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Hi, today she gave up on me. 243500 miles. Went to shift her into drive and she wont move. No reverse either. Engine sounds good, and I can rev her but nothing else. Attached are some pictures. I looks like the boot is ripped on the axle pretty bad. I do hear like some grinding on the right hand side and when I pushed the car I also heard it. Transmission fluid was low and I re-topped it. There does not seem to be any metal in the fluid although it is reddish-brown. I do not notice any leaks that look like transmission fluid. What am I up against? I appreciate your help. Before this happened the car was vibrating really bad.
Can't tell from the pics if the axle is broken. With the RH wheel in the air LH on the ground car in park try rotating the RH wheel. It should not move.
Your axles are toast.
You need replacements.
No use of regreasing them and roll the dice if they are still good.
Boots been ripped like forever.
No signs of grease anymore.
Dry as a bone.
As for not moving, either the acles are just spinning or its a trans issue.
Tried moving the wheel as directed above, it did not budge. I also notice that the control arm, not sure if this is what its called seems to be bent downward. This may be causing this as well. I may try to change them both. Thank you all again for you comments and continued assistance. Did not make it into the garage so cold weather here is Chicago adds to the repair stress .
Your axles are toast.
You need replacements.
No use of regreasing them and roll the dice if they are still good.
Boots been ripped like forever.
No signs of grease anymore.
Dry as a bone.
As for not moving, either the acles are just spinning or its a trans issue.
Would one broken axle cause the entire car no being able to be moved? In this case it look like the passenger side is bad.
Hi again. Okay I was able to get the ball joint off. Any tips on how to remove this motor mount? I need to remove it as the control arm is also broken. There is a bracket that I think needs to be removed. I took 3 bolts out, but not sure if if I should proceed. Thanks!!!!
Take out the 3 17mm nuts from the bottom of the mount.
2x4 under the oil pan and jack it up till the mount clears.
(Take the upper dog bone mount off for more clearance)
Sometimes the lower mount sticks on the bracket.
Hit it with a hammer and it should cone loose.
Even w/torn boots, etc., these axles turn and work. This seems to indicate it is not the axle:
Tried moving the wheel as directed above, it did not budge. I also notice that the control arm, not sure if this is what its called seems to be bent downward.
So based on the advise given, the axles are functioning normally. As they should, they are extraordinarily failure-resistant.
Engine sounds good, and I can rev her but nothing else.
Then it sounds like a transmission problem.
Any work you do to the axles it not wasted; they have been badly neglected. Your statement about the control arm being bent is worrisome - can you explain? Maybe it does indicated a broken element.
I would not hold out hope that replacing an axle with a bad boot will suddenly put Humpty Dumpty back together again...
Even w/torn boots, etc., these axles turn and work. This seems to indicate it is not the axle:
So based on the advise given, the axles are functioning normally. As they should, they are extraordinarily failure-resistant.
Then it sounds like a transmission problem.
Any work you do to the axles it not wasted; they have been badly neglected. Your statement about the control arm being bent is worrisome - can you explain? Maybe it does indicated a broken element.
I would not hold out hope that replacing an axle with a bad boot will suddenly put Humpty Dumpty back together again...
i have a torn boot on one of my axles. 99 es with 205K. it runs without any noise. is it safe to keep going or should i be lookiing to replace the axle soon. i dont want to spend on it right now as i am just recovering from a 1900 trann repair. can i have it regreased ewvery time it goes for an oil change? will it make it last longer?
If you've caught it in the early stage you can just repair the boot but if it had dried out or there's a lot of grease sprayed everywhere it may be too late.
Sorry for the extremely late update. It was the axle. But let me tell you - it was a terrible experience getting it out of the differential. With 250k miles on it, IT WOULD NOT BUDGE. I tried everything (air hammer, slide hammer, chain to sledge hammer, heat you name it. The bearing would not slide out of the bracket. I ended up going through 10 high grade blades with my zaw saw, cut one half off to access the bolts to remove the bracket, then went to a local machine shop for them to use a hydraulic press to push it out. They needed their heavy duty press to get it out. Wow. Reinstall was a breeze. So word of caution - if your vehicle has this many miles, be ready for a brutal tug of war.
Thanks for the update. A couple of ways to free up that bearing hang the axle vertically and fill the carrier with penetrating oil and leave it like that for a week. Or smack the end of the axle against concrete but in your case probably would have done nothing. Amazing the bond rust can create.
Sorry for the extremely late update. It was the axle. But let me tell you - it was a terrible experience getting it out of the differential. With 250k miles on it, IT WOULD NOT BUDGE. I tried everything (air hammer, slide hammer, chain to sledge hammer, heat you name it. The bearing would not slide out of the bracket. I ended up going through 10 high grade blades with my zaw saw, cut one half off to access the bolts to remove the bracket, then went to a local machine shop for them to use a hydraulic press to push it out. They needed their heavy duty press to get it out. Wow. Reinstall was a breeze. So word of caution - if your vehicle has this many miles, be ready for a brutal tug of war.
Need to replace axle on both sides for my 330. Which axle did you use to replace?