03 XLT 4dr - Front axle retainers ?

[Captngeetch]

Hey all...hoping someone here can answer my question and/or provide the actual part(s) i need.

I have a pair of Explorers, an 03 and an 04. Both are xlt 4.0 4wd. My 03 has been making a thumping noise in the front end that starts after around 10 mph. It's louder on right turns and is almost nonexistant on left turns. It's not the hubs and I have already done the balls joints and upper control arms. I checked the cv half shafts and the passenger side seemed a little wobbly, so I decided to take it off and check it on the bench. Well when I went to remove it from the diff, the entire axle was sliding out with it and there seems to be a lot of play on the extension tube opening. I figure I will need a new seal there, but is there a bushing at that location as well ? Does the shaft have a retaining clip inside the diff ?

I gather the axle isn't supposed to come out with the CV shaft. I'm capable of doing the work, just need a hint as to what the heck the parts are called that I need. Google has been no help. Would love to have a diagram of it, it would help tremendously.

TIA

 

[DaaQ]

The whole CV axle assembly comes out the way you described. The end that goes into the diff has a circlip on it between that and support from the hub assembly and knuckle that's all that holds it in.
The front CV axles are not terribly expensive on rock auto. Exception of the motocraft ones.

 

[Captngeetch]

The whole CV axle assembly comes out the way you described. The end that goes into the diff has a circlip on it between that and support from the hub assembly and knuckle that's all that holds it in.
The front CV axles are not terribly expensive on rock auto. Exception of the motocraft ones.

Ok..so I can pull the whole shaft out of the extension tube ? From all the pics I've seen of the CV shafts I thought they had a stubby female end and there was an axle shaft in the tube that it slide into. So there isn't a bearing on the end of the extension tube in front of the end seal ?

 

[bizzs]

I replaced the front CV joints on my 03 XLT last summer. There is a good video by a1 auto on youtube that shows each step. I bought the replacement parts from advance auto online and picked them up at my local store within an hour. One hell of a deal! Both sides are not the same part. Each side was over a hundred dollars. I placed 2 separate orders using the 40 percent off of 100 promotion, saving myself 80 dollars.

The job was not too bad, but 6 months later, I learned a valuable lesson. I had my explorer up on the rack the other day and notice that the seals were leaking. Stupid cheep ass me should of spent the extra 15 dollar and replaced the seals. I now have to pull everything back out. Just be careful that the new axle and seal is lubed up good with the axle fluid and carefully insert the CV back into the differential so it does not rip the seal. I guess this is where I made my mistake.

Good luck,
bizzs

 

[lincolnshibuya]

I replaced the front CV joints on my 03 XLT last summer. There is a good video by a1 auto on youtube that shows each step. I bought the replacement parts from advance auto online and picked them up at my local store within an hour. One hell of a deal! Both sides are not the same part. Each side was over a hundred dollars. I placed 2 separate orders using the 40 percent off of 100 promotion, saving myself 80 dollars.

The job was not too bad, but 6 months later, I learned a valuable lesson. I had my explorer up on the rack the other day and notice that the seals were leaking. Stupid cheep ass me should of spent the extra 15 dollar and replaced the seals. I now have to pull everything back out. Just be careful that the new axle and seal is lubed up good with the axle fluid and carefully insert the CV back into the differential so it does not rip the seal. I guess this is where I made my mistake.

Good luck,
bizzs

you need to use the seal protectors too, they're just plastic that protects the seal when you remove and replace. lesson I learned is that the motorcraft seals are better than aftermarket, they might be expensive compared to aftermarket but worth it (seals are cheap anyway relatively compared to other parts)

ford revised the design of the rear seal so that the seal protector is not required, i'm not sure if there were revisions for the front..

 

[fordysenior]

ok, embarrassing, but I'm going to admit to a bone head move. I replaced the left front hub assembly on my 4wd last week. I reused the axle and the nut -- I tightened the nut down and then saw metal shavings from the nut being applied. It was not difficult to tighten the nut -- as in cross threaded. But looking into it, apparently when you remove the axle nut you should throw it away and buy a new one (learned after the fact). So I've purchased a new axle from O'Reillys at $80. I figure I should replace it just for safety and sanity. But this is the first I've heard of "seals" or seal protectors. Can someone fill me in please since I was thinking of doing this project tomorrow. I've never worked on a 4wd.

 

[lincolnshibuya]

this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Axle-Seal-P...:g:Y7QAAOSw9N1VrCHV&item=261973769951&vxp=mtr