- Joined
- Nov 7, 2024
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- 1
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- 8
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- Location
- South Carolina
- Vehicle(s)
- Sasquatch
- Your Bronco Model
- Black Diamond
- Thread starter
- #1
At around 60k miles I experienced a failure of the front driveshaft boot on my 2021 2.7L Sasquatch. I ignored it for about 6,000 miles before the clicking got to a noise level that was intrusive, your mileage may vary (pun intended). I didn't find much about the replacement process so I figured maybe this would save someone else some time.
First off, you'll need to drop the stabilizer bar. I don't have the fancy one so it's an easy 4 bolts and you can let it dangle by the end links, makes a great headrest for the remainder of this process.
The front driveshaft is held in by 6 bolts on each end (TP40 or TP45, can't remember) but they are a pain to get to. Between the angle of the driveshaft and the exhaust/transmission pan the clearance is minimal. To make matters worse, the TP bolts suck so I strongly recommend rotating the driveshaft to get to one bolt at a time instead of trying to get them with a u-joint/swivel socket. My plan was to put the Bronco in Neutral and then rotate the driveshaft but that didn't work, looking forward to someone explaining why. The end result was that I would remove a bolt or two, then roll the truck a couple inches and get the next one. Tedious but at least easy.
Once all the bolts are out there's a small opening on the front portion of the driveshaft where you can insert a prybar or flathead and pry (compress) the driveshaft enough to slide it out. Clearance is tight but it's doable.
Here's the one tip I wish someone gave me beforehand: mark the bolts on the new driveshaft before you install it. Check the torque pattern below and label each bolt 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2, etc. Use whatever naming convention works for you, but it will make the job of doing the 2-stage torquing process MUCH easier. My other tip, buy the replacement from Ford Performance Parts. It's half the price of the dealership, presumably because it doesn't have a warranty. As a bonus it is painted.
The new one goes in rear first, then compress the driveshaft and squeeze in the front. Now for the fun part, torquing the bolts down. Again, review the pattern below and commence with the cussing. For me this meant hitting one or two bolts at a time, then rolling the truck again. Roughly 6" of wheel travel is a 180* shaft rotation. Took maybe 45 minutes and lots of up/down plus a couple busted knuckles because Torx Plus is a real blast to try and crank down.
Torque Specs courtesy of @Ducati1098 - many thanks!
First off, you'll need to drop the stabilizer bar. I don't have the fancy one so it's an easy 4 bolts and you can let it dangle by the end links, makes a great headrest for the remainder of this process.
The front driveshaft is held in by 6 bolts on each end (TP40 or TP45, can't remember) but they are a pain to get to. Between the angle of the driveshaft and the exhaust/transmission pan the clearance is minimal. To make matters worse, the TP bolts suck so I strongly recommend rotating the driveshaft to get to one bolt at a time instead of trying to get them with a u-joint/swivel socket. My plan was to put the Bronco in Neutral and then rotate the driveshaft but that didn't work, looking forward to someone explaining why. The end result was that I would remove a bolt or two, then roll the truck a couple inches and get the next one. Tedious but at least easy.
Once all the bolts are out there's a small opening on the front portion of the driveshaft where you can insert a prybar or flathead and pry (compress) the driveshaft enough to slide it out. Clearance is tight but it's doable.
Here's the one tip I wish someone gave me beforehand: mark the bolts on the new driveshaft before you install it. Check the torque pattern below and label each bolt 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2, etc. Use whatever naming convention works for you, but it will make the job of doing the 2-stage torquing process MUCH easier. My other tip, buy the replacement from Ford Performance Parts. It's half the price of the dealership, presumably because it doesn't have a warranty. As a bonus it is painted.
The new one goes in rear first, then compress the driveshaft and squeeze in the front. Now for the fun part, torquing the bolts down. Again, review the pattern below and commence with the cussing. For me this meant hitting one or two bolts at a time, then rolling the truck again. Roughly 6" of wheel travel is a 180* shaft rotation. Took maybe 45 minutes and lots of up/down plus a couple busted knuckles because Torx Plus is a real blast to try and crank down.
Torque Specs courtesy of @Ducati1098 - many thanks!
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