2006 Mercury Mountaineer Rear Drivetrain Kit TRQ PSA56076

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In this video, we're going to be working on our 2006 Ford Explorer. We're going to show you how to replace a rear axle. We do the passenger side, the driver side's the same procedure. I hope you like this video, and if you do, please subscribe. Also, check out 1AAuto.com -- there's a link right in the description -- for all your parts needs, whether it's an Explorer or some other vehicle. Here are the items you'll need for this repair.

Take a small pick or flat blade screwdriver and pry your center cap out. Use some penetrating oil and spray down the axle shaft. Put a 35mm socket on the nut. Use a large breaker bar for leverage, and you can remove the nut all the way and then thread it back on a little bit. 19mm socket and large ratchet or your tire iron, and just loosen your lug nuts. Use the jack and jack stands to raise and secure the vehicle. We are using a lift because we have one available. Remove your lug nuts, wheel, and tire.

Remove the two 10mm bolts that hold the caliper. With a large screwdriver, pry out to push the piston back in a little bit, and then lift the bottom up and off. We'll bungee this up to keep it from stressing the brake hose. Remove the rotor. If it doesn't come apart, you can use a hammer to hit it lightly from the back.

Under the driver's side of the vehicle, you'll want to release these. Your upper cable is your right hand parking brake, lower is the left. Pull down on this to pull it out. Release the tension and flip this bracket to release those. Then you can push those back in as much as you can.

So take a tool like this, like a clip tool, and you want to get right in here and pull this spring back as much as you can, and then you'll be able to see the tabs that hold the parking brake cable in. Now, while you hold the spring back, you can twist this so you'll feel the tabs. There's one of my tabs. Press there, bring it around, and then press both tabs. You can release the spring and then pull the cable down and out, and off.

Remove the 8mm bolt that holds the ABS sensor. Then carefully shake it a little bit and pull that ABS sensor off.

Then we're just going to lift up under the hub a little bit, just to relieve the tension on the suspension, and we're going to remove all the bolts that hold this whole knuckle in place. This one up here, there's one down here, this one here that has a nut on the back side, and then there's three that hold it, one up here, here, and here. Use a 24mm socket with as big a breaker bar as you have, and a wrench or another socket and ratchet to hold 24mm. Loosen this one, 24mm as well, and the breaker bar. This one does not have a nut on the back side. I’m using a 24mm and holding it on the back side with a 24mm wrench. Now you can just raise or lower the suspension until the bolts come out fairly easily. A hammer could help sometimes. And support under the lower control arm as you pull this one out. Then slowly let the control arm down.

These three bolts are 21mm, and so you need 21mm socket and a big breaker bar. Remove the bolts. And if you do have to use a hammer to knock this out, then we do recommend replacing your entire axle because using a hammer to drive it out will damage the CV joints.

Okay. This spot right here is made to pry, so put your pry bar here, turn your axle so you get a nice big ear to pry on, and the biggest pry bar you can find, and have the car up as high up as you can. Hold it up in there, and as you're applying pressure, you tap it with a hammer. It comes free, then you pull it out. Other people online try and do it with the knuckle and raising it up. It's just a whole lot easier to get this all out of the way and pull it right out.

For the new axle, we'll put a good amount of gear lubricant on it so it'll slip right in. Get it lined up. You might have to wiggle it a little bit to get it in and the spines lined up. Then, once you're about a half inch away, you just really push hard and get it in.

Put the knuckle back on. Push the axle through. Make sure your brake cable is up kind of in place. And you'll notice I don't have the jack under here. Everything's so loose that it moves around easily and you can get these bolts in and everything. Just put this bolt in about that far, that way you can still access the back and get the other bolts in.

Put a little bit of threadlock solution on these bolts, and twist them into place. All right, and it helps to have this one, pull this down in order to get that other bolt in. Now you can go in there and tighten these. Torque to 203 foot-pounds.

Then reinstall this bolt. Push this bolt through and put on the nut on the back side. We'll just tighten this one, this one, and the one up top until they're seated. We still want them to be able to flex so we can put the suspension up in its ride position. And these are all 24mm. You want to raise the suspension up as if it was in its ride height, and torque these to 203 foot-pounds each. Lower your suspension back down.

Reinstall your ABS sensor. Make sure it goes in straight. Tighten it up with an 8mm socket and ratchet.

Okay, put the emergency brake cable back on. Grab hold of the spring and pull it out. Put the cable through, and then push the housing back in and lock it into place.

Take the cable, pull it, insert one, and pull down on it. Get as much slack as you can. Insert and let it go. If you pull on this part right here, that's the best leverage.

Reinstall your wheel and tire. Torque the lug nuts to 100 foot-pounds. Use a star pattern. And now tighten your axle nut, and eventually we'll torque it to 203 foot-pounds. Put your cap back on.

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