My thoughts on CV axles - possible design flaw? (self replacement, tear down, tips on DIY-ing)

[23grayXLT84]

Again I I stated above, I apologize if there is a huge percentage of failures on non modified vehicles that show no signs of abuse or outside influences that contributed to the failures. Alarming failure rate? Any idea what the failure rate is? 5%? 50%? Are they not covering repairs under warranty? Are they denying requests for repair assistance after the powertrain warranty expires?

Only Ford and it's supplier knows the failure rate but the rate at which we are seeing people complain about this is a good indication. Go browse other forums and search for CV axle failure on vehicles that are 2-3 years old and see how uncommon it is. It's a CV axle !

Ford gets the parts for next to nothing from a supplier with little to no quality control and has likely calculated based on predicted failure rate that 1x replacement for x amount of vehicles in warranty is cheaper than fixing the issue.

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[StevenC56]

A lot of speculation. Have any of you even talked to Ford about this?

 

[801Maverick801]

A lot of speculation. Have any of you even talked to Ford about this?

Why do you think Forums exist? Speculation is literally all we can do. Let me just call up Ford and get the exact failure rates for CV axles on Mavericks because they will totally disclose that.

If you are trolling, you are doing a great job lol.

 

[StevenC56]

Why do you think Forums exist? Speculation is literally all we can do. Let me just call up Ford and get the exact failure rates for CV axles on Mavericks because they will totally disclose that.

If you are trolling, you are doing a great job lol.

Not trolling. I was in the Automotive and MotorSports businesses for over 40 years in Service. Yes, sometimes manufacturers have failures in unacceptable numbers. But there's always more to the story than any forum can accurately quantify. Some of you seem quite angry, and maybe rightly so. Have any of you been denied warranty on these failed axle/CV replacements? Have any of you been denied out of warranty assistance requests? Stuff happens, and things sometimes fail. But most often all major manufacturers do attempt to make things right. If they don't, then for sure you have the right to be upset.

 

[Bwicka]

2022 FX4, 4k tow, 28k miles, 1 inch rough country leveling kit on front suspension, 1.5 inch Eibach rear springs.

The truck started to get a slight rumble at close to 20k miles, after reading online about the CV axles, I knew this was the issue. I waited hoping Ford was going to issue a TSB or recall and a year went by and the rumble was getting worse and worse. A few weeks ago I took some friends golfing and had 5 people in the car and the bed loaded up. Upon accelerating up a hill, the truck was shaking so bad, steering wheel and whole front end was shaking back and forth in sync with depressing the throttle and I decided I needed to swap them.

Decided to do this myself to try and figure out why this is happening to so many Mavericks, the Axles are cheap, and I have serious trust issues with other people touching my vehicles (14 year Aircraft mechanic).

After replacing the axles, my truck literally drove like brand new again, I couldnt believe how bad the rumble had gotten and how used to it I was.

art Number​	Part Name​	Price​	Quantity​	Total​
nz6z3b436b​	Axle Assembly​	$111.98​	1​	$111.98​
NZ6Z-3B437-C​	Shaft Front Axle​	$113.63​	1​	$113.63​

Subtotal: $225.61​

Estimated Shipping to 84111 via Standard Shipping: $58.61​

Tax: $16.62​

Discount: -$11.28​

Total: $289.56​

Total from Tasca parts online.

I think the problem is the Right Hand Axle with the female spline on the inboard axle. This was the only axle I could feel by hand that had play, it was wobbly when I grabbed and shook it (radial play) while it was installed on the truck. Looking at the splines, it has 2 splines that dont exist, I have no idea why they would do this, there is no master spline on the male end coming out of the PTU, the Male end is fully splined. With the 2 splines missing, I think its more susceptible to increased wear from vibration. The new Axle also came with the female spline with big gaps 180degree out.

Wear on the inside of the Inboard female spline housing

When this happens again, Im only going to replace the Right hand axle and see what happens.

TIPS ON REPLACEMENT

I know alot of people might be out of warranty and looking to do this yourself, Its really not that bad if you dont follow the Ford Manual (LOL)

Ford manual wants you to disconnect the lower control arm, good lucking getting the lower ball joint out. The lower ball joint is one of the worst designs ive ever seen and as far as I can tell, its not replaceable, you have to replace the lower control arm as a whole. Do yourself a favor and spray rust prevention on the lower ball joint right now for the future, there is a recess in the Lower control arm at the top of the ball joint where salt/water can accumulate and form rust. I modified a tie rod splitting tool to make it work but decided to remove the knuckle from the strut instead. There is very little room for any leverage, if the vehicles on a lift you could more easily remove the lower ball joint

How I found it easy to replace the Axles.

-Break lugnut/Axle nut torque on the ground. (deep 32mm for Axle nut)
-Disconnect Tierod
-Disconnect ABS wire supports
-Disconnect upper sway bar link (you will need to jack up lower control arm to relieve pressue on Sway Bar)
-support knuckle with cam strap to strut
-Disconnect and hammer out both Strut Bolts
-Hammer Axle in hub to loosen bond in wheel bearing(dont damage threads)
-Pry between transmission housing and axle housing to defeat circlip on Axle (I hope your strong, will take all your body strength)

Plan on having 2 quarts of ULV ATF on hand, I lost about a quart on the left hand side after pulling the axle.

I can do each side in an hour now, really not bad.

I really hope Ford figures this out, its not a big deal for me if I have to do this every couple of years for not that much $. But I understand for most people that have to pay for this to be done, the cost can be brutal. I am guessing this will be well over 1000$ to have the dealer do this?

MISC Torques

-Lugnuts 150 lb Feet
-Axle nut 76 lb Feet + 45degrees
-Strut to Knuckle bolts 103 lb Feet + 120degrees
-Upper sway bar link 81 lb feet
-Tie Rod to knuckle 35 lb feet

Sounds just like I’ve been doing , will be sending my spare Tremor axles to get modded. Biggest problem I see with them is poor plastic type boot , instead of quality rubber/ silicone style high angle boot.am going to see what they can polish and clean up to get more angle. Will pull one apart before I send so we can compare to your stock eb style . I believe there are a 5 ball instead of the 3 ball sliders on the standard ecoboost. if you can caliper the shaft and cup ends we can confirm , but I had posted the difference of the hybrid one I had and the tremor before. The Tremor is believe an 1/8” thicker shaft and cup and the cup ends are a little longer .with what appears to be full solid with 5 weld marks ( from the inside grooves) vs. the 3 outside indented grooves like on yours and the hybrid.
if there is anyone in San Diego area with any stock eco boost pulled out willing to dissect let me know ! I’ ll dissect one of these Tremors. Would be nice to do a full side by side comparison.

 

[Montana]

Not trolling. I was in the Automotive and MotorSports businesses for over 40 years in Service. Yes, sometimes manufacturers have failures in unacceptable numbers. But there's always more to the story than any forum can accurately quantify. Some of you seem quite angry, and maybe rightly so. Have any of you been denied warranty on these failed axle/CV replacements? Have any of you been denied out of warranty assistance requests? Stuff happens, and things sometimes fail. But most often all major manufacturers do attempt to make things right. If they don't, then for sure you have the right to be upset.

Some people can't afford to lose their vehicles and toss up to FORD's shitty policy of dealer choice when it comes to loaners which puts them out of a vehicle. I'd say they earn the right to be upset too.

There are no reports of warranty work being denied, at least that I am aware of and if there are - you are correct it's probably due to a lift. That's not what we are discussing. We are discussing solving the problem to avoid the need for this common failure and warranty work at all. I am a huge advocate of NOT installing these puck lifts for this reason on this forum. But it doesn't seem to matter much when it's happening to stock vehicles too.

Here is what we know: OP had a puck lift. Probably accelerated the problem. But the problem exists with or without the puck lift, so OP decided to breakdown everything which was discussed in a previous thread about the issue long ago... maybe months ago. So it's no secret the issue exists and FORD has no plans to solve it. That's why we are here. We want to solve it. We want FORD to solve it, but that's a lost cause.

Thanks for stopping by with your two cents, but it's not adding anything of value to the discussion here. Nobody is angry btw... just agitated that you come pointing out what we already knew and are now arguing for the sake of arguing. Welcome to the forum. If you need to browse common threads to find out info, look below the comments for quick references:

 

[AlsMaverick]

Some people can't afford to lose their vehicles and toss up to FORD's shitty policy of dealer choice when it comes to loaners which puts them out of a vehicle. I'd say they earn the right to be upset too.

There are no reports of warranty work being denied, at least that I am aware of and if there are - you are correct it's probably due to a lift. That's not what we are discussing. We are discussing solving the problem to avoid the need for this common failure and warranty work at all. I am a huge advocate of NOT installing these puck lifts for this reason on this forum. But it doesn't seem to matter much when it's happening to stock vehicles too.

Here is what we know: OP had a puck lift. Probably accelerated the problem. But the problem exists with or without the puck lift, so OP decided to breakdown everything which was discussed in a previous thread about the issue long ago... maybe months ago. So it's no secret the issue exists and FORD has no plans to solve it. That's why we are here. We want to solve it. We want FORD to solve it, but that's a lost cause.

Thanks for stopping by with your two cents, but it's not adding anything of value to the discussion here. Nobody is angry btw... just agitated that you come pointing out what we already knew and are now arguing for the sake of arguing. Welcome to the forum. If you need to browse common threads to find out info, look below the comments for quick references:

I disagree. Asking legitimate questions and getting answers always helps. I asked in another thread if anyone had real data to show the number of failures. A poll was started and I didn't see alarming failure rates.
Threads on this site get overly long and it can appear that problems are worse than they are.
I'M NOT SAYING THERE ISN'T A PROBLEM.
But show me the data. A person's take on forum posts is interesting, but not data.
Cheers

 

[AF Blue]

2022 FX4, 4k tow, 28k miles, 1 inch rough country leveling kit on front suspension, 1.5 inch Eibach rear springs.

The truck started to get a slight rumble at close to 20k miles, after reading online about the CV axles, I knew this was the issue. I waited hoping Ford was going to issue a TSB or recall and a year went by and the rumble was getting worse and worse. A few weeks ago I took some friends golfing and had 5 people in the car and the bed loaded up. Upon accelerating up a hill, the truck was shaking so bad, steering wheel and whole front end was shaking back and forth in sync with depressing the throttle and I decided I needed to swap them.

Decided to do this myself to try and figure out why this is happening to so many Mavericks, the Axles are cheap, and I have serious trust issues with other people touching my vehicles (14 year Aircraft mechanic).

After replacing the axles, my truck literally drove like brand new again, I couldnt believe how bad the rumble had gotten and how used to it I was.

art Number​	Part Name​	Price​	Quantity​	Total​
nz6z3b436b​	Axle Assembly​	$111.98​	1​	$111.98​
NZ6Z-3B437-C​	Shaft Front Axle​	$113.63​	1​	$113.63​

Subtotal: $225.61​

Estimated Shipping to 84111 via Standard Shipping: $58.61​

Tax: $16.62​

Discount: -$11.28​

Total: $289.56​

Total from Tasca parts online.

I think the problem is the Right Hand Axle with the female spline on the inboard axle. This was the only axle I could feel by hand that had play, it was wobbly when I grabbed and shook it (radial play) while it was installed on the truck. Looking at the splines, it has 2 splines that dont exist, I have no idea why they would do this, there is no master spline on the male end coming out of the PTU, the Male end is fully splined. With the 2 splines missing, I think its more susceptible to increased wear from vibration. The new Axle also came with the female spline with big gaps 180degree out.

Wear on the inside of the Inboard female spline housing

When this happens again, Im only going to replace the Right hand axle and see what happens.

TIPS ON REPLACEMENT

I know alot of people might be out of warranty and looking to do this yourself, Its really not that bad if you dont follow the Ford Manual (LOL)

Ford manual wants you to disconnect the lower control arm, good lucking getting the lower ball joint out. The lower ball joint is one of the worst designs ive ever seen and as far as I can tell, its not replaceable, you have to replace the lower control arm as a whole. Do yourself a favor and spray rust prevention on the lower ball joint right now for the future, there is a recess in the Lower control arm at the top of the ball joint where salt/water can accumulate and form rust. I modified a tie rod splitting tool to make it work but decided to remove the knuckle from the strut instead. There is very little room for any leverage, if the vehicles on a lift you could more easily remove the lower ball joint

How I found it easy to replace the Axles.

-Break lugnut/Axle nut torque on the ground. (deep 32mm for Axle nut)
-Disconnect Tierod
-Disconnect ABS wire supports
-Disconnect upper sway bar link (you will need to jack up lower control arm to relieve pressue on Sway Bar)
-support knuckle with cam strap to strut
-Disconnect and hammer out both Strut Bolts
-Hammer Axle in hub to loosen bond in wheel bearing(dont damage threads)
-Pry between transmission housing and axle housing to defeat circlip on Axle (I hope your strong, will take all your body strength)

Plan on having 2 quarts of ULV ATF on hand, I lost about a quart on the left hand side after pulling the axle.

I can do each side in an hour now, really not bad.

I really hope Ford figures this out, its not a big deal for me if I have to do this every couple of years for not that much $. But I understand for most people that have to pay for this to be done, the cost can be brutal. I am guessing this will be well over 1000$ to have the dealer do this?

MISC Torques

-Lugnuts 150 lb Feet
-Axle nut 76 lb Feet + 45degrees
-Strut to Knuckle bolts 103 lb Feet + 120degrees
-Upper sway bar link 81 lb feet
-Tie Rod to knuckle 35 lb feet

Content like this is amazing.
I really appreciate it when people take time and effort to share knowledge/experience.

Thank you!!

 

[ccmesso75]

I worked at a Chevrolet Dealer for 22 years. Aftermarket suspension lifts and lowering do in fact cause things to fail prematurely. Talk to an engineer if you don't understand this, but it's probably more like you don't want to understand this and just put the blame on Ford.

But, but wittle truck get real big....

 

[Guv]

So I had a 2014 Escape with a 2.0 EB fwd that I put 75,000 miles on.
My wife has a 2019 with the same powertrain with almost 40,000 miles, both have been trouble free in regards to the cv joints and axels.
Do the Maverick Ecoboost models use a different cv joint than the Escape?
Could the leveling lift be contributing to the failure?
I think it shouldn’t but who knows.
Great write up!

 

[NJBob]

K have read in other posts that these axles are made by Hyundai. Can anyone co.fi if this is true?

 

[luparguru]

Having my CV axels replaced today. The dealership has had my Maverick the previous two days as well for recall work. They just texted me a moment ago they also want to replace my driver's side axel shaft because there still getting shaking while accelerating. This truck is starting to piss me off, lol.

Ford did both front CV axles on mine this past week, drives like a champ again. I am just curious did they get a bad batch or did some company that made them take shortcuts? I would think the company that made all those CV axle for the Maverick would suffer some kind of repercussions?

 

[fossil]

@801Maverick801 , at what mileage did your axels fail and when did you do the lift?

Since this seems to be more of a problem with the hybrid wondering how many unmodified EBs have had the issue.

Things to ponder
Have there been any Tremors with CV issues and are the Tremor axles compatible with other EB trucks? Seems a no brainer to upgrade axles with a lift if possible.
With the new eCVT capable of AWD and 4K will there be different front axles as I imagine?
Why would anyone delay getting getting bad axles replaced knowing there is a possibility that it could possibility cause transmission failure?

 

[john grant]

Maybe we need to start a class action lawsuit on Ford for this problem.

 

[Guv]

Ford did both front CV axles on mine this past week, drives like a champ again. I am just curious did they get a bad batch or did some company that made them take shortcuts? I would think the company that made all those CV axle for the Maverick would suffer some kind of repercussions?

We had a C-Max with over 120,000 miles when our son sold it. Never had a problem with the front cv/axels.
Makes me wonder about a batch/supplier problem more than a design.

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