gavin
Explorer Addict
- Joined
- September 27, 2002
- Messages
- 3,183
- Reaction score
- 23
- City, State
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '97 Explorer XLT AWD 5.0L
For anybody that didn't read my thread, here is why I'm replacing my front axle housing:
The circled area, is a chunk of the housing that is busted; how? I don't know yet. But there is apparently debris in there, and with the case busted, the only option was to replace it.
Luckily, I found a front off a 2005 Ranger, that had 4.10's; Exact same housing, and upgraded gearing... woohoo!
Now, on to the process.
I started last night, by removing the half-shafts. I removed the axle-shaft nut, tires obviously, tied the caliper out of the way, and removed the knuckle to upper control arm, removed half-shaft, then remounted the knuckle to the upper CA. Why? I didn't feel like fighting with stuff around jackstands. Plus, it's more stable that way
In the end, it was a damn good idea too.
Here's my new axle housing, with cover removed, so that I could inspect the innards. Everything looked fine and dandy; and with only 30k miles on it, shoot, that's 130k less than mine.
Cover cleaned up and a bead of silicone:
Cover bolted back on. Remember, just like when puttin tires on, tighten bolts in a star-pattern to help it set evenly and prevent any issues.
Here, you can see the rear-most housing-to-frame mount. It's on a torque-arm (I think that's what it's called?) and just above the rear-most lower control-arm mount. All housing-to-frame bolts have a 1/2" head.
Here you can see the passenger side mount. There is a nut on the opposite side, but they have a "hook" on them; you do NOT need a wrench on it to remove it.
Here's the driver's side; albeit hard to see. A real SOB to remove, only because there is barely any room to get your arm up there. Luckily, I'm a pretty scrawny guy so it wasn't TOO bad, but still a pain.
None of the bolts were very tight; it was easy for me to remove them with a standard 3/8" ratchet.
Naked!
Fitting the "new" housing in; the hardest part was just getting one of the mounts lined up to get a bolt through; not a whole lot of room to move, and a real PITA to do alone. Luckily, I had my dad's motorcycle jack to use. All I really needed was to lift the pumpkin up about 6 inches, and I was able to get the pass. side in first. Then I was able to hold the pumpkin up high enough to get the bolt into the dri. side, and then the torque-arm bolt.
One thing I screwed up on; I forgot to put the breather tube back on. Crap! That is a ROYAL PITA to get on. I still haven't gotten it back on, yet. I can barely get my hand far enough, and the hose to touch the breather, but not enough room to put enough pressure on the hose to get it on. I think if I get my heat-gun and heat up the rubber a bit, I should be able to. I will try and do that later, but right now I'm cleaning up my 4.10 rear axle
I hope this helps anybody out who may end up needing to replace the housing. It was a VERY easy job, really. I spent maybe 1.5-2 hours removing old housing and installing new, and that was doing it by myself. This time does not count the time spent cleaning the housing.
The circled area, is a chunk of the housing that is busted; how? I don't know yet. But there is apparently debris in there, and with the case busted, the only option was to replace it.
Luckily, I found a front off a 2005 Ranger, that had 4.10's; Exact same housing, and upgraded gearing... woohoo!
Now, on to the process.
I started last night, by removing the half-shafts. I removed the axle-shaft nut, tires obviously, tied the caliper out of the way, and removed the knuckle to upper control arm, removed half-shaft, then remounted the knuckle to the upper CA. Why? I didn't feel like fighting with stuff around jackstands. Plus, it's more stable that way
In the end, it was a damn good idea too.Here's my new axle housing, with cover removed, so that I could inspect the innards. Everything looked fine and dandy; and with only 30k miles on it, shoot, that's 130k less than mine.
Cover cleaned up and a bead of silicone:
Cover bolted back on. Remember, just like when puttin tires on, tighten bolts in a star-pattern to help it set evenly and prevent any issues.
Here, you can see the rear-most housing-to-frame mount. It's on a torque-arm (I think that's what it's called?) and just above the rear-most lower control-arm mount. All housing-to-frame bolts have a 1/2" head.
Here you can see the passenger side mount. There is a nut on the opposite side, but they have a "hook" on them; you do NOT need a wrench on it to remove it.
Here's the driver's side; albeit hard to see. A real SOB to remove, only because there is barely any room to get your arm up there. Luckily, I'm a pretty scrawny guy so it wasn't TOO bad, but still a pain.
None of the bolts were very tight; it was easy for me to remove them with a standard 3/8" ratchet.
Naked!
Fitting the "new" housing in; the hardest part was just getting one of the mounts lined up to get a bolt through; not a whole lot of room to move, and a real PITA to do alone. Luckily, I had my dad's motorcycle jack to use. All I really needed was to lift the pumpkin up about 6 inches, and I was able to get the pass. side in first. Then I was able to hold the pumpkin up high enough to get the bolt into the dri. side, and then the torque-arm bolt.
One thing I screwed up on; I forgot to put the breather tube back on. Crap! That is a ROYAL PITA to get on. I still haven't gotten it back on, yet. I can barely get my hand far enough, and the hose to touch the breather, but not enough room to put enough pressure on the hose to get it on. I think if I get my heat-gun and heat up the rubber a bit, I should be able to. I will try and do that later, but right now I'm cleaning up my 4.10 rear axle
I hope this helps anybody out who may end up needing to replace the housing. It was a VERY easy job, really. I spent maybe 1.5-2 hours removing old housing and installing new, and that was doing it by myself. This time does not count the time spent cleaning the housing.
