ok. i did it YAY.

i took the axle nut off whil the van was down, jacked it up. realised the shock was going to have to come off. so took off the shock and the up-limit bump stop. next I cranked the wheel all the way left, and with a 10" extension i used a T-45 i believe to get the axle flange bolts off.

HOLD ON! whoah, 2 of the axle bolts are different? what the_____!? dang. ok i spent 4 hours trying to:
A. find the right tool, and B, trying to get them off without the right tool.
see, y aknow those 12 point sockets? well they make freakish 12 point bolts to go with em. NUTSO WEIRDO bolts. they look like their rounded off, or chewed up pretty bad. anyways.

so before you even start this job go get a 5/8" 12 point socket. cuz you need it, and dont even assume you already have one.

ok, then with the van blocked up, and the suspension let down, I removed the "grease cup" and spacer from the axle end. then I pushed the inner end of the axle up into the 1:00 position above the plate it mates to. then threaded the axle nut back onto the shaft to protect the threads, and banged it out with a hammer. once it broke free i held the inner end way up in that 1:00 position, and pushed the hub end out by hand.

then getting the new axle in was worse!

I took off the caliper and disk for more room to see what I was doing in the dark.

i tried the reverse of taking the shaft out, nope, couldnt get it to line up right, but a few ups and downs of the suspension arm on the jack maneuvering the shaft around a bit got the splines into the hub enough to thread the axle nut on. so then I cranked the nut down as far as I could to suck it into the hub, freeing up space behind the shaft to put the grase cup and spacer back on.

then it was some gumption and persuasion with a hammer that got the flange back in line with the drive plate it mates to. lining up the hole is a pain.

the holes for the 12 point bolts are threaded in the grease cup spacer, so you have to use those bolts in those holes, hard to tell which holes they are untill you get the bolt in there. if it pushes all the way in to the drive plate with no threads, a torqs bolt goes there!

after mating up the shaft that was it, just put the shock back on and the up-limit bump stop in, and the caliper and disk. oh, take the axle nut off put the washer onto it and put it back.

no i did not take the upper OR lower ball joint loose, or anyhting else but the shock and bump stop and caliper off.

now my brakes are grinding. I saw last night they were into the rivets on the back side, but figured it would wait till i got paid, nope. so today i have to do the brakes. sigh.

 

Hey Koala,

That's a great write-up on what at first seemed like a simple task. But we all know that nothing is as easy as it first seems. I don't suppose you took any pictures of the ordeal?

 

i think i would have loved to be a fly on the wall when this was all going down cause im sure there was a few words that was said that we dont need to repeat lol as like most of us with the 4wd we've been there an done that 1

 

my wife first suggested that I take pictures. but, i would have gotten the digital camera so greasy in the process, I decided not to.

in hindsight i should have, then maybe i could have sold the instructions and pictures to chilton, who in their infinite wisdom decided to omit that entire repair from their aerostar repair manual!

I called the dealership and got a quote for the repair once I was done. they said parts and labor would have been $587 bucks! so I got paid to learn you could say.

and as for choice words.... actually, i didnt cuss too much, except for when I finally got the axle out something like "oh yeah! who's your daddy now, sucker!" came out. and that was more an exclamation of joy rather than anger. ha ha.

anyways. I also got the brakes doen the other day too. i love the hammer and flathead screwdriver technique that is all thats required to do the brakes on these rigs. I bet if you were stuck in the middle of nowhere and needed to do the brakes you could get by with a rock and a car key to tap those pins out! some things can be so easy, and then others so hard. WHY?

 

I use an old 3/8 extension to drive out those retainers. Fits perfect.....almost like it was made for the job.

 

LOL glad to hear you got it. Now its my turn the right side CV joint has started popping so I'm off to the store to get a new one.

 

like i said, dont forget to get a 5/8 12-point socket while you're there. you need it.

 

I got a load of snap-on sockets. I just hope it pops right out. If not I got a 50oz ball peen that can help it out.

 

I am getting ready to do the same thing on BOTH of my halfshafts for the first time...having trouble getting the retainer nut off...any suggestions?

 

the axle nut?? leave the tires on, on the ground, use a 30 mm deep socket, and a big breaker bar. the drivers side for me was threaded normally. the passenger side may be reverse threaded (righty LOSEY lefty TIGHTY).

then once you get the nut off, thread it back on over the threads to protect them while you work, cuz the parts shop wont take it back as core is the threads are screwed up!

did that help?

 

hey, i just noticed they edited my words up there when I blanked out the actual cuss words! "oh yeah, whos your daddy now, sucker!" ?? i didnt say that! lol

oh well. you get the drift.