Just curious ? What are the general symptoms of a bad rear diff? Thanks

 

And if a warranty says differential housing is covered is this the differential ? Sorry I'm clueless

 

It feels weird when you turn left or right at low speeds while on the gas.

 

Hmm.. Not like vibration in the steering wheel ?

 

It's more of a sound and feel that you can tell is coming from the rear end. That could be tire/wheel or suspension.

 

Yes, you'll know it's from the back sounds like a low moan or rumbling, . And usually if the warranty says "differential" it means the housing and it's internals

 

USUALLY, anything you feel through the steering wheel, is front end related. Differential issues are usually exhibited through groaning noises when driving in a straight line or "popping/chattering" when turning. Grinding noise can be wheel hub bearings.

 

i feel a bit of chattering when turning at low speed when the car is warming up. it gets better after i've driven the car for a bit. i dont hear any noises. i ONLY feel it when I am accelerating into a turn from a complete stop...so like turning at a stop sign.

 

Have you checked the oil level in the differential? Better yet, have you considered an oil change for the diff?

 

i have not. i will have that taken care of this week. car has 34k miles on it now, i guess its about time?

 

Do you notice any gear oil on the undercarriage near the diff? At 34k miles I'd assume if the seal(s) were to leak they'd have done it by now. Whatever you do, if the seal is leaking, don't get your mechanic to top up the fluid and then wait weeks to get the seal fixed. The leaking gear oil on your driveway will have you going mental lol

 

i have not noticed any oil on my driveway at the moment. I have not checked under the car.

is checking the oil level an easy thing? or is the mechanic going to have to take it apart? Ill have him check for leaking first...if the seals are fine, check the oil level, add as needed. Is there any particular oil I should use?

 

the mechanic will just hoist the car, take off the diff fill plug and check the level. If your car is a 2011 then it might not be included in the vin range with faulty diffs. I think primarily 09s and some 10s were affected. I use amsoil severe gear. I think the weight is 75w140 but I'll have to check the extra bottle I have lying around.

 

Using my '09 XF as a reference, there are two "pipe plugs" on the differential case. One is at the very bottom, facing downward. That is the drain plug. The other plug, facing the left side, about 2" from the bottom of the case, is the fill plug.


The only "tricky" part of doing a check or change, is getting the car SAFELY up, both high enough and LEVEL, to be able to work under the car. A quality synthetic gear oil such as Red Line or Amsoil will work, and most auto parts stores sell hand pumps that will screw into the gear oil bottle.

 

Do you still have the original factory diff in your 09? If so have you had any issues with it?

 

I have the original diff in my car (26,000 miles), and have had no issues with it. In fact, I was unaware of any differential issues with the XFs until I read about it here, last year. At that point, I promptly went out and bought a supply of gear oil (Red Line synthetic gear oil, 75W90), and changed it.


The oil that came out looked pretty clean, but since I'd rather be safe than sorry, after changing out the original oil and refilling the diff with fresh oil, I drove the car around for about 15 minutes, and then changed it again. I figure that a couple quarts of gear oil is FAR less expensive than a new differential, especially with the car being long out of warranty.

 

That's good to hear. I'm using 75w140 amsoil but I'm interested to know if there's any benefits to going with the 90 weight.

Also is your vin past R41865? The diff problem affected cars 1 to 41865 (per the Jaguar TSB).

 

Yes, it is. I would be a little reluctant to use a 75W140 gear oil in any of my cars, as here in the Northeast USA, it gets pretty cold in the winter.

 

Good to know. I'm up near Toronto so it gets pretty cold as well.

I think I might look for a used diff past the affected vin range if need be. Might be more cost effective than fitting a quaife diff and definitely more cost effective than fitting the redesigned diff. Thanks for the info.

 

Thanks for posting this, glad to know I'm outside this range, is there so where we can view all the tsb for particular vin? Like past tsb as well as present etc. thanks