The back of my RV had a little trouble during a trip, and sadly, when the the bearing let loose it pretty much trashed the end of the axle carrier. Photos for those with an iron stomach for such things. haha. I grabbed the tag off the housing and this appears to be a Dana 70 with 4.56 gears. 4.56 seems to be semi-unique to RV versions of this setup in the E-450SD line. Could someone help me identify what years were the same for this rear end? To the best of my Googling, it looks to be 99 - 2007 and only for E-450SD. The F-450 appears to look different as well with slightly different perches. This will all help me with my yard search for a replacement unit.

 

I've seen some bad ones, but this one is on top.

You can try some salvage yards . You might also start with a Ford truck dealership parts dept. If you provide your VIN they should be able to give you some good answers.

 

Being it's an RV it makes VIN hunting a little tough since the VIN is now the coach builder. My understanding is that the chassis is delivered to them without a VIN.

*edit
Nevermind. I see how it works. The WMI is 1FD which is "Ford Incomplete Chassis". That VIN then becomes the coach builders registered VIN. It also explains why all the VIN decoders tell me it's an invalid VIN. haha

 

Ok, so the door code says it's axle code 83 which is listed as "4.30 F-350" which is clearly wrong as the chassis is not a F-350. And the tag on the diff clearly says it's 4.56. This crap drives me nuts.

 

I have some questions and lets see if they help.

When the chassis was delivered , FROM FORD,
Did it have an engine , wheels,transmission and functioning electrical system ?

Just what did the coach builder have to add to make it drive able?

Somebody installed the differential and suspension and I can't believe the coach builder has that authority to produce and certify ,according manufacturing standards FMVSS vehicle.
Something here doesn't make sense. That vehicle when built will have a GVWR and Does the coach builder have the authority to set that? I could be wrong , but I don't believe they do.

Could this problem maybe uncovered a vehicle built and certified as an E350 was registered as an E450 to get past the axle rating ?

 

Bro, you are asking questions that I have zero visibility into. I bought an RV. Done. It was an RV the first time I saw it. I highly doubt there is anything fishy going on as this same thread asked in an RV forum confirmed that this is kinda the common situation and mine isn't out of the ordinary. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

I am by no means an RV person or expert, but I do know what causes failures like this and if it is common as you say , what is wrong with this picture ?

Lack of proper maintenance, overloading, poor quality parts wheel seal leakage all can cause this problem.

Which from your perspective might have contributed to this result? None of this helps find an axle assy, but the answers to some of those questions will help a lot.

Did that forum have any suggestions as to how and where you could find an axle assy ?