry since the pinion runs in the center of the tooth??:cool:

When I asked what caused it....He said could have been something broke long ago (153K miles) and chipped the tooth but never caused any suspicious noise?? I spoke with the previous owner and he said he towed horses with it for 4 years and the only trouble he had was HIGH fuel consumption and the trans went out.....rebuilt in Feb. '06!!:beer:

What do y'all think......Opinions??:confused :

Marauderjack:bandit:


I've chipped two teeth my whole life, once when I was 12 and the other when I was 34. Dentistr fixed em both good. No cavities ever, either!!!:D :D :D

Yeah... I know, MJ, not what your talkin'
I would not worry about it too much, unless a gear ratio change will help the mileage.

[Marauderjack]

Thanks Rich....

It has 4.10's and I believe with the tire size and trans gearing changing the gears for better mileage would hurt performance and maybe even mileage??:confused:

I'm just always concerned when I cannot put my finger on the "Why It Happened" aspect of things??:confused: Never cared much for sitting on the roadside waiting for help!!:shake:

Marauderjack:cool:

[RoyLPita]

I would overhaul the rear just so you know that everything is all good in there.

Just my .02 and then some.

[Bluerauder]

Going over the F-350 I decided to check the rear end and found this!!:argue:

I emailed pix to my Ford wrench and he said if it ain't making any noise don't worry since the pinion runs in the center of the tooth??:cool:
My son-in-law has an older F-150 w/4WD ('97, I think maybe a little older). His ring gear let go about 6 months ago. When he pulled it apart, there were several "chipped" and "broken" teeth in the gear. The chipping may be symptoms to the beginning of a bigger problem -- material failure of the gear. :( Fortunately, his broke as he was pulling out of the fire station ... so he just left it there until he could get a chance to look at it.

[SergntMac]

One chipped tooth could be a problem alone, depending on the size of the chip.

My concern is where is the fragment that chipped out? If that gets thrown up into the ring gear, you could break badly.

My suggestion is to flush out the rear looking for the chip, and leave things alone until it's necessary, or, it fits with a mod you wish to make.

[DEFYANT]

You have a broken part.

Fix the broken part.

My .02

[Breadfan]

It's probably debatable whether or not it needs repair - it could be one of those things that could break big time later or last forever...one never knows. Might be a good time to look into how a different ratio would affect the truck. A rear gear swap isn't going to run all that much, I'm betting it's a 9" rear so plenty of shops should be knowledgable and be able to swap them quickly.

As for how it broke, it was probably caused by a jolt when towing, hauling, or pulling something. Like when you're pulling a stump or something, let the truck roll forward with a tow rope, once things tighten up *WHAM* a nice jolt to the drivetrain before you pull that big load.

That'd be my guess.

[Marauderjack]

Here is a photo......:confused:

[Marauderjack]

Decided to change the spark plugs since it runs a bit rough when cold.....No telling how many miles were on them but they were TOAST!!:mad: I put platinums in since it was such a PITA to get to them!!:mad2:

It sure runs better!!:bows:

See attached photo of old ones.....:confused:

Marauderjack:bandit: