SOURCE: CV Joint Axle Replacement
It's not an easy job, and a very messy one! If you have never done CV's before, I suggest you take it to a CV specialist, as they will do it quickly and cheaply in comparison to the hardship you will have to go through doing it yourself. These vehicles are common for the axles rusting into the hubs and siezing in there, and often the whole hub needs to be removed and the axle heated and pressed out. The new CV's often don't come with a tone wheel for the ABS system and you may need to swap the old tone wheel onto the new CV joint, and measure the alignment of it with the sensor when refitting.
SOURCE: when replacing a outer C.V joint boot , do you
you can replace just the outter but you may want to replace the whole axle alot easier
SOURCE: How to replace cv joint on 2007 ford freestar
Although this type of job isn't a super hard one, it is not something I would recomend for a person who has little to no experience.
But, here goes.
First and foremost make sure you have some quality well made jack stands or at least something which can safely support the vehicle.
Before you even lift the van pull the e brake/parking brake the chock one or both rear wheels.
I know this is common sense and redundant, but once you have a vehicle either roll, or slip while you are lifting it. Or worse, move of a jack or stands while you are underneath you become a stickler for safety real quick.
Myslef, I prefer to place the jack stand underneath the 'cradle bolts' which hold the subframe to body. Another good point is on the subframe just forward of the control arms. Key thing of coarse being that the stands are secure with no games between the vehicle and stands.
Needed tools.
A good hammer, at least one small mini sledge/4 or 5 pound.
Sockets, preferably impact I forget with sizes exactly but I think you will need need in the range of 20-24 on the vehicles suspension and steering and a 32 or 34 MM for the CV nut.
Possibly a slide hammer for CV shaft removal(depending on how stuck it is).
Possibly a specialty torx or star type bits for the rotor.
I high recomend lifting the vehicle(safely) removing the wheel and making sure you have all the needed tools prior to starting any work.
Method #1
1st. remove the center cover (for mag wheels) or the hub caps.
2nd. Remove the center bolt which holds the CV shaft to the wheel hub. Unless you have access to an impact tool this is the best way to do it.
3rd. Remove the brake caliper and pads. You may end up doing a brake bleed later because of this, so don't be shocked if the brakes don't feel quite the same when everything is done.
Pretty straight forwards, you should be able to remove the bolts which hold the caliper assembly to the vehicle, but at worst you will need to also remove the caliper from from it's 'cradle' as well then the 'cradle' itself. Not a big deal. You could simply disconect the brake line, and leave the caliper and rotor connected to the hub assembly, but this will make a brake bleeding necessary.
4th remove the rotor, although this may not technically be necessary
I can make things a whole lot easier. This may require specialized screw driver ends/bits as some after market or even O.E.M. makers use them. I do high recomend soaking these screws with a oil such as P.B. Catalyst.
5th. Put a drip pan underneath the controll arm then spray/soak the pinch bolt and nut plus the point where the strut goes inside the knuckle. Don't skimp on the spray either, just make sure things are very well ventilated and no one is smoking near by. Go relax for about 15-20 minutes then come back for step six.
6th. Wipe the excess of fluid of the area where the strut and knuckle meet. If at all possible mark the meet point, white out, paint sticks, even wrapping a piece of decent tape around will work.
This helps ensure your camber/alignment.
7th. With a wrench on one side of the pinch bolt/nut assembly and a socket(impace recomended) with a decent impat or breaker bar on the other side loosen the nut. Removing it isn't usually as simple as it may appear. Couple ways I can think of to get it out.
One placing a wrench in between the bolt head and knuckle then prying. Another is placing a block of wood at the end of the bolt then tapping with a hammer. Then placing a smaller diameter junk bolt into the hole as to finish the removal.
8th. You will probably need to pound the steering knuckle of the struth assembly. THis can be a royal pain in the a$$. What I have done in the past is first used a large steel rod or old socket extension lined it onto a flat point of the knuckle and pounded away at the other end with a hammer. The reason for this is that there isn't many (if any) flat points on the knuckle large enough to strike with a hammer and not cause damage.
9th (optional) remove the outer tie rod from the knuckle. This may help simply that it will allow the knuckle to float.
Remove grease fitting(if necessary), remove the cotter pin(if it has one), then remove the castle nut(impact wrenches are incredibly helpfull on this).
Then, replace the castle nut as to cover at least 6 or 7 threads or make the bottom of the nut flush with the shaft. Next place a block of wood over the nut and shaft and tap with a hammer.
This should allow removal of the outer tie rod without damaging the dust boot. Also try not spin/twist or change the position of the tie rod end, this could slightly affect front end alignment.
10th. push the cv shaft from the brake side/outside of the steering knuckle through the wheel hub. You may need to 'steer' the knuck some as to find the right angle but it's simple.
11th with the shaft remove from the wheel hub the shaft might pull out easily from the transaxle. If not try a moderate pull but keep in mind pulling to hard can in fact break the boots and pull the shaft apart if it is stuck. Pry bars can be helpfull but be very carefull of the transsmission output shaft(CV shaft seal). Those typically aren't expensive or terrible to replace if needed, but that's just one more thing that could be avoided with proper tools and patience.
As far as I know Ford is like most other makers in using a C ring at the end of the CV shafts, but if possible try to obtain a repair manual to double check.
Instalation is largely the reverse, with one note.
When reconecting the steering knuck to the strut assembly use a decent floor jack to very very slowly lift the control arm/kuckle hub assembly up and allign it as need to the strut assembly. You probably will need to spray additional lube. Be extremely carefull not to lift the vehicle of the stands or supports. Once the knuckle reaches the height on the struth where you marked it re insert and tighten the pinch bolt and nut. After that it's pretty straight forward.
Method two.
1. Remove the CV shaft bolt under the mag wheel cap/hubcap
2. Properly life and support the vehicle.
3 Remove the wheel
4 Soak the bolts holding the control arm to the frame with a penetrating agent such as PB Catalyist.
5. Take a break for about 15-20 minutes.
6. Remove the control arm at the frame. Sounds simple, but without proper tools it can be a bear as one or two of the bolts may be harder to get at.
7. remove the outer tie rod from the steering knuckle.
8. Push the CV shaft out of the back of the hub assembly.
9. Remove CV shaft.
Probably the main down side of this method is your control arm being removed then re installed may require a front end re alignment.
These are the two methods I am aware of.
Best of luck.
Bill
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