2004 sport-trac..... 4wd started to make noise 7 hours away from home.
.... no shops open to repair or diagnose..... can a guy "divorce" the front diff by pulling driveshaft and cv axles.... basically want to stop internal rotation of ring and pinion in front diff....

I dont think there are any negative repurcussions doing this ? The hubs are a sealed assembly, meaning all the center nut is doing is keeping the axle n place right...?

At least until I get home this would be an acceptable practice right ??

Thanks for your help and merry christmas !!!!!!

 

Don't pull CV axles unless you want the wheels to fall off! Once the nut is out all bets are off~! You are probably better off cutting them and leaving the the thick stub part in the axle.
96 have a vacuum disconnect to cut off one wheel from the diff.

Pulling the DS on a 4wd probably is ok, on an AWD it will move in park.
merry christmas!

 

I thought these hub assemblys were a sealed unit, and the only thing the nut is doing is holding the cv in place???? On a chebby youpull the whole hub assembly off a one piece , and replace with new.... there arent any ccup and cone bearings to worry about keeping a torque value on.....
I know its a ford lol but surely it cant be much different.....

Also on the 04 the front diff s always engaged , its the tcase that selects.... front driveshaft always spins with the speed of the pinion... no residual drag...

Thanks !!!

 

My wife,s mountineer is two wheel drive . It is an o4 4.0 ltr .I just put a right front wheel bearing on it . It was the same as 4wd bearing . It has the hole and splines for a cv axle ,but no axle . The origional was the same way .

 

You have a sport-trac, which I believe is similar to the older 96-01 exes:

The 4wd have a 1 piece sealed hub. It is pretty identical to a FWD car (like a taurus or continential). The nut helps keeps the hub unit from coming apart. Someone took off their axles on explorerforum and the wheel came off a mile later. Would you run an FWD car without a nut? Just saying what I heard. What they do suggest is cutting the axle at the joint.

The 2WD STs and pre 2002 2WD have the spindle set up like you find on old school RWD cars and trucks. They have the the races and bearings in the rotor and a shaft on the spindle.

Check a parts site and you will see...The parts seem the same as what I would use on a my 96.

JWC has an 04 Monuty, which is a gen III truck. These have a sealed units for both 2wd and 4wd. The hub design may be different, since I believe they use the same hub for both configs. I can't suggest removing axles on the older design, that is something you would have to look into further.

 

Ive done research throughout the day..... found some videos of hub repair and from what I can find..... it seems like you can remove the cv from thw hub assembly without any serious repurcussions..... from all I can find on the cv nut.... all it does is lock the cv into the assembly.. seems to be a full collar between the two bearings....

Mine is a gen 3...whick has the one piece hub assembly. No spindle.no lock not.... sounds to be identical to the mountaneer setup... thanks again and merry christmas

 

ok, thanks for that info. Just wanted to be sure!

 

If any doubt is still there , you do not have to cut the axle . Just remove the boot clamp and knock off the outer joint .Reinstall , done . I do think it is a seald unit though . A parts house can confirm the bearing app 2 or 4wd .

 

Your saying just to cut the outer boot.... remove the inner axle mounting bolts.... and let the ***** fall out ?? Lookimg for the easiest way to make my 4wd not have any rotation at all... plus , im doing all the work outside in -20 celcius weather.... remove front driveshaft cut boots and pop off inner axle bolts that hold axle to diff assembly ?

Thanks again !!!!

 

I think you should cross reference your front bearings to a 2 wd . If same as 4wd ,just pull axels , then good to go . I am no expert on the parts , but if like my 04 2wd and 4wd use same bearing . Axle nut only holds shaft in place .

 

And they are a bolt on to the diff right? Not a slide in ???

 

I do not know how the axle attaches to the diff . My o4 is 2wd . My front wheel bearings are the same as 4wd . They have the hole with splines for an axle . Being 2wd mine has no front diff or axle's . The provision is on the frame to bolt a diff on .If you cross your bearings to a 2wd ,and they are the same part, you will have no problem if you remove your front axle's .If the 2wd uses the same part it is a seald unit.The axle nut does nothing more than hold the shaft in place.

 

O'Reilly's online parts catalog shows your truck as using the same wheel bearing as my 95, which does require the axle stub to be securely bolted in place.
The inner CV joint does have a splined end, so there will be a hole left once it's pulled. I would use an expanding rubber plug to fit the hole and keep dirt from going in there once the axle is out, or heavy plastic and a zip tie depending on what it actually looks like with the axle out.
I had a Subaru that a front CV failed, so being a mechanical 4x4 car I just pulled the front axles, put the stubs back in the hubs, and drove it in 4x4 as a rear wheel drive for a couple years. Your can be done similarly, just pull the front axle shafts, plug the holes in the diff housing, knock the outer joint off the CV axle (make sure to pull all the ***** and the cage out as well or they may remove themselves on the road), then reassemble the hub and front suspension. If you have a 2wd setting, you can pull the driveshaft as well, but at most it'll just spin slowly, kinda windmilling from the movement of fluid inside the transfer case, so that step may not be needed.
If your setting options are 2wd/4x4 auto/4low then you'll be good to go. If it has AWD/4x4 hi/4x4low then you'll need to pull the front driveshaft and run in 4x4 high, otherwise it will likely destroy the transfer case in a few miles.