Paint peeling whine from real differential

- Cleveland, OH, USA

Rear axle and bearing noises. Marquis bought new. Owner's son-in-law noted minor bearing noise in rear when visiting in 2004. Son-in-law received car after death of mother-in-law in 2012, car had 24K miles at that time. Noticed pronounced rear end noise at that time (a whaa-whaa-whaa matching speed changes). Left rear axle and outboard bearing found to be pitted and were replaced by independent repair shop. Research by owner indicates that axles for this, and other similar Mercury and Ford had factory axles installed that had not been properly heat treated. Now, Nov. 2014, at 43.4K miles the right axle is starting to exhibit noise similar, so repair is up-coming. Will examine NHTSA recall 04V328000 as noted here in other comments posted. Also reference Ford/Mercury service bulletin 0355.

- Charleston, SC, USA

2003 Mercury Grand Marquis, the built date is 10/2002.grinding noise at right rear axle and fluid leaking at right rear axle seal coating the rear brakes. Right rear axle bearing and shaft assy failure per NHTSA campaign id number 04V328000. The vehicle belonged to my 75 year old father whom passed away last year. I now own the car. I'll assume the problem has existed for quite some time. According to Ford Motor Company there is no such problem with this vehicle. However, Ford does sell a half shaft rear axle bearing repair kit part number 4A109 $618.91 to fix the problem. Can't seem to get Ford Lincoln Mercury to cover cost of repair.

- Harrison,, OH, USA

Premature failure of rear axle shaft bearing. Original NHTSA recall # 04V328000 in July of 2004. My car was not in the original recall, but I have just had this very problem with my car. If I hadn't taken the car in, I could have had a major safety problem if the bearing had gone out totally. Please force Ford Motor Co. To expand this recall to pay for similar repairs even if not included in original recall. A car with only 50,000 miles should not have this problem!

- Kankakee, IL, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, he heard a loud noise in the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was later taken to an independent mechanic. After diagnosis, they advised him that the rear axle shaft, bearings and, seals prematurely failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure and current mileages were approximately 52,000.

- Found Rock, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis gs. The contact was driving 35 mph when an abnormal noise was heard from under the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the mechanic confirmed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 52,000 and the current mileage was 54,000.

- Palm Harbor, FL, USA