CV joints and Ball joint question | Ford Explorer Forums

  • Register Today It's free!

CV joints and Ball joint question

toddious

Explorer Addict
Joined
December 27, 2003
Messages
1,054
Reaction score
3
City, State
winter park, FL
Year, Model & Trim Level
1996 Limited 4x4
I am getting new lower balls joints put on in the next week or so. I have a 2" TT on the front, and have had it for about a year and a half. Is replacing the CV joints something that would be easily accomplished while changing out ball joints?

I am having the work done under the table, by a friend of a friend. He already told me he would put new shocks on, for the same price as the ball joints, because he will already be in there. Wondering if the same might hold true for replacing CV joints, but I have no idea where they are located, or how much of a process it is to replace them.

Anyone wanna fill me in? Thanks, Todd.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year or try it out for $5 a month.

Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





More than likely he would have them out, or at least have the nut that holds them in the hub off. This means that all he has to do is pop them out of the diff.

If you do replace them, keep the old ones for trail spares. I have broken quite a few CVs on the trail, and it never hurts to have a spare. Also check out Auto Zone for you new ones. I got my last set there and they were a pretty fair price along with a Lifetime Warrenty.
 






Todd your CV joints are on the front axle shaft. There are 4 of them 1 net to the diff the other next to the spindle in a plastic boot. It is going to be a lot cheaper to replace both axles. Plus i think the axles are not rebuildable.
 






Todd your CV joints are on the front axle shaft. There are 4 of them 1 net to the diff the other next to the spindle in a plastic boot. It is going to be a lot cheaper to replace both axles. Plus i think the axles are not rebuildable.

not sure why it would be cheaper to replace both axles. and what do you mean that they are not rebuildable?

What is the price for the front end only (roughly)? And what all would I need to buy? Thanks, Todd.
 






A quick and EASY search on AutoZone.com will tell you that they can be had for $59 each. There is also a core charge, so trail spares may be out of the question unless you have some extras layin around. You will want to search for CV halfshafts.
 






A quick and EASY search on AutoZone.com will tell you that they can be had for $59 each. There is also a core charge, so trail spares may be out of the question unless you have some extras layin around. You will want to search for CV halfshafts.

yeah what he said:thumbsup:
 






A quick and EASY search on AutoZone.com will tell you that they can be had for $59 each. There is also a core charge, so trail spares may be out of the question unless you have some extras layin around. You will want to search for CV halfshafts.

well, as I state before, I wasn't sure which parts I needed. Nothing is listed as "CV Joints" which is what they are commonly referred to on this forum.

What about the other parts on there, "CV Boot Kit", "CV Halfshaft Seal", etc.... Should I get any of those?


Originally Posted by cgriffin_5139 View Post
Todd your CV joints are on the front axle shaft. There are 4 of them 1 net to the diff the other next to the spindle in a plastic boot. It is going to be a lot cheaper to replace both axles. Plus i think the axles are not rebuildable.


you said there are 4 of them?

Still not sure what you mean by "the axles are not rebuildable"?
 






Here is what a axle shaft looks like and no you cant just replace the CV joint. You have to replace the whole shaft like the one on the bottom of the pic.
 






well, as I state before, I wasn't sure which parts I needed. Nothing is listed as "CV Joints" which is what they are commonly referred to on this forum.

What about the other parts on there, "CV Boot Kit", "CV Halfshaft Seal", etc.... Should I get any of those?


Originally Posted by cgriffin_5139 View Post
Todd your CV joints are on the front axle shaft. There are 4 of them 1 net to the diff the other next to the spindle in a plastic boot. It is going to be a lot cheaper to replace both axles. Plus i think the axles are not rebuildable.


you said there are 4 of them?

Still not sure what you mean by "the axles are not rebuildable"?


I think he means that you can not rebuild the cv axle like you can with a drive shaft or something similar. The joints on a CV shaft are basically a bunch of large ball bearings in a cage that allow the the joint to move. The only thing you can really do to them is grease them, but useually by the time this would need done, the joint is already shot. And shy away from those quick boots, they are a nightmare. One thing you may want to look into is your outer axle shaft seals. If they are leaking, now would be a great time to replace them. But PLEASE don't trust the books at the store it took them about 3 tries till they found the right seal eventhough i told them each time that it wasn't a TTB Dana 35. So don't remove your old seals before you are sure your parts store can get you the right ones.
 






thanks for the help guys. Todd
 






Back
Top