4.4l Rear Axle Replacement Issue
 

Hey gang,

I am stuck - literally- on replacing my rear axle on my 2004 4.4i.

I did the research and RealOEM said that the part number was 33207500917. I found the GKN axle with that part# on ECSTuning, but it said it only fit the 3.0i. I reached out and they assured me that it would fit my 4.4l and I couldn't find any other info that would lead me to believe that there is a 4.4i specific part. So I ordered it.

I'm following the Pelican Parts DIY on replacing it. Got it out (after busting my rotor, but that was my fault) and got the new one in. It hooked up to the diff just fine. But the wheel side has been a severe pain in the behind. I have spent several days on this at this point and cannot for the life of me get the axle far enough through the hub to get the collar nut on it. I spent a good 2 hours last night placing a 2x4 between the backside of the axle and the knuckle and hitting the hub with a rubber mallet.

It's really close to getting the threaded part of the axle out far enough and I think that if I can just get to the threaded part I can get the collar nut on there and then pull the backside of the axle flush like it should be.

My concern is that this is just way too much force to try to get this done and it should be easier. The axle I pulled out looked the same, but the part # differs by one digit - 33207500916. RealOEM doesn't have a page for that part and when I google it I only really get used Ebay results which makes me think that maybe 917 is the same part just slightly revised? It doesn't look like the axle is side specific in any way.

Has anybody replaced a rear drive axle on a 4.4i that could share some insight? I can get the axle back out if I had to, but I've come so close I didn't want to repeat all this work again if I didn't have to. I didn't grease or lube the hub because the DIY didn't mention that and I've watched plenty of Youtube videos of axle replacement and they haven't had to use anything like that.

The rear axles can be a real bear to get back into the splined hub... I used a good spread of anti-seize on mine and it still took 30 mins to get it back in. Some folk use an old axle nut, machined down, reversed and weld to a socket, as a tool to draw the axle in.

Sorry to hear your having troubles. I’m guessing rust & corrosion on the hub is what is making the axle difficult to install. Your either going to need to remove the axle & clean out the spline areas of the wheel hub. I use a triangle shaped file & yes it’s time consuming but it works. Or you can try to use the axle nut to help you if your close. Flip the nut over backwards & if it will start on the axle shaft & you can get say half a turn out of it, you can tighten it up with a pair of channel locks or similar & then use a combination of prying &/or continued hitting of the rotor to help pull the axle through. This is also time consuming but it does work. I’m assuming you have an OEM new axle nut or one of identical design. The original design allows you to insert it into the hub & grab the threads well before you can with it installed the proper way.

Yup. Super pain in the ass. I’ve had to resort to a mini sledge before. Put old rotor on to protect hub and give it a few whacks with a sledge.

Thanks for all your suggestions!

For fear of damaging anything I took it back out and tried one more time to not much luck. I did some more research and found that I had run into an issue with the DIY. They use this tool: https://cdn4.pelicanparts.com/techar...mall/pic12.jpg to get the axle out. I cheaped out and used the three prong claw axle puller from Harbor Freight. It did it's job to get the axle out, but was obviously no help in getting it put back in. I believe the tool they used is supposed to work both ways.

So I went ahead and ordered this drive shaft puller from Amazon. I found a Youtube video where a guy used it on a 7 series and I think it's going to do what I need it to do.

If it doesn't work I'll have to go and look at getting the old nut welded to a bolt like wpoll or flipping the nut like kmm111 suggested. I had cleaned out the hub real well and used BP Blaster, soapy water, and WD40 with no luck.

Hopefully the tool is here by this weekend and I can get this baby buttoned back up. This is the biggest job I've attempted on a car so I'm not surprised I've run into issues, but thanks for chiming in and I'll be sure to update the post once I get it fixed.

Every time I put my E53 on the hoist to do something, there's always some sort of issue that takes me double the time it would normally take to address the initial task/problem.


Nothing has come easy on it, but I do it for the rarity of it :)

I haven't had issues getting the axle into the hub... it takes a BFH err rubber mallet and a couple good hits on the other end, as long as you know the threads are lined up.

If you have the axle out already, you can be sure if it’s going to go in easily by sliding it in backwards from the outside. I always test fit axles this way at work & while most of the time there are no issues it’s always that one time you find that issue that saves your butt!

4.4l Rear Axle Replacement Issue
 

I spent 90 minutes getting nowhere trying to get the axle into a hub on the 4th time I changed a wheel bearing.

Then I loosened the bolts that hold the carrier to the shock and to my utter amazement the rubber boot from the CV acted like a spring and SHOT the axle right through the hub.

You could probably achieve the same results using a jack to lift the hub carrier. I put the hub on the axle with the bolts all loose for the back then you can wiggle the hub every direction.