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Turn the Axle: Rear CV Axle Swap for the 2008 Explorer

It’s Sunday, January 7th and I’m taking the day off from shoeing to work on this project and this page.

šŸ› ļø Heads-up, Gearheads! While I wield a wrench with the best of them, I’m not a certified mechanicā€”just a passionate DIYer sharing my vehicular victories and the occasional oopsie. And hey, if you click on some of the shiny links in my articles, they might just lead you to a product paradise. These are affiliate links, which means I might earn a couple of nuts and bolts at no extra cost to you. Itā€™s my way of keeping the garage lights on and the content cranking. Happy tinkering! šŸš—šŸ’Ø

The problem presented as a irregular knock on the way home from our Christmas party. It can be felt in the rear end through the floor. I jacked the rear end up and turned the wheel in neutral and I could feel and see the binding.

Tools you will need

  • Jack
  • Another jack to load the suspension in order to get knuckle bolts off.
  • Jack stands
  • wheel chucks
  • T 23 for ABS sensor
  • 21mm shallow for knuckle bolts
  • 24mm deep socket
  • 36mm axle socket. I made the mistake of getting a shallow socket and it does not work.
  • Breaker bar or big ass impact wrench.

Torque specs

  • Knuckle bolts and axle nuts: 203 ft-lbs
  • Lug nuts: 100 ft-lbs