[perfectspace1]

ok so i have a 2003 ford mustang v6 engine......it was hit by an excursion of all cars....and now the rear driver side is making some noise from the axle....some one told me it could be the bearings or the axle could be just a little tweked and need replacing....either way....i dont know how to do either of these things...if anyone could help me out with a step by step on changing out the rear axle or changing the bearings ....or could recomend a good website with some kind of walk through on the process i would appreciate it....THANKS A LOT TO ANYONE WHO REPLIES!!!!!!!

[CyberPrey]

Changing an Axle / Bearing... (open differential.. it will be different if you have a trac-lok, or other locking differential)

(Disclaimer... Some of my references can be confusing.. I am a HORRIBLE teacher.. I know how to do it, but am somewhat poor at relating instructions to someone who has never done things before. I HIGHLY recommend a Chilton/Haynes manual be purchased to assist you on almost everything. They are not the best books, and if you have money hit the ford dealer and get their shop manual... thats INCREDIBLY detailed on everything.. however, its also WAY more spendy than the chilton/haynes)

be VERY sure to look at everything carefully.. take pictures if you need to in order to remember how things are held together.... Take notes, put bolts in a bag, whatever it takes in order to assist you in reassembling the parts correctly.

Jack up car
remove tire on axle to be changed.
remove brake caliper, and associated hardware.
remove rotor
put an oilpan under the center of the differential, and remove the 10 cover bolts and let the oil drain out.
slowly roate the differential until you are able to see the end of a silver rod going through the end of it... If there is a bolt there that looks like it holds the rod in, your on the correct side... If not, rotate to the other "side" of the differential.
remove the bolt holding the spider gear rod in.
SLOWLY rotate the differential until you see an "open" side where you can see the spider (small gears) inside it.
On the side you wish to remove the axle on, push the axle INTO the car... it won't go far, probably about 1/4"
Now when you are looking at the differential and gears, you will see that either the axle is sticking out of the gear to where you can easily remove a C shaped clip. Remove this, you can now slide the gear off the axle. VERY IMPORTANT - Behind the gear is a shim... that MUST go back in when you assemble the spider gears, and it goes BEHIND the spider gear - aka you put on the shim, then the gear!!!!
If you can not see the C clip, then easily push the spider gear BACK towards the 'side' of the differential. It should move easily, and expose the c clip.
Now that the C Clip is removed, you can simply go out and grab the axle and pull it straight back. It should come right out of the vehicle with little difficulty.
If you need to change the outer axle bearing, now is the time. For this, you will need a Bearing remover. This is basically a slide hammer with an adapter that inserts where the axle was, and hooks onto the bearing. Using this, you can remove the bearing.
Installing the new bearing can be annoying, but i generally do it by inserting the bearing into the housing and lightly tapping it with a brass hammer to start seating it.... Then I hold the OLD BEARING up next to it, and use said hammer to drive the new bearing into its position. You MUST make sure the bearing is firmly seated exactly like the old bearing was... and it must be UNIFORMLY seated... by that I mean seated firmly ALL around..

Now, you can install the new Axle, and simply reverse the directions to assemble it.

There are several websites that can show you the insides of the differential, and actually have WAY better walk-throughs than what I just typed. I encourage you to look some up. I also encourage you to not be to afraid to try things... if they don't work, or you can't get it, simply bolt the car back together and then take it somewhere.. but never be afraid to try things on your own first... its how you learn. be patient, EXPECT to make a mistake or two... don't get discouraged when you do, just go back and fix things....

Hope I helped a tiny bit.

[mdvaldosta]

I guess there's nothing else to say

[itschristorres8]

CyberPrey took out the fun...

heres also something helpful, buy a haynes mustang manual

VERY HELPFUL

[scubasteve041186]

haha he did say buy a haynes manual or a chilton. anyways thanks for the walk through.
kinda curious if you wanted to put one up on changing a rear end from a 7.5 -> 8.8. since it seems you have a bit of experience.

[CyberPrey]

To be honest, I haven't done a 7.5 to 8.8 change yet... Key word being yet I'm going to be doing that to my car this winter, and if no one has beat me to it, I can definitly post a quickie type guide on it.

Its just WAY COOL when your car shows up in the unofficial featured ride....I just wish it would happen!!! heh heh heh

[scubasteve041186]

haha awesome hey by any chance do you have msn cause i'm hoping to do it this winter as well haha

[perfectspace1]

seriously thanks a lot for all your help CyberPrey
.....started my little rear axle project today and it is off to a damn good start....havent ran into any problems yet!!!! your walk through helped a lot!!!! thanks again!!!

[232stang]

ya i got a haynes manual. couldnt have changed my clutch without it. well i probably could but the torque settings for the bolts and nuts are really nice to have.

[CyberPrey]

Glad I was able to help out

[itschristorres8]

Originally Posted by perfectspace1 seriously thanks a lot for all your help CyberPrey .....started my little rear axle project today and it is off to a damn good start....havent ran into any problems yet!!!! your walk through helped a lot!!!! thanks again!!!

if you plan on modding your car i hope you chose an 8.8 rear axle...

[perfectspace1]

getting married in septmeber so need to save up till then....but after that...then yeah i plan on changing quite a few things on this car.....i already have some of the basics like the CAI and exhaust......but that is all for now.

[232stang]

my mom has an excursion. id hate to get hit by it. hell i tied a rope to that thing and then to a pipe that i put on my core support. put it in reverse and straightened out my core support
but ya if your gonna fix it grab one off a gt in a scrapyard. that way both wheels burnout

[perfectspace1]

ya know for it being an excursion and going as fast as it was....it didnt do hardly any damage....just the driver side rear panel...and a little to the bumper....wasnt even enough to deploy the airbags......and then the axle...but it could of been a whole lot worse!!!

[FTHOODV6STANG]

i just got a new axle i have a 8.8 with 4.10s with posi was not cheap but was worth it