Front driveshaft CV joint keeps failing - Options? | Ford Explorer Forums

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Front driveshaft CV joint keeps failing - Options?

briwayjones

Manual Master
Joined
December 11, 2003
Messages
4,409
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8
Location
Maryland, USA
City, State
Eldersburg, MD
Year, Model & Trim Level
2000 Ford Explorer XLS
Ok, My Mom has a 2003 Ranger FX4, Manual trans., manual transfer case. It's fully stock.

Last year the CV joint on the front drive shaft (transfer case end) failed at about 160,000ish miles. It looked like the boot just got torn up and it lost the grease. We replaced it.

Now about a year later and only about 20,000 miles more the same thing has happened. The boot went on it, the grease went, and now the joint is failing. Looking at it, it looks like the angle is too steep. The boot looks like it constantly rubs on the collar of the joint. But everything is stock and hasn't been changed.

So I guess my question is are there any options other than replacing the CV joint that costs about the same? I found some drive shafts that replace it with a universal but they are off-road oriented and are $400 plus. Plus the impression I've been getting is it's too steep of an angle for a single u-joint setup? And I haven't found any doubles. And I'm sure they wouldn't be cheap. So it seems the joint itself is strong enough, the boot just keeps getting torn up because of contact.
 






Tom Woods can make an adapter to use a flanged u-joint setup. I used a first gen shaft that was shortened with an off the shelf flange Spicer 211229x. This gives you a double cardan shaft. Then the adapter will use 4 of the original bolts with 4 12mm bolts through the driveshaft flange
 






Tom Woods can make an adapter to use a flanged u-joint setup. I used a first gen shaft that was shortened with an off the shelf flange Spicer 211229x. This gives you a double cardan shaft. Then the adapter will use 4 of the original bolts with 4 12mm bolts through the driveshaft flange

Who is Tom Woods and how much was the adapter?
 






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