Hi All! I'm New 2003 Ford Explorer XLT V8 needing some help

[UneekBeebe]

So I bought me a Explorer.. it had to go through Out of Province inspection! I did a lot of work on it! it passed...all good in the hood! I know my truck is healthy and ready for road trips. well I put 2k or so on it! played with my 4x4 in the snow lots... got stuck pretty good a couple times! So then went back to the city and returned to the Mountains! If I damaged my boot that long ago! eeeps!

well yesterday I had my utility trailer on.. and when I was braking.. I was hearing sounds. I did a quick look under.. this beauty when I bought her she didn't have a spec of oil leakage! I saw lots of wetness drivers side boot.. turned truck on to turn wheel to other side then OMG! it looked like someone took a torch to it!

I am in transition right now! I usually do my own mechanics this last few yrs! I've done my axles and boots before on the Rav4 I had!
I found that it was cheaper to just buy the whole axle with boot on it then having to go to a shop and use the press etc!
I have to pay shop fees ! I haven't had to do that in ages! what the heck is a job like that gonna cost? My friend and I looked at my other boot and it is dry inside. you can hear it when you push it in...
What would be the smartest thing to do? Cause usually when I am in a area.. I will change barrings.. etc.. while there right! but this would be so much more a cost with shop fee's and canadian stupid taxes etc!

I am so stuck on how to go about this! I don't have my hydraulic floor jack with me.. etc .. I have stands..I do have all my tools with me

its late.. I'm tired.. stressed.. talking/ saying more then I probably need to!
any insight/ thoughts/ ideas/ I so could use them right now...

thanks bunches!
Uneek

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Do you have a Harbor Freight store near you? They have floor jacks, pullers, CV axle tools, and hydraulic presses. Autozone has a tool loaning program.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

not sure about in Canada, but for some tools theres this https://www.autozone.com/lp/loan-a-tool?intcmp=LAP:ADT:1:20200217:20200000:BRA:Hub-Loan-a-Tool

 

[possjustin0]

It's a bad CV axle. All you need is a new axle, jack and jack stand, breaker bar/impact (for removal ONLY), and a pry bar. Jack it up, put on stand, impact will take off axle nut. Ratchet/breaker bar to remove brakes, back the axle end out of knuckle, pry bar to pry the other end of axle out of differential.
Put a little dab of grease on the end of new axle to go into diff, push it in until it clicks. Re-assemble the rest in reverse order of disassembly. Easy job, should take no more than about an hour.