I was amazed at how much had leaked out of my diff at only 1200 miles.





never mind all of the rust . look at the drivers side axle!

one thing after another so far. just glad my dealership is friendly.. lol

 

I believe that's the vent on top above the moist area. If the diff was overfilled even just a bit at the factory, a good hot day and some serious driving is enough to cause it to weep some. As long as the level is fine, I wouldn't sweat it. It's easy enough to check yourself.

I was under the wifes '06 today and saw the same thing. It looked old. I'll check it one of these days.

 

im disappointed that ford didnt just coat the axle with some type of protective paint from the factory.. seriously how much could that cost? not much to add in a small step that would make it looks alot better and higher quality. Mine looks the same as yours

 

They shave costs in weird areas. I agree, how hard would it have been to paint that stuff? I showed these pictures to a couple of friends and they were like wtf why is your 2012 car rusting already?! lol.

I have not had a day over 50 degrees since I've owned the car yet - but I do get on it from time to time, corners and straights a like. if there is a permanent fix to keep the liquid in the diff, I am all for it. if it's just a case of it being overly full, that would be a relief!

 

I heard someone say its a protective coat of rust :P
Nothing vital is damaged just the surface of the axle.
+1 on the vent.

 

Yup, ferrous materials (i.e. steel) will have oxidization on their surfaces. That process pretty much creates the surface rust you see on any axle, it's just really ugly looking but harmless.

That axle won't rust through in that car's foreseeable lifetime, I would be more worried about the sheet metal than that axle.

 

Leaking oil keeps the rust at bay...

1+ on it meaning nothing. That's almost no leak whatsoever outta the vent.

It's 100% cosmetic. Paint is expensive. They're under tremendous pressure for cost savings. 90%+ of people will never see this.

 

Rust is a protective coating. Anodized aluminum has a "rust" patina too...it's just that silver oxidation is prettier

You could always spend $10 and paint it yourself.

 

the rust I'm not concerned about, I just made a comment since it was somewhat funny how quickly it got the rust coating.

but fluid coming out of the diff, how is that ever a good thing? why haven't any of my past cars leaked anything from the diff? is this just a normal thing for solid rear axle cars that I haven't been exposed to until now? how is this considered a small leak when half of the drivers side of the axle is coated in it and part of the pumpkin etc?

it is alarming for someone who has not seen it before to say the least : )

 

The fluid is normal. There's a vent there to allow excess buildup to escape. The rust is also normal. It's a lot more expensive to build show cars than assembly line cars.