2001 Taurus 120,000 miles

ASALFORD

MEMBER
2001 FORD TAURUS

Severe vibration in the front end during heavy acceleration regardless of speed. Once the heavy load is removed, the vibration stops. The heavier the acceleration, the worse the vibration. During normal driving or braking the vibration is not present.

When I jack one side of the car up, there seems to be a small amount of play in the wheel and the CV boots seem to be in good shape.

none of the front end compents have ever been replaced.

Monday, February 12th, 2007 AT 8:38 AM

3 Replies

2CARPRO JACK

MECHANIC
11,533 POSTS

Regardless of how they look you could have a CV joint that is going bad. Does the trans shift properly?

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Thursday, February 22nd, 2007 AT 8:19 AM

ASALFORD

MEMBER
8 POSTS

Thanks for reading this post.

Trans appears to shift properly. I have not noticed any slipping.

I am not getting the popping and clicking noises when the wheel is turned that is normally associated with CV joints gone bad.

Is there a good test for CV joints without removing the struts and half shaft?

To get the correct CV shaft, would you happen to know which trans is in the 2001? Mine has the 3.0L DOHC ses. It is either a ax4s or ax4n

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Thursday, February 22nd, 2007 AT 8:58 AM

ASALFORD

MEMBER
8 POSTS

The diagnosis was right on target. The CV axle was bad. When I was tearing down the passengers side I also noticed generous amount of play in the steering nuckle ball joint. I pressed it out and replaced it as well.

Additional Note: It is EXTREMELY easy to damage the differential seal when trying to get the axle to break free. The best choise was to use a 19mm wrench and put a breaker bar into the closed end side. Be sure the open end side rests against the transaxle and not the seal. I damaged mine because the manual said to use a screwdriver. When it does break loose it is gonna fly so, have it secure with wire before you try to break it loose.

Now, I have to pull mine again and replace the differential seal.

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Monday, March 5th, 2007 AT 2:28 PM