Is the "Drive Axle Housing" and "Differential" the same thing?

[INeverLose]

There is a noise in the rear end of my truck. My mechanic says its my rear differential (Bearing, Ring & Pinion). I am looking at my insurace policy(used car warranty) to see if it is covered under my warranty but I dont see anything that says "Differential". But, I do see "Drive Axle Housing". Are they the same thing, just worded different, or is this a different part???

[jd4010]

I would call/contact your warranty company to ask that question specifically. To me, the axle housing is just that....the housing and not gears, bearings, etc.

The wording in these aftermarket warranties are ambiguous at best. They do this intentionally so as to look as though they cover lots of items but in fact, most of these extended (3rd party) warranties aren't worth the paper they are written on.

Yes....I've fallen victim to this....and hence my skepticism and dislike for these sorts of warranties. Thinking I was covered by my extended warranty, I found myself shelling out almost 1900 clams. Never again!

[NYC F-350]

Different part.
The differential goes inside the drive axle housing.
What they are saying is that they cover just the rear axle housing. What that means is they cover just what you see when you look under the truck. They do not cover the bearings, races, differential, axle shafts, ring gear, pinion and related hardware. They cover nothing but the outer casing.

[bfrank81]

Yea cause that makes sense. Let's cover the friggin metal case that the only time you would ever have a failure would be if you hit something and that would be covered by the regular auto insurance. That's why I hate warranties.