So I've noticed some seepage from the left rear wheel area, obviously coming from the rear axle seal....I've also noticed an occasional "rumbling" from the same area.

I suspect the bearing is going out (if it hasn't already). This will be the first time R & R'ing these particular parts, and after searching here and the 'Net, I come up with almost nothing Crown Vic-related (1998 P71)

There are many other makes/models with descriptions of how and what to do, but they all conflict with the Chiltons for the Vic. What I'm asking for is your experience(s), and any advice before I attempt this fix.

My plan is....

Chock the front wheels
loosen the rear wheels
jack the car up, put jackstands under the frame
remove the rear wheels
remove the brake assembly from the axle (not from the car)
remove the rear axle gear cover, drain the stinky gear oil
remove the bolt holding the crosspin, slide the crosspin out
push in the rear axle, remove the "C" clip
slide the axle out
pull out the seal
pull out the bearing
clean the seal/bearing race area
pack the bearing with bearing grease
tap the bearing into place with "special service tool" (either proper tool, big socket, or old bearing) and hammer
tap the seal into place, same method
slide the axle back in (being careful to not allow the spider gear from falling out)
install the "C" clip
install the brake assembly

(repeat for other side)

push crosspin back in, install bolt
clean gasket area for cover, apply gray RTV, bolt in place, allow +1 hour to cure
fill pumpkin with new axle grease and friction lube (if appropriate to this rear axle)

Test drive.

Do I have all the steps? (I went from memory, so feel free to chime in with anything left out) As you can see, everything is "hand tools"...do I *need* a press? (Yes, "need" would be defined as "yes you can do it by hand, but it might take 4-5 hours; with a press it takes 4-5 minutes")

Questions I can think of:

Can I take the axle out by hand?

Are the bearings pressed into the axle housing, or on the axle itself?

How do I tell if I have "air suspension"?

What's a reasonable price you'd expect a shop to do this for? (assume the rear axles need replaced) Is $1000 for one side too much? (I think it is, that's my motivation for this DIY project)

I'll read everything posted, and when I do this (about 2-3 weeks from now) I'll do a proper write-up on it, complete with pics to document the process...

TIA

That sounds about right to me. you will only need the friction modifier if you have a Limited slip diff. ON a side note if you do have the limited slip diff this would be a perfect time to rebuild the clutch packs for it. The clutches (stock) are @$50 IIRC.

While I was looking underneath for my own happiness, I found this mystery thing attached to the fuel tank...Is it part of a fire-suppression system?

Evap canister.

If you have an open differential:
When you remove the pinion shaft (crosspin) in the carrier and right after get the C clip off the axle push the axle back into the side gear and re-install the pinion shaft temporarily (just put the lock pin/bolt in a few turns).
After you are done with the bearings & seal slide the axle back in place until you are against the pinion shaft then remove the shaft & slide the axle in and install the C clip.
This way you don't have to worry about the differential pinion and side gears falling out if you move or bump the carrier.
If you have a LSD the S spring will hold the side gears and they won't move

You forgot to remove the lugnuts....

Yeah, I had a book (not a Chiltons') one time that gave these instructions for removing an engine:

1. Remove hood.

2. Disconnect all hoses, wires, and bolts connecting the engine to the car.

3. Lift engine clear of engine compartment.

4. To install, reverse steps 1-3.

I mean, wtf?! There's a LOT of assumptions made in some of these do-it-yourself books.

I won't mention about home building....well maybe I will. Like not thinking, "I have an 8' 2x4, I need it to be 92", so I'll just cut off 4" off the end." 96" - 4" = 92", right? NO. Boards are always a little extra long, to account for shrinkage (except for "stud" boards). What one should do is, if they want 92", measure 92" and then cut.

Assumption: boards that are sold as 96" long (eg, "8 foot") are NOT, in fact, 96" long.

I'm just trying to preempt any assumptions about rear axles (since I've never done them before). Assumptions like....

You can pull the axle out without a hydraulic press.

You can install the bearings with/without a press.

etc.



thx

You can save a lot of money if you use a repair bearing.

Yep sounds like you have it all down.

Those do it yourself books.....Are USELESS

Project is started...

First source of stress was in taking off the hubcaps. Never dealt with the smaller types before, and as I was prying the first one, I got the impression that I was bending some plastic. I gently rocked it back and forth, and then saw how it attaches: with 3 spring-steel clips to the lugnuts.



Whew, that was a relief.

Following the Chiltons, it says that a Torx Drive bit is needed to take the rear disc calipers off (page 9-7, pic 3.6s) But on inspection, it would appear that mine will use a normal 10mm socket. (Here you can see the leakage from the bad rear seal...turning the wheel hub I can feel the grinding of the bearing inside)

Also should mention that it isn't necessary to put it in neutral or remove the driveshaft to spin the wheels (I will need to rotate the gears inside in order to remove the pinion shaft) Once the car is in the air, the rear wheels counter-rotate freely.

...And this was true until I took off the pumpkin cover. The rear axles turn freely, but the mechanism inside does not rotate.

BTW, the metal tag on the outside read:

044T

27 88 8D2

Its worth mentioning that an axle replacement is almost always mandatory if you have a bad seal and rumbling........normally, when the seal goes, you loose enough rear diff fluid for it not to make it out to the "tips" well enough and the heat and lack of lube wll take out the bearings and pit the axles......both m 98's had to have rear axle replacements, although we did use offset bearings temprorarily.

Check with local Ford dealer to see if they can prestock some axles ($90 or so each) in case you need them so you dont have to rebreakown the rear end or wait

Yeah, I had a big drain pan to catch all the oil...but only about 2-3 cups came out. Very, very low.

How long might it take to get them from a dealer?

Axles go for about $170 a pc at the ford dealership i work at.

Got the left side off...this was the side with the hard failure. I had planned on taking off the right side (so I could see what it's *supposed* to look like, but curiousity got the better of me...)


The pics say it all. First, the bearing/seal area:



Then the axle itself:

Incidentally...the Chiltons says to push in the axle in order to get the "C" clip off. I couldn't do it by hand, so I used a large "C" clamp between the axle hub (the part with the studs for the tire) and the inboard side of the brake doo-hickey.

Just turned it tight enough, maybe "three fingers" tight, and the C clip came out with fingertip pressure.

No need for a hydraulic press...yet.

it looks like you have two wear patches on the axle like someone in the past replaced the bearing with an offset bearing.
definitely need axles.

Here's the right side, it looks *much* better...

The bearing/seal:



And the axle:



The shiny bands are cosmetic only; if I squint real hard with my thumbnail, I can just *barely* detect a groove. Compare that to the left side, where the grooves are quite deep.

Also, this side I didn't need the C clamp...just pressed in with two fingers, and the C clip cleared the gear; it came out with only fingertip pressure. (I'm sure the destroyed bearings had something to do with the difficulty on the left )

All in all, very good so far. Tomorrow I'll be buying bearings, seals, brake shoes, etc. Gotta shop around now for the axle...

Called 4 places for the rear axle "half shaft"...

Ford dealer wants $234 each...

Schuck's wants $115 (and I have a 15% off coupon!)

Two other "major name" parts stores had me on hold for 5-10 minutes before I hung up.

Going to Schuck's tomorrow, they have everything for this. Maybe to Harbor Freight, too.

nice pics and writeup, if you want you might want to go 31 spline axles (stronger) since you're changing them anyway...

The first axle you picture is no good. Junk yards are the source for cheep axles. The second axle you show should probablly have a repair bearing. The repair bearing repositions the rollers so they contact a differant part of the axle. To get the old bearings out you need an axle bearing puller. Comes in sets with a heavy slide hammer and 3 puller adapters. I think the smallest one fits your axle. Snap on makes an exspnesive one of course. For the cheepest these days buy from China, about $70, I think. Mine is an OTC and it was maybe $150.

disston

I know where you can pick one up for free, if you don't mind pulling it.. (axle shaft)

I take it left/right doesn't matter?

I ordered a new axle shaft today, they didn't ask for right/left. They both measure 30 7/8" from dust cover to end of shaft, so I would think they're the same.

Is this an "offset" bearing? (Compare the blue circle to the right side, next pic) Also, the grooves inside the red circles--are they part of the bearing (assuming it's a repair) or is it part of the carnage?



Good axle pic:

Also, a question:

Given that the left side is obviously a repair, and that the seal failed, causing this event...the right side looks to be almost new, perhaps repaired at the same time?

Can I just change the seal on the right and it'd be good to go? Or is that a cheap way to future damage?

I would go ahead and get new bearings for both sides and seals as they are cheap and most likely come in sets anyway. There is a draw back to those "Saver" bearings and that is it moves the bearing inside the axle tube farther and therefore can cause pre-mature seal failure due to excessive vibrations from the axle now being supported farther back in the axle tube. Since you have a new axle for the one that was shot if you really do not feel a groove in the other side get regular bearings for replacement and you should be fine.

I tried using saver bearings in my old 98 to save me the money of getting new axles but the seals just started leaking like 2 weeks later anyway and I had to add a little fluid every other month.

I've never used a slide hammer in my life. I used to play with one as a kid (and watched others use it later on) but I've never actually operated one.

First time was today, with the Vic. I tried, but all the loose dangly things were always falling away from the remains of the bearing.

Then I decided to read the instructions. (Harbor Freight 17-pc set, btw) The instructions say to tighten the nuts, holding the hooks in place. I couldn't tighten them far enough, so it was frustrating...then I noticed the lock nut (the bowl-shaped thing between the slide and the claws) might be turned around and would then press against the upper tabs of the claws, thus tightening it against the bearing. Tightened the lock nut down, got comfortable directly inline with the axle and...

...*hey presto* it took about 4-5 good whacks with the slide, the bearing came right out!!



Off to work now...tune in again tomorrow for the next thrilling adventure!

I used a much less complicated bearing puller on my slide hammer for the axle seals/bearings on a friend's 8.8...
like this one:

The side with the original bearing and seal is showing a lot of discoloration on the axle shaft. Notice how it also seems pitted. This bearing is about to fail, IMHO. If you change the seal then change the bearing too.

Changing to 31 sline shafts will require a differant set of side gears in the diff. At that point everything else in there should also be checked. Not worth the effort unless you are a racer.

disston

The repair bearing moves the rollers and the seal out, not in. They do not always last is true. I've had good luck on my 8.8 recentlly with them. Using the single seal repair bearing which is oiled by the gear oil. There is another style repair bearing that has 2 seals. One is inboard of the rollers and the other seal is out board of the rollers. The rollers then do not get oiling from the gear oil. They come with white lube or such applied to the rollers. I ussually pack with more grease and have found them to be more dependable, if you can find them. I just ask for a repair bearing and latelly have been given the single seal type. Apparentlly the double seal type is the same part # so I don't know how you go about asking for it. The parts guys just give me their dumb parts guy look when I explain this to them.

disston

After cleaning out all the debris from the left side (the hard failure side) this is what the axle housing looks like:






I was surprised at the color and the cost of axle grease (80W-90 CL-5) The color I expected to be like motor oil, but it was a funny greenish....also at $5/quart, that's $20/gallon.

Anyway, I put the tool together, sizing it to fit inside the axle housing, but as big as the bearing.

It worked well enough (plastic discs and cheap-finished "paint", $12 at HF) but if I did this type of work I'd definately buy something higher quality. I don't think the plastic discs would last more than 10-15 jobs. (I could be wrong, though) Otherwise, the bearing was quite easy to put in. A dozen moderate whacks using a small 3-lbs sledge hammer and the bearing was seated and square.





The only "oops" so far was when I took out the seal on the good side. The first time the bad seal popped right out (duh--it was destroyed) but the second one was in there a bit tighter (duh--it was still good) I applied a bit of force to it, didn't move, so I shifted to another spot on the seal and worked my way around it...soon enough it popped out *but* I noticed a little gouge in the axle housing.

Trip to Sears, bought a set of needle files (I've needed them for awhile now anyway) and smoothed it out.

Funny thing is the package to the seal-popper-outer says "will not gouge". Oh well, chalk it up to silly me, the guy who usually uses a screwdriver...

Right side is done:



Here's the view from the rear bumper, the pinion shaft is down to hold the gears in place.



...And here's the left side, with good bearing and seal, but ***horrible*** brake shoes. I'm going to have to replace those before going anywhere.

+1

the discoloration shows that part of the axle has be exposed to high heat, the pitting in time will get worse and eventually wear out the bearing.
also, a *barely* detectable lip could be as much as .010 which means a total (top and bottom) of .020 play between the axle and the bearing, it will probably last for a while but i would plan on having to replace that side eventually too.

Yup, changed the bearings and seals on both sides. Very easy job, once I had the tools it would only take 1-2 hours I'd think...and that's not working up a sweat, either.


Not a racer...I still get confused over the gear ratios...2.53? 3.27? 4.(something)? One is good for mileage, one is good for off-the-line starts...

I have a 3.27 and it goes fast enough for me.

By discolored, are you referring to the really bad axle shaft?



Yes, that one's being replaced. It had terribly deep grooves, there's no way it would even contact the bearings at this point (That's probably why it has two grooves--it failed once, and somebody put in an "offset" bearing, which also failed.)

Question is--why would the bearing/seal fail *twice* on one side? Am I looking at a future fail issue, and if so--what is the likely cause (so I can fix it now, while it's apart)?

hat goes on with taking off the seal where the driveshaft meets the rear end?

I don't understand your question.

Wouldn't you need a "zurt" fitting to routinely grease the rollers?

sry my computer was acting up.
What about when your looking at the driveshaft where it meets the rear end, how hard is it to do that seal?

Ah, the ol' finger-keyboard interface...

I've never done that part of the drivetrain. I've done the U-joints and the tranny seal, but not at the pumpkin.

it looks tricky, if the Chiltons' instructions are useable...The instructions refer to using a torque wrench to "measure and record the torque required to turn the pinion nut through several revolutions (pinion bearing preload)..."

Perhaps someone else has done it and can advise...?

That's the pinion seal.



You have to drop the driveshaft, take off the pinion nut, use a 2 jaw puller to pull off the companion flange, remove the old pinion seal with a screwdriver, take out the old crush sleeve and put on a new one, install the new pinion seal, put on the companion flange and use the impact on the pinion nut to suck it in - you need to torque it down to spec for proper bearing preload, then reinstall the d/s.


Getting the preload on the bearing will be the hardest part. Anytime you remove the pinion nut install a new crush sleeve.
Buy two pinion seals. If the first one gets [censored] when installing it's trash.

I actually got that at Harbor Freight also (I decided to splurge and buy several types). At least, it looks similar, yours may be higher quality.

The HF one didn't work--the smallest one just barely fit the inner races ("barely" = 1/16"-1/8" on the edges, easily falling out).

Middle size was too big (I would've had to grind off 1/8" to get it off-kilter and aligned to use) It was kinked in the axle housing. I returned it after wiping it down, still in new condition.

Wouldn't you need a "zurt" fitting to routinely grease the rollers? [/quote]

No place to put a zurt. Have never owned one long enough to have to worry aboit it.

Repair bearings and forget about them until next time. Then take apart again and start all over again.

disston

I got the new axle today. The wheel studs will need to be pressed in ($20 at a local shop) *and* guess what? It came with a new seal and a new bearing!



That would've saved me $25 if I'd known about it prior. Oh well, that's the purpose of this thread--to give people a heads up on what they can expect when changing bearings/seals/axle shafts.


Oh boy, looks like I get to drive The Vic tonight...

A couple of points and questions:

1. CVI_Everett_WA--this is one of the most lucid, informative, and best photographed writeups I have seen in a long time. If I was still in the magazine biz, I would hire you in a second!

2. dRock96Marquis, Liquid, JohnG -- Once the thread is finished, I recommend moving this thread to the 4.6 Archive for the benefit of others looking for info on axle bearing replacement.

3. CVI_Everett_WA -- Where did you wind up getting your axles from? Are they Ford OEM? How much? Any trouble moving the ABS ring to the new one?

4. Re: "Zurt fitting" -- They are correctly called "zerk fittings," named after its European inventor, Oscar Zerk.

Thank you!

I don't know if it's a Ford axle--just ordered it from Schucks, it came in a plain brown box.

I checked out both axles, and except for the damaged area on the original, they were identical. What is the "ABS ring"?

I did some research (I need to do axle bearings on mine too), and the axle you have is a Dorman product. On the 1999-2000 model, it is Dorman #630-205. These replacement axles include the ABS ring, bearing, seal, and wheel studs.

Beleive it or not, these things are available directly from AMAZON!! The link for the 1999-2000 CV rear axle is here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CGIMPM/

The price is about the same as that ordered through the partsamerica.com site (Kragen, Shuck's, etc.)

The ABS ring is the stamped steel "toothed" cylinder just inboard of the wheel mounting flange. In combination with the ABS pick-up sticking through the backing plate, it provides a pulsing signal (proportional to wheel rotation) to the ABS computer.

"The wheel studs will need to be pressed in ($20 at a local shop)"

Just get a little stack of washers and suck the studs in with the lug nuts.

Sounds like a good idea, I'll have to remember that for next time.

I've been digging around in the archives (since I know they exist now) and found a thread related to rear seals...seems I got off lucky (or maybe they didn't!) It has great pics and options if the slide hammer doesn't work.

An axle on my mother's 98 MGM w/ 220k miles was worn almost 1/8" at the bearing, so get those high-mileage cars in for a tune-up!
I'm glad the dealership worked on it

what seals and bearings would i need to order and from where for a 2002 crownvic sport?

Thanks

either from ford or http://www.rockauto.com or any autoparts store will have all of it probably on the shelf.