Rattle or thumping noise from rear differential when turning left or right from a stop?

DBOGY

MEMBER
2013 FORD ESCAPE
2.5L
4 CYL
4WD
AUTOMATIC
26,000 MILES

I know it is from the rear diff based on a previous post where you helped someone by having them unplug rear diff solenoid to isolate. So, if I were to leave it unplugged vs fixing can you put a jumper wire between the two wires going to the solenoid to eliminate the message that comes up at start that says 4wd needs service and the traction control off that comes up on the dash.

Friday, June 9th, 2023 AT 12:26 PM

3 Replies

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
49,912 POSTS

A jumper wire is not a good idea, if the warning light is coming on let's scan the CAN to see what it says. You can get a CAN scanner (Controller Area Network) which will work on most cars from Amazon.

Here is a guide to help:

https://youtu.be/u-4syLc-ifQ

Can you please shoot a quick video with your phone so I can hear the noise? That way I can tell for sure what's going on. You can upload it here with your response. I would make sure the wheels are tight

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/wheel-removal-and-re-installation

and here is the driveshaft and rear differential images so we both can see what is going on and what might be causing the noise. Check out the images (below). Let us know what happens and please upload pictures or videos of the problem so we can see what's going on.

Images (Click to make bigger)

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Saturday, June 10th, 2023 AT 11:09 AM

DBOGY

MEMBER
3 POSTS

If You look at this thread https://www.2carpros.com/questions/noise-coming-from-rear-when-making-sharp-turns it explains what I'm referring too. So I already know the problem is in the rear end and its the solenoid they refer to in the thread. I have unplugged the solenoid and the noise stopped. I was quoted $4000.00 by ford to repair because they have to replace the whole rdu as they claim it is not a serviceable unit. So I'm wanting to just drive as 2 wheel drive vehicle but am trying to eliminate the message that pops up at start up that states 4wd needs service and the traction control icon that lights up. I'm thinking I could put a jumper wire between the 2 wires that plug in to the solenoid and that would satisfy the computer and eliminate the error message from coming on the dash.

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Saturday, June 10th, 2023 AT 5:43 PM

KEN L