Question about drive shaft/cv axle/hub assembly.....

[PxPx]

So, I have a few questions......

First let me fill you in on the background info. I have a 2000 Explorer (Eddie Bauer, V8). I took it into the shop a couple weeks ago, b/c I was hearing this sound (it reminded me of the sound a bicycle makes when you put a playing card or baseball card in the spokes) except it was metal and metal (instead of card and spokes). I heard it mainly as I was going at slower speeds, as I got up to 35-40+ I very rarely heard it. If I did, it was barely audible! Never heard the sound while I was braking or had my foot off the accelerator. It isn’t effecting how the brakes/tires/turns, left or right work. There’s wobbling, etc of the tires goin down the road....nothing!
The shop calls me back and says that: The drive shaft needs to be rebuilt, The cv axle and the hub assembly both need replaced as well. At first, the guy told me it was gonna be $2500 then, $2000 then, by the end of the conversation it was $2300! I asked him if he could get me a list of all the parts that I needed (so I could possibly look for any of those parts at a salvage yard, @O’riellys, etc) and he acted like he would. I got to the shop to pick up my Explorer (he said he would put it all back together for now, since I don’t have $2000-$2500 to fork over for the time being) and asked him about the list....he starts tellin me “oh thats to much to pay for what that Explorer is worth and blah, blah, blah“. In other words, he wasnt gonna help me now. I frankly don’t care if he thinks its not worth it for what the vehicle is worth. It’s worth it to me!!! As weird as it sounds the Ford Explorer has been my dream vehicle since I was in high school! (I graduated in ‘98)
So, I drove it home, didnt hear that sound anymore at all. Until about 2-3 days ago, I started hearing it again off and on.

My questions are:
1) If all of those things were bad at the same time, how was the only symptom I was seeing/hearing was that noise? How was I able to drive normally with the exception of the noise?

2) Does it make sense that I couldn’t use those same parts from a different Explorer....and that I couldn’t replace them one at a time as I could afford it? Those are both things the shop said I could not do.

3) Does that much money sound right for replacing those parts all at once?

4) Does it sound right that the drive shaft has to be “rebuilt” instead of just “replacing” it? Thats what I was told by the shop.

5) Is any of this work something I could feasibly do on my own?

I am VERY sorry for this post being so long. My Explorer is so special to me (Ive had it for 3yrs) and I dont want to have to give it up unless I absolutely have to!

 

[PxPx]

There’s wobbling, etc of the tires goin down the road....nothing!

There’s NO wobbling....

 

[gmanpaint]

Well, first off, do not go back to that shop. To be all over the place with pricing in one conversation, with nothing changing in the work or parts, is enough to say run away. His choice to tell you your vehicle is not worth fixing, either means he is just rude, or he seen more wrong with it, and knows it will need more $$ and labor to keep a float. Kind of sounds like he priced it high, so you would not hire him, and if you did, he was going to get paid high for it.

If the Driveshaft needs to be rebuilt, it's just U-joints, tube, and yolks/flanges. Depending on which part needs work, this can cost as low as $20 to $200 in parts, then labor to install. If you replace brand new...On the high end of the spectrum $500 to replace either front or rear shafts. Low end is what ever your salvage yards charge, $50?

A hub unit takes me about 30 mins to change out from start to finish. Aftermarket Costs around $100 new. I wouldn't replace with a used unit, unless in a pinch to limp it back home. Very important part, and can be a safety issue if it breaks fully.

Since replacing the hub unit, the CV had to be removed from it, and now it only takes a mere minute to remove it all the way, and the new CV installs in seconds. Aftermarket is less than $100 part.

Ok, Now since you said that nothing happens when turning, do you mean no clicking sounds or no difference in feel/handling? When CV's start to go bad, they will click when stressed while turning. If you ever seen a cut away view of the inside of those boots, you would know why. When they finally break all the way, the boots normally split open, and all the bearing grease is set free to paint the area surrounding it.

If the CV, Drivelines, or Hubs aren't the issue, and you have the AWD 5.0L, you might want to think about your 4404 transfercase causing the noise. More research will be warranted for you.

 

[Mbrooks420]

The front drive shaft is a CV joint. These fail, and often make ratcheting sounds. SUPER common failure on the V8s. Take your car to a driveline shop. Have them rebuild the CV end of your driveshaft. Won’t be super cheap. DO NOT buy a remanufactured unit. They have an extremely high failure rate under 10,000 miles.

You can remove the driveshaft and test for the sound. It will drive just fine without it and not hurt anything. The truck WILL creep in park. Block the tires when parking during testing.

 

[masospaghetti]

Based on what the mechanic said, my assumption is that he's talking about the front driveshaft and CV joint "hub", although it's not completely clear. with that assumption...

You can buy replacement Dana/Spicer CV joints (same as OE, mine is original and has "Spicer" stamped on it) for the front driveshaft (as an option to having a driveline shop rebuild the existing one). I agree, do not buy a remanufactured unit, they will have low quality parts.

I have not done this job myself, but I've heard it's pretty simple to do.

Rockauto lists the Dana/Spicer joint:

 

[Mbrooks420]

The problem with those joints is they reuse the factory shaft splines. If your driveshaft is noisy these are probably worn. The kit I had installed was a cut, weld, and rebalance. It’s essentially a brand new driveshaft.

 

[PxPx]

Ok, Now since you said that nothing happens when turning, do you mean no clicking sounds or no difference in feel/handling?

I meant feel/handling when driving and turning. I apologize, I should’ve specified more.

 

[PxPx]

Thank you very much for your replies, I really appreciate it! It looks like I have a bit of research to do.

There are several things I don’t understand about all of this. But, I am trying to gain the knowledge I need to be able to either, do some of these repairs on my own or know when the mechanic is giving me a load of crap.

One thing I forgot to mention in my original post is.....When I went to pick up the Explorer from the shop, the evening of the aforementioned conversation with the mechanic, they did something while putting everything back together that caused the “sound” to completely go away. That was 2-2.5wks ago. I had been driving it around town until 3 days ago when said “sound” came back. Still no change in the feel/handling of the vehicle! I don’t get it.

 

[Mbrooks420]

What are you confused about? I’m sure someone here can explain it in a way you can grasp it.

It’s possible they packed something with grease.

A failed driveshaft CV wouldn’t cause any drivability or handling issues.

 

[gmanpaint]

I once had a clicking noise that eluded me. Turned out it was a simple backing spacer was missing on a brake pad. I had forgot to put it back on when working on something else that needed the caliper removed. Lol

Sometimes you just need to roll up your sleeves, tear into it, and find the cause yourself.

 

[C420sailor]

The Dana/Spicer joint listed above is an entire, assembled unit that you need to bring to a driveline shop. I did this exact job two months ago, with that part. $200 for the joint, and $110 for mount and balance—they carefully cut the old one off the shaft with a lathe, pull it out, press the new one in, weld, and high speed balance. Really cool process to watch. Throw in a $10 u-joint and you have a fully rebuilt front driveshaft shaft for a little over $320.

Getting the shaft in and out isn’t hard, but make sure you chock the rear wheels very well.

 

[masospaghetti]

The Dana/Spicer joint listed above is an entire, assembled unit that you need to bring to a driveline shop. I did this exact job two months ago, with that part. $200 for the joint, and $110 for mount and balance—they carefully cut the old one off the shaft with a lathe, pull it out, press the new one in, weld, and high speed balance. Really cool process to watch. Throw in a $10 u-joint and you have a fully rebuilt front driveshaft shaft for a little over $320.

Getting the shaft in and out isn’t hard, but make sure you chock the rear wheels very well.

I thought replacing the CV joint was basically as simple as pulling a locking clip and sliding off the assembly?

 

[Mbrooks420]

I thought replacing the CV joint was basically as simple as pulling a locking clip and sliding off the assembly?

There are replacements like this. They use the worn factory splines that can get damaged when it fails.

 

[C420sailor]

Not only that, but they require you to clamp the boot to the nub yourself—and there have been people on here who have gone through 3 of these kits in 1500 miles due to torn boots, to the tune of $300. Apparently clamping the boot perfectly isn’t as easy as it sounds. If the boot tears, the grease gets slung out, and the joint is toast in short order.

I figured do it once, do it right...it’ll be freshly balanced and last another 200,000mi. My 98 V6 has 306k on the original CV, and it’ll get this same treatment once it goes out. The V8s eat them up.

 

[410Fortune]

the awd eats them up not the v8 power

Clicking sound is very likely the cv portion of the front driveshaft, as stated above

$2300?!?!??!! These guys should be put out of business, sounds like they were trying to take full advantage of you.
Many of these shops will quote unknowing people prices like this in hopes to get to keep your truck, meaning repair is $2500, you decide screw that, they say we will give you $500 for your truck, you do it, they fix issue for $150 and sell truck for $3000.......happens ALL THE TIME.
Or they simply repair your truck using $150 worth of parts and charge you $2300 so they can go have beers and give each other high fives. The beer is so they can sleep at night with a GUILTY Conscious!

 

[Mbrooks420]

Whatever, bro. It’s that legendary fury that is the 5.0. Long live the pushrod.

 

[PxPx]

It’s possible they packed something with grease.

A failed driveshaft CV wouldn’t cause any drivability or handling issues.

AH HA! Thats makes a lot more sense then.

 

[PxPx]

$2300?!?!??!! These guys should be put out of business, sounds like they were trying to take full advantage of you.
Many of these shops will quote unknowing people prices like this in hopes to get to keep your truck, meaning repair is $2500, you decide screw that, they say we will give you $500 for your truck, you do it, they fix issue for $150 and sell truck for $3000.......happens ALL THE TIME.
Or they simply repair your truck using $150 worth of parts and charge you $2300 so they can go have beers and give each other high fives. The beer is so they can sleep at night with a GUILTY Conscious!

Well, this DID happen during in the middle of the countywide Corona Virus lockdown!

 

[C420sailor]

When mine was shot, it sounded like the serpentine belt tensioner was clattering...I could’ve SWORN it was the serp...

But it was the shaft CV. Totally blown out, loose as hell, clattering around at part throttle.