can someone please tell me how to remove the rear axles on my 2000 ranger?im pretty much a gearhead so i will figure out any directions.what is keeping them in place/? what do i need to remove to get them out?
2000 ranger,3.0 ltr,auto tranny,not 4x4.ext cab,xlt.thank you.

 

They're held in by 2 c-clips on the stub end of the axles. To remove them, you'll need to do the following:

1. Remove both wheels and brake drums.
2. Drain the differential by loosening the bolts holding the rear cover on. You may need to pry a screwdriver under the bottom of the cover to get things going.
3. Remove the cover and set it aside.
4. Turn the axles until the bolt holding the differential cross-pin is visible. Remove the bolt, then remove the cross-pin. At this point, try to avoid turning the differential as the spider gears can come out if one axle is turned too far. If you have a limited slip, this isn't as much of an issue.
5. Push each axle inwards about an inch. You will see the c-clip on the end of the axle. Usually the most effective way of removing it is to tap it off with a screwdriver or punch and let it fall to the bottom of the case. You can also try a magnet, but I've never had any luck.
6. Pull out the axle, make sure to support it until its all the way out.

This is a good time to replace the axle seals at a minimum. Its probably good to change out the bearings as well, just make sure they are FIRMLY seated in the axle tubes before putting everything back together, unless you feel like taking everything apart again.

Re-installing the axles is pretty much the reverse of pulling them out. Make sure the c-clips are seated by gently pulling out on the axles. Clean all the old sealant off of the differential cover, reapply a new bead of sealer (I use ultra black) and fill the diff till the lube just starts to leak out of the fill plug.

 

thanks for your response,sounds prtty easy to me.so will new bearings take care of the in and out slop i have on each axle? probably about 1/16" to 3/16" in total play on each axle? thanks again.

 

the cross pin, and c-clips are what controls the in and out slop in the axle, look at your cross pin closely to make sure it's not worn out, also look at the carrier to make sure the holes are not oblonged.
If the bearings on the axles are bad, take a very close look at the axle shafts themselves as the bearings use the axle as the inner race (one of my biggest issues with the 8.8" axle)

 

1/16" isn't excessive, there will always be that much side to side movement because of the distance between the end of the axle and the center pin. Its not a normal wear surface so there has to be a certain amount of movement to keep the axle from contacting the center pin all the time.

3/16" is probably on the outer limits of what would be considered normal. I know I can usually move my axles in and out about 1/8" or so and I've never found any damaged parts inside the differential.

Monsterbaby, you know you can have 9" ends welded onto an 8.8" carrier, right? Then you eliminate the c-clips and having the bearing use the axle as its inner race. Might be something to consider if you've had problems with the axles getting worn out.

 

Bart I am well aware of the different C clip eliminator setups for a 8.8, but by the time you bring an 8.8 up to spec to survive you could by 2 or 3 ford 9" axles and good gears too, plus you can get things like lockers etc a lot cheaper for the 9" but this wasn't about what I think of the 8.8 because it is pretty well documented here on FTE.
Lets just say that axle should have a bowtie on it, since it's the same thing.

 

I disagree with the bowtie comment. My ranger and my F150, and my other F150 all have 8.8's. Never had a problem. My 88 was used as a farm truck/work truck for all of its life, and now i haul engines around in it. Doesnt seem to have any problems.

Have you had a lot of problems with yours?

 

Peter, I have had a couple of them and one had some problems on a vehicle that has never been offroad, has a bone stock 302 with stock tires and driven by a 40 something yrold woman it's whole life.
Reason for the bowtie comment, well I used to work in a Chev dealership as a mechanic I rebuilt a lot of 10 bolt chevs used in the 1500 series trucks, and guess what they lasted just fine for a lot of people and some would go 200,000 miles hauling wood, grain, engines and trailers all the time but then some wouldn't make it. the 10 bolt chev axle is considered one of the weakest half ton axles ever built. Well when Ihad to start working on the 8.8 I was struck by a familiarity with how to set them up until I began to notice it was exactly the same as when I setup a 10 bolt, next I noticed the axle bearings looked the same as the chev 10 bolt and low and behold it IS the same bearing as used in a chevy axle, and same seals (which are prone to leaking) and whats this? it even uses the same bearings in the diff itself such as same side bearings and pinion bearings and I mean EXACTLY the same bearings with even the same part numbers. And uses EXACTLY the same setup, hmmmm if it looks like a turd, and smells like one it probably is.