can anyone tell me how to change a rear axle on a 02 Explorer 4WD? And if this is a do-it-yourself job?

 

Why would you need to change the axel? Yes- any job can be a "do it your self" job, Question #1 R you up for the job? #2 have the tools, #3 Have the time, #4 the space. Just kidding, Yes you can change the axel, just remember to be safe.

 

the rear end is an aluminum differential mounted to the truck frame/body. there is a half shat sticking out each side with CV joints so it can have the tires move up and down with road bumps. also the two sides can move independently of each other. at the outboard end there is a hub/bearing assembly with sealed bearings. if you have a noise or failure it can be the hub/bearings unit, can the internal to the differential such as pinion bearing or ls clutch. another possibility is the alxe half shaft itself, but i have not heard of this failure. what are you trying to accomplish?

 

I am getting a Ticking Sound at low speeds from the rear. The sound is unchanged by using the Brakes. My first guess was A CV Joint. Doing searches on the Internet it looks like the price for the complete Axel Assembly with CV Joints is not to bad (<$75.00). What I am trying to find out now is if this is something I can do my self or are there "weird" tools you need to get the old one off.

One other thing that concerns me is that when I bought this truck "Used" one of the rear Diff Axel Seals was leaking. I took this to DOBBS and they wouldn't touch it claiming they could not guarantee to stop the leak and recommended taking it to the dealer. I did ~$650.00. As you can guess I don't want to cause another leak in this process.

 

i guess it is possible, but i have never heard of a rear CV joint going bad on an Exp. maybe it was damaged when removed for the seal, i dont know. IT would not be an easy job, you would need to remove the rear wheel hub/bearing/ holder assembly. you need to split the ball joint and tremove tie rod to do that, then slide the unit out a few inches to get room to pull the half shaft out. not extremely difficult, but takes about 3 hands. i would be REALLY sure that was the problem first and im not sure how you do that. i think i would jack the back end up and rotate each wheel and listen, look. maybe take the brake disc off so they dont cause a rub....... another thought is the rear brakes are disc, but there is a small drum on each side with shoes in it. that is the emergency brake and applied by hand lever. when i did my rear brakes i noticied the shoes had fallen apart. i would sure look at that first...

 

Thanks for the advice. I am going to take a close look at it this weekend.

 

The rear differential axle seal leak is very common on these. Ford has redesigned this seal about 5 times now, and finally found something that works.

The reason DOBBS won't touch it is because they are idiots. They probably did a few that came back leaking because they didn't remove the dust shield off of the axle (the new design seal is about 4 times as thick as the original, and the dust shield will rub against it and destroy it.) even though there is a TSB posted to do this with the new design seals.

Anyways.. about this noise.. it is probably NOT the axle. Could be the bearing or even some rust build up on the lip of the rotor.. or even in the rear differential.. but I can almost guarantee it's not the axle.

cadwizard, are you in the St. Louis area? I don't think DOBBS has expanded throughout the country yet. I used to work at I55 tire and auto which is owned by Dennis Dobbs (one of the DOBBS brothers). He was outcasted by his family after he tried to sue them for his share of the money they were laundering from the company. Needless to say I couldn't stand him and didn't last two weeks there.

I have dozens of other reasons to avoid DOBBS at all costs. Let's just say I've worked with several people who used to work there.. and I worked at a Firestone next door to a DOBBS.. we fixed probably five to six DOBBS screwups a week. It's a shame though, because from what I understand DOBBS has an EXCELLENT technician training program.. it's the management policies that force these techs to do "unethical" things in order to make an extra buck or two.

Anyways.. if you have any further questions, feel free to ask!