Can I start a 'new" discussion on rear axle wear?

My 90k mile 2003 p71 has deep grooves in the rear axles..

How common is this?

what is the fix besides feeding it $500 worth of new axles..

Seems like the bearing rollers should be longer to provide more surface area for the bearing to ride on. Why doesnt ford catch these things?

thanks for the replys

VERY common .....



BTW ... The repair kit is part # 3W1Z-4A109-AA.

Ive replaced two axle sets in my old Vics before. You can also use special offset rear axle bearings, whcih simply relocate the axle/bearing contact point inboard a bit. The axles run last time I got them around $90 a piece. If you need or want a posi rear, then axle swaps are a great time to do them as the diff housing and planetary gear assembly must be removed to slide off the axles.

You don't need to remove the diff to slide out the axles - just the diff cover.

After the rear calipers, rotors and and ABS sensors (if equipped) are off (and the wheels of course! ) remove the pinion shaft from the differential (normally a 5/16" bolt holding the shaft in)
Then, just push the axles in. You can use a pair of needle nose pliers to grab the c-clips out, then the axles will slide right out of the differential side gears and axle housing

Once you start pulling pins and draining the case, you might as well get whatever else done in there to save on labor costs later.

And FYI, the bearings can go without making noise. I suspect the 3.73:1 gearset I had was sheering microscopic shredings that were gritting up the diff oil. If you get a leaky axle end seal, it can stop the gear oil from reaching the bearing loc and cause excessive heat and the same failure.

awesome thanks for the info...

here is what i found. Took 5/16 bolt out and the diff pin and tried to puch the axle sin to get C clips off but they wouldnt go in far enough. I discovered the ABS sensor contacts the ABS gear ring.. so I removed those and even then had to turn the axle to a certain spot so the back of the wheel stud didnt contact part of the emergency brake shoe.

here is a cell pic of my passenger axle bearing.
Im chasing this problem, because I have a mystery vibration that started about 100 miles ago. It feels liek a bad U joint.. but the driveshaft is fine..

There is however some play in the tailshaft of the trans. I dont remember there being this much play in the past..

so i am wondering if the axle bearings are the source of the vibration.. or just another problem..
we will see.

I purchased some offset "repair bearings" today..
there are OEM axles on ebay for 45 each..

might buy a pair of axles ...
just not sure.

I am sure of one thing, THIS DESIGN SUCKS!

oh ps. since i have a p71, i do have trac lok. I am considering pulling the spring out tho and sliding an extra clutch disc in there.. a trick i learned long time ago on fox mustangs..

I am also temped to swap the 3.27 out for a 3.55.. this car just dies with any added weight.. it falls over terrible on the gear shifts..

I do plan on filling flushing the case our from each end and filling it up with Mobil 1 synthetic...
i will more than likely pack an extra clutch in. I probably wont do the gear swap though.

Look sliek the repair bearing moves the bearing surface farther out towards the hub. the bearing has a built in seal.

Careful putting in too much clutch packs, yo might end up getting some chatter.....dont forget the obligatory redline addative, might make chatter less of an issue.

Too many clutch paks does lead to a little chatter. I will be adding the additive.

Ouch! THat axle shaft looks bad!

Don't use that axle over!

They're case hardened, which means that only the outer layer of steel is actually hardened. Once you wear through the hardened layer, as you have, they axle becomes substantially weaker. Going down the highway and having your axle shear off would really suck, IMO.

The good thing is, you can still use the repair bearings if you can't return them.

I bought my first CVPI, a 96, dirt cheap; I had to have it wreckered to the shop, because the axle shaft was actually sheared off, and the right rear wheel was dangling by the brake caliper.

Well there are Indian made axles on ebay for 45 each...

also these are 31 spline axles.. pretty beefy compared to my old stangs.

Kellydood... im curious about your nos setup..been wantign to play round with the spray!

If you have a track-loc, now is the time to rebuild it!(New clutch pack).

My axles went out at 93K miles, I saved the axles and put in off-set bearings (cost a lot less than new axles). It's been over 30K miles so far with no problems.
I did at that time upgrade to a track-loc diff with 3.55 gears. Big difference!

We have 28 spline axles, man; 31 splines are found in limos, Cobras, trucks, etc.

Yeah man, PM me anytime with nitrous Qs. To give you an idea of the performance increase I saw from the mods in my sig, I whupped my friend's stock automatic LS1 GTO from a dig...twice!

On second thought, I don't think I could have done it without my trusty Go Rhino pushbar (on the CVPI, they have the same effect as decals like NOS or other performance parts companies, which is about a 30 to 40 whp bump upon application).