JimC

You can see the vent cap on top of the axle in your picture. You can get the "turkey baster" that Ford sells to replace the vent cap so the oil goes up in the bulb and drains back.

Or you can get a ****** fitting, swap the vent cap, then take a piece of hose and clamp it in place and run it up to a point where you can zip tie it (leave lots of slack for suspension travel).

Edit: replace the ****** with b a r b b e d (no space)

kenv

A mfg looks to save every penny possible, & given the amount of cars they sell a year even a nickel per unit can add up to some serious change. Eg. in the late 70`s early 80`s, GM quit putting a drain plug in their radiators to save money. You had to pull the lower radiator hose if you were changing coolant. They are only interested in quality where it relates to investment returns. If its good enough to get by & make money for the shareholders, its good enough for the company. Otherwise there would not be that many after market vendors around. IMHO

JimC

Let's think about this - the S197 has been out since 2005 so we have 7 years worth of these rear axles on the road and lots of miles (197,000 on mine).

Have you heard of ANY rear axles rusting through?

How many people are looking at the axle? Unless you work on your car and have it up on a lift doing something back there, no one is going to notice the rust patina on the axle. Standing outside the car with it on the ground you can't see the axle, and it can't be seen from behind so why should Ford spend the money on paint for an area that doesn't seem to need it?

Entaille

never ceases to amaze me how off topic things on this forum get haha. I wish I hadn't made a comment about the rust. cmon - who buys a new car and expects there to be surface rust that new into ownership? it was just a surprise, I am not concerned about it, just disappointed in an area they chose to save money. not exactly a difficult cost to merge into the cars cost and have the consumer pay for instead of Ford.

the rust is not a concern of mine. it's not going to rust through. it's just an eye sore for now, and one rarely seen as previously stated. I just wish they would have coated it as I've seen on my previous cars.

I am concerned about the diff leaking that much gear oil though - and those that thing it's just a slight amount of oil? maybe the pictures suck, but half of the entire drivers side axle tube there is covered in it all the way around, and the part extending from the pumpkin is just saturated in it. we're not talking a small trace of gear oil, there had to be a lot of gear oil escaping to cover that much area. I am going to have it checked out either way and preferably fixed under warranty prior to rigging a solution DIY style.

Andy13186

Owners notice it.. I noticed it. It would look alot better painted. and really.. its just 1 more small step which would really vastly improve the looks of the undercarriage. I cant see it costing alot to have the parts painted before install or right after manufacturing.

would you, or anyone complain about it being painted and shiny instead of rusty? i dont think so.

GT/CS_2011

It is hot here in Arizona desert and some hard driving makes for small amounts of oil venting on mine. There are numerous 'catch can' type solutions to keep it off the track.

FordService

Hi Entaille,

Glad you have a great relationship with your dealer. Definitely give them a visit and have them clean up that oil. If you think this is a major concern, send me a PM with the VIN, current mileage, as well as your personal and dealer contact info and I'll have the Customer Service Manager review your case.

Take care!

Noemi