Ok. SO I'm kinda new to the car repair thing. Any time my car needed repairs, I called my Daddy and he'd do the repairs while I assisted in order to learn as much as I could. Now I live all the way across the country and the fixing over the phone just ain't working for me too well. My 4WD 2007 Escape has started knocking and when I crawled under it to maybe see if I could identify the source I noticed that the center drive shaft was missing a bolt. Could this be the source of the issue or could I have a larger problem? Please understand that if you know the answer to this you are talking to a woman who is fairly intelligent but knows only a little about cars so you'll have to break it down Barney style to me.

 

Well maybe a bit more information is needed. When is your Escape knocking? Over bumps, during acceleration...... can you be a bit more specific when it's doing it? Also how many miles do you have on your Escape?

OK, so I have a 19 year old daughter who drove my Escape this last year until I got her a new car for Christmas, so in Barney style "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family... Sorry I watched Barney (the dinosaur) for the first couple of years after my daughter was born, every time I hear BARNEY, that song plays in my head, like brain virus...HA, HA....

So any other info may be helpful, you could be on the right track with the drive shaft bolt missing, if nothing else it should be replaced.

Take Care!

Scott

 

Ok Scott. Here goes... The knocking starts primarily upon acceleration but continues when my Escape reaches highway speeds (60mph) My Escape has a little over 54,000 miles on him (his name is Ernie) and has has the rear axel replaced because of an accident. If it is just that the bolt needs to be replaced, what do I need to say to the clerk at a parts store in order to get the right part? See what I mean by Barney style?

 

Well, first don't underestimate your knowledge of cars, you seem to know more than most folks out there in the world. That sound does seem to indicate a possible problem in the drive train, since it sounds like a very consistent noise. I don't have AWD so my experience with that is well nil, in your case. You may want to get the part at a Ford house, your description is dead on, and you could take some pictures (cell phone camera should be fine) of your drive shaft where the bolts missing to show to the parts person. Plus at the Ford house they can pull up parts diagrams, so it makes it easier to identify the part that's needed. There have been times when me and the parts guy have both had to look at the diagram on their computer screen to identify the right part. If you're in a big city, you may just want to take it to a drive shaft shop, (but you are only going to find a place like that in a very big city) Maybe the bolt was broken, or damaged in the accident, and wasn't noticed. But I would get that replaced as soon as possible, if that is your drive shaft making that noise, you don't want to damage it by driving it. Sorry I don't have any more experience with AWD, but maybe someone else can chime in.

 

I have a PDF of the driveshaft with a diagram, numbers, etc. but we can't attach a file in this forum. I can email it but here are the numbers/names listed in the PDF.

4B496 Front driveshaft-to-transfer case bolts(6 required)
3N341 Universal joint cap bolts(8 required)
W705891 Center bearing support nuts(2 required)
4639 Universal joint cap straps (2 required)

 

A PDF file would be awesome!! Alitorby@gmail.com. Thanks!

 

The PDF is in your mailbox.

 

Bill, looking at the diagrams that you sent me it looks like the part that is missing is the center bearing support bolt.

Scott, I have to say that I really don't know too much about cars and how they run because, comparatively, I don't. However, I have also been known to put some boyfriends to shame with what I do know and have been able to keep less than honest mechanics from being able to pull the wool over my eyes. I think its important for females (males too) to know enough about the vehicles they drive so that if something does break, they know how to get it fixed.

Thank you both so much for your help. If this part doesn't fix the problem, I'll be back with more question.

 

One of my Dad's favorite quotes is "the biggest sin of all is ignorance"! Many years ago I was a service manager at a auto repair shop. The mechanics were paid on commission, so keeping the mechanics, the owner of the shop, and doing the right thing for the customer was a true balancing act. Everyone should know the basics about their house, their car, their health, and their fiances, otherwise someone may fill you full of it..... and take advantage of you! So my hats off to you girl, and your Dad, for giving you some of the life's lessons that we all need to learn. Hope replacing the bolt is the cure to the problem. The good thing is, no one is going to take advantage of you young lady!!!!!

Take Care, God Bless!

Scott