Rear half shafts removal, Explorer 2004

[fastkurve]

As much as I could tried, the two half shafts won't pop-up out of the differential.

I used pry bar , many models, different positions, even hammered the back side of the CV to get it out, just did not work

Got the Ford shop manual and they are mentionning a special tool (somekind of fork shape pry bar). I figured that since it is only circlip holding the half shaft within the differential side gear, it should had come out easily w/out htis tool...

Anyone having experience getting these shafts out ? Is the tool mandatory?

Thanks,

Fastkurve

[fastkurve]

Anyone ?

[Donner]

It sounds like you should use the tool or risk great expense or damage. Is this tool expensive?

[robby001]

I new a buddy that had to pull the haft shafts out of his girlfriends escort and had the same problem. He called over to one of the Ford dealerships and they had told him that you had to take I believe it was the passenger side off first and then use a special tool that he was gracious enough to loan out to him to insert into the hole and whack with a hammer to pop the driver side out. It was very quite odd.

you will probaly have to put equall pressure and that is probaly what that tool does.

[fastkurve]

Originally Posted by robby001

I new a buddy that had to pull the haft shafts out of his girlfriends escort and had the same problem. He called over to one of the Ford dealerships and they had told him that you had to take I believe it was the passenger side off first and then use a special tool that he was gracious enough to loan out to him to insert into the hole and whack with a hammer to pop the driver side out. It was very quite odd.

you will probaly have to put equall pressure and that is probaly what that tool does.

Thanks for the reply, as I described, I tried both sides w/out succcess....
did some repair before on FWD and it never been so hard to remove it...wonder what I am doing wrong, unless there is special manner or precise thing to do to work it out that I am not aware of

As for the tool, I did not inquire to the dealer yet for the price, might have to go this route if nobody has a tip for me

Anyone else?

Fastkurve

[ummduh]

There is a tool you can use in conjunction with a slide hammer.

It is semi-circular and attaches to the slide hammer. You place this behind the axle near the differential and then use the slide hammer to knock the axle out of the diff.



I know you can buy/order from NAPA, I can get pricing and p/n's tomorrow.

[fastkurve]

Looks exactly to what I need
I picked up the new differential oil seals at the stealership tonight and they do provide a replacement for the halfshaft circlip. After seeing the clip and the stiffness of it, I do understand now why those shafts are so difficult to remove from the differential. This knocker puller is the thing I need!

Thanks very much for the tip.

As soon as I got the part number from you, I will get it from Napa.

Thanks a lot again

Fastkurve

[satyr64]

A long wooden stick held close to then shaft as possible and someone else held the other end and hit with a hammer/sledge. worked for me, had to move around to find right angle

[ummduh]

part number is

SER # 3164

It's kinda expensive at $50 or so at my store. Doesn't include the slide hammer.

[Pontisteve]

I'm about to pull mine too, and been researching it a lot, so I can gather the tools up. Here's what I came up with:

http://www.otctools.com/products/detail.php?id=2483

http://www.otctools.com/products/detail.php?id=1855

http://www.otctools.com/products/detail.php?id=1856

http://www.otctools.com/products/detail.php?id=2045

I found the various pieces cheapest at NTX tools, Tooltopia, and Ebay.

Related tools are SK 4007 axle nut set, OTC 4507 Bearing driver set, Sk 74256 Torque wrench, and Kastar 2599 spindle rethreader kit.

A mechanic friend told me to use a pry bar, and to just push the prybar in between the axle and the housing, but not to actually pry with it. Just use it as a wedge.

Please let me know how your experience with this goes.

By the way, the Ford tools are 205-153 bearing driver handle and 205-529 halfshaft remover. They show you putting the handle into the halfshaft remover, wedging the remover between the axle and the rear end housing, and hammering the handle with a motion from the rear end housing towards the spindle (direction-wise).

[stvrrr]

I have to change my rear half shaft seals on my 04 explorer. I asked the dealership what it would be and they said it would be $280 labour plus parts. Then they warned me that they have trouble getting the axles out and have to sometimes get new ones at $600 EACH ! Ouch! They must bugger them getting them out. It can't be that tough is it? Let us know how it goes. Thanks Steve

[Pontisteve]

I found a Ford dealer on Ebay that quoted me $250 for a new LR axle for my 03. He said retail was 369.42. The axle seal/circlip costs 26 each. While I'm at it, he had rear motorcraft rotors for 38 each, pads for 37 per set, and a seat belt retraction kit for 25. Thats about 35 percent under retail, which was better than my local wholesale discount of 25 percent. So yeah Szott Ford!

The seat belt retraction kit was something I found thru Ford TSB 05-16-11, August 9, 2005. It says that models built before 10/22/04 can use this kit to make the seat belts retract faster. Mine definitely needs that! I hate that, when I slam the seat belt in the door. The kit part# is 3L2Z-78611D70-AB. It fits a bunch of vehicles, from windstar, town car, mustang, ranger, E, F, expedition, explorer, excursion, etc. It has something to do with using teflon tape. I hope the kit doesn't just include a roll of 10 cent teflon tape, and instructions. Makes me want to pull a unit first and see. I was also under the impression that it fits both sides, and calls for .8 hrs for both sides.

[stvrrr]

I went to my dealer again today to price new seals, and I got talking with the parts guy and the service manager at the same time and they without any major complaining decided to do a"good will repair" on my X. It means that I will still have to pay a percentage of the repair but they will kick in some of the cost themselves and the rest will be billed to Ford. I have known these guys for 25 years and it is a small town dealership so maybe that made the difference. The vehicle is way over warranty. Goes in next week!

[Pontisteve]

FYI, Ford has customer satisfaction programs. They're called P05 and P07 if I recall correctly. Anyway, they're normally designed to create good will towards good customers who have a car out of warranty, but still under 75K miles.

When my parents 98 F-150 chunked a V6 motor (piece of junk!) at 60K, I tried 3 dealerships on these programs (which a Ford mechanic friend told me about). 2 of the dealers said no, but the 3rd one replaced the motor for $500 my cost. I also got a 100K complete drivetrain warranty in the process, for free. That was a sweet plus.

I think each dealer only has so much Ford money per year to allot to these programs, and also it depends on the time of year you try to get it. Towards the end of the year, that money is already long gone. One of those programs is for cheap stuff... starters, alternators, and the like. I think that was the P05 program. The other one was for major stuff. On that motor, the deal was we pay the first $500, plus anything over $4,000. Luckily, the total bill came in just under 4K, so we were only out 500 bucks. That worked for me!

[jrford]

Originally Posted by stvrrr

I have known these guys for 25 years and it is a small town dealership so maybe that made the difference. The vehicle is way over warranty. Goes in next week!

Cool - Great news! Around here in Detroit with too many dealers the service departments won’t even give you the time of day for less than $45, and to top it off they want $90hr and book time. Parts are no better only 10% off full retail price if you’re lucky to be an employee, everyone else 100% and don't ask just pay the cashier and your parts will be here in a few days. . .

Wish i had a small dealer like that is the only way to go - i want to move.

[stvrrr]

Got my Explorer back from getting the new seals in. With the good will repair,my percentage of the repair was only $83.63. Makes me feel good that my local Ford dealer wants me as a long term customer!

[RUNTINGS]

Originally Posted by stvrrr

I went to my dealer again today to price new seals, and I got talking with the parts guy and the service manager at the same time and they without any major complaining decided to do a"good will repair" on my X. It means that I will still have to pay a percentage of the repair but they will kick in some of the cost themselves and the rest will be billed to Ford. I have known these guys for 25 years and it is a small town dealership so maybe that made the difference. The vehicle is way over warranty. Goes in next week!

Almost all dealership have "good will repair" but the guys them that works at these dealership think it comes out of there pocket which in the manufacture pays for it.

[Pontisteve]

Finally got to do the job, and now know more about it. First off, the slide hammer kit worked great for alot of things... but the C shaped Fork did not. It was not big enough. Ford has a bigger version of this tool, that they use in conjunction with about an 8 or 10" long bar that screws into it. Then they beat on the bar, which puts pressure on the back side of the cv axle, forcing it out of the diff.

The circlip that holds the axle in is small and out of round. It's like a copper c clip that has been squished in a vice. Once installed on the round axle, it ends up where the clip is below the surface of the axle everywhere but in 2 places, where it barely sticks above the axle and causes the friction that keeps the axle from being pulled out of the diff.

Pretty much a good jolt to the axle will pop it out. After failing at getting the right CV fork, extension, and slide hammer, I ended up using a piece of 1x1 square wood, about 8 or 10 inches long, angled from the front of the cv housing towards the front of the rear end housing (wood would go from the cv joint housing to roughly where the driveshaft bolts up). A couple pops with a baby sledge on the piece of wood, and she popped right out.

I did notice that if you rotated the circlip on the axle, it seemed like it stuck out more in some places on the axle than others. This would lead me to believe that if you run across a stubborn axle, you could probably put the truck in neutral, rotate the cv axle some, and try again until you find a spot where it's easier to pop the clip out.

Basically, you just need to get between the rear end housing and the axle, and jolt the axle outward. The trick is doing this without cracking up the rear end housing, which is aluminum. I did try a pry bar some, but there is really just no place to wedge it. Doing so helped me chip the housing, which is why Ford says don't do that.

The ford tool is also very expensive, for what you're getting. But I can't really think of anything except a block of 1x1 wood that would do the job. Never PULL on the cv axle, as you could damage the joints. You must PUSH them out.

[satyr64]

Sounds like you used my method. Also the cheapest way too

[Pontisteve]

Originally Posted by satyr64

Sounds like you used my method. Also the cheapest way too

Sometimes it just don't pay to get hi tech. LOL

The correct method would definitely be the Ford tool, which is a short beater bar connected to a C shaped Fork, allowing you to hammer evenly on the axle to tap it out. Hammering it from just one side poses the risk of damage, and my mechanic friends tell me that sometimes damage does happen. I would not want to buy an axle for it, for nothing. Although I did find a Ford dealer that would part with an axle for 250.

Another example of this would be the rear axle seal. The original seal is actually 2 seals... one in the rear end and one on the axle. The latest Ford replacement seal is just one thick seal, and you remove the part that went on the axle itself. The book and TSB calls for using the slide hammer and a 3 jaw configuration to pull the seal out. In reality, a screwdriver worked much better. The 3 jaw was a 2 man tool to use, and it just bent the seal outward in 3 spots. Probably because mine was rusty. Anyway, a screwdriver worked slowly was the best method. Ford just doesn't want you to beat up the rear end housing, because it's aluminum.