Has anyone replaced their front outer CV joints and if so, where did you find them and what did it cost? Mine are clicking going down the highway. None of the web driveshaft businesses have this particular CV joint. The Ford dealer says Ford discontinued them in April this year and they were listing for $767.17 EACH! One CV business I have dealt with in past states the Aerostar uses the same CV joint as the Taurus but I can't confirm this. Would appreciate any help.

 

I replaced the complete half shaft on my '95 about two years ago and paid about $120 for it at Pep Boys. If I remember correctly, Schucks (aka Kragen and Checker in other locations) could get it for about the same price but didn't have it in stock. NAPA also had it but cost quite a bit more. I hope that these places still can get them because I have to do the other side now.

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 14-Jun-01 AT 11:57 AM (EST)[/font][p]Mikeman, does your '95 use a U-joint as the inner connection? There was a change after 91 to a different style/type of half-shaft (of course I have the old style) and I am wondering if I might need to convert to the newer one. Also, is there sufficient room to remove the front CV splined shaft from the hub by disconnecting the single bolt below the upper ball joint and allowing the suspension assembly to move outward-or will the lower ball joint also require removal?

 

The factory book shows using a special puller ( Cv Joint Puller T86p-3514-A1)to remove the front wheel half shaft after the lower ball joint & stablizer is removed. Also said the front axle wheel hub nut is a torque pevailing design & can not be reused. What pullercan be used instead of the Ford one?

 

Read the book again and you do not remove ball joint but disconnect it. With the lower bolt removed you swing it outward & do some prying on the bottom. Also they use another special puller to push the cv joint out of the rotor hub. How tough is this. I have a 93 AWD Aerostar and I do not lok forward to buying more special tools.

 

I don't know if the inner connection is a U-joint. It's covered by a boot and I never looked.

On the passenger side, I was able to remove the complete halfshaft without disassembling any of the suspension. I did have to remove the wheel and brake rotor. I have the factory service manual for '91 and '95 and if I remember correctly, the '91 didn't require any suspension disassembly either (I can look it up when I get home if it's of any help).

Avanti, if the puller that you are referring to is the one I'm thinking it is, then you can use a two or three jaw type puller with the jaws fitting over the hub flange that the wheel studs are pressed into. In my case, it didn't take much force to push it out. I just turned on the puller nut by hand and it broke free. To avoid the shaft getting stuck in the future, coat it with oil or anti-seize before installation. On the other hand, my friend's Honda has a half shaft that is frozen in the hub so badly that he broke his Snap-On puller trying to remove the half shaft.

 

The CV half Shafts are $99.00 at Autozone. I recently replaced the outer boots on mine and got a price on the whole half shaft just in case the boot replacement didn't go so well. As far as a puller, basically it threads onto the lug studs and pushes on the cv shaft. OTC MAC and many others sell a puller for this and they vary in price from $20 to $80 for the attachment to their slide sets.

As far as removal, instead of removing the ball joints and fooling around with the coil springs, I would remove the front differential. It is only held in by 4 bolts and doesn't take that much to get it out of there. You also don't have to worry about messing up the alignment. Then when you push the cv joint out of the spindle the front differential is out of the way and you will have alot more room to work.

 

Aerocolorado, I just replaced my driver side CV half shaft and paid $120 for it at Schucks (there was a $100 core charge). The shaft on my '95 has CV joints at both inner and outer joints, so it sounds like it's not the same as what is used on yours.

The only parts of the suspension that I had to take off were the shock absorber and the rubber bump stop. I also removed the caliper and rotor so I could press out the shaft using a regular three jaw puller. You almost have to be a Houdini to get the shaft out but it will come out without taking the suspension apart further. I would suggest practicing installation with the old shaft once you get it out and pay particular attention to how you remove it.

 

Follow up to earlier post: Prior to 93, the halfshafts used a conventional U-Joint on the inner sides. Very little effort involved to replace and no special tools required. Just remove the outer axle retaining nut, unbolt the four bolts holding the inner joint to the axle shaft, push the halfshaft outwards to create some room and pull it away from the inner axle flanges. At this point just use a large brass punch and knock the outer axle shaft out of the bearing/hub assembly. You can create more room by removing the shocks and jounce bumper. You don't even need to take the tires off or put it up on a lift - if you're reasonably slim!

 

I may be in the same boat here (93 AWD) and want to confirm I have a CV joint problem (thought it was rearend, boy can noises travel funny). I put the vehicle on 4 jackstands and ran at low speed in drive. The "droning" noise I hear while driving sounded again as if from the right front. I had my wife get in and I held the right front wheel (which was the one turning) and the noise stopped. Let go, noise started again. No noise on the left side while the right side was held. Does this sound like a CV joint problem?

Thanks,
Mark Biederbeck

 

 

CV joints typically announce failure/wear with a distinct clicking sound. A "droning" or rumbling/grumbling sound is usually from worn bearings or U-joints. If the bearings are at fault on the right side, there should also be some detectable play in the wheel assembly - either up/down or side/side. Bearing wear to this point should also manifest itself in atypical wear patterns on that tire and causing the brake pads on that side wear unevenly - one side will be worn down more than the other. Its also possible the sound could be coming from the front differential with a worn side gear bearing on the right side. One thing to check is to see if the top front differential support bracket has broken, allowing the differential to drop down onto the cross member brace. I don't know how many times I was underneath before I discovered my broken support bracket. Normally, the front diff is about 1" above the cross member.

 

Replaced left half shaft on 96 Aerostar.

1. Removed axle nut before jacking.
2. Jacked and removed tire.
3. Unbolted innner joint from flange.

At this point, the old shaft separated and
came out easily. Getting the new one in
was a bit more complicated:

My $69 replacement shaft did not include
the inner joint end cup. This was fortunate,
since the new shaft would have been too long
to slip into place with the cup on, adding
about 1" of length. At this stage, I also
found it convenient to detach the upper
shock mount and remove the lower-arm
up-limit bumper pad. After slipping the
axle out through the hub, I was able to put
the cup in place on the inner end and
bolt the inner joint back onto the flange.

4. Tightened bolts of inner joint to flange.
5. Reattached shock and bumper.
6. Mounted tire and lowered vehicle.
7. Tightened axle nut.

 

Are you still there areocolorado? I'm currently trying to change the boot on the pass. side CV. Are the 4 bolts holding the 1/2 shaft right hand thread? I'm having a tough time even loosening one of them. While I'm under there, the front diff has a seal leak on that side. There must be and internal pin holding that shaft in place, right?
Tony

 

I'm still here but man is this thread messed up. I am not the author of it but I do remember replying. In answer to your question, if your van is pre 1993, the inner joint is a flanged conventional u-joint. The reason the bolts are difficult to remove is the liberal use of treadlocker at the factory. Try heating the bolts gently with a propane torch, this will soften the threadlocker making it easier to remove the nut. There is no internal pin holding one flange to the other. There is a slight depression the two flanges share but nothing that will prevent separation once the four small bolts are removed.

After re-reading your post regarding the pin, if you are refering to the axle shaft coming out of the front differential then, yes, the shaft is held in place internally by a large "C" clip, the same as in the rear differential. To remove the axle shaft you must remove the front differential to have access to the cover. I'll caution you to apply a penetrating oil to the nuts on the four large mounts that suspend the front diff. Do this several times over a few days if possible. The reason being, those suspending mounts are large flat headed bolts encased in rubber, similar to motor mounts. If you over torque the nut, the head of the bolt within the rubber will tear loose before the nut releases. If that happens, you are up the proverbial creek as there is no way to hold the bolt while you remove the nut. These mounts are really expensive ($80.00 dealer only) so you want to be careful when removing them.

As for the replacing the boot on the half-shaft, you may want to price a rebuilt unit. By the time you invest in a boot, grease, clamps, special clamp pliers, etc, there is very little difference in price. If your current boot has been torn for awhile, there is likely a lot of road grit in the joint which will greatly accelerate joint wear.