Ford F150 Pickup. Manual

Courtesy of FORD MOTOR CO.

The axle housing assembly consists of a cast-aluminum center section, a removable cast-aluminum axle
housing tube (3B210), and a differential housing cover (3N136). Both the axle housing tube and the
differential housing cover use silicone sealant as a gasket.

The hypoid-design gearset consists of an 8.8-inch ring gear (3A397) and a pinion gear (3N175). Two
opposed tapered roller bearings support the drive pinion in the axle housing.

A drive pinion collapsible spacer (4662), located on the pinion shaft, maintains pinion bearing preload.
The pinion nut adjusts the preload.

Differential bearing shims (4A451), located between the differential bearing cups (4221) and the axle
housing, adjust the differential bearing preload and the ring gear backlash.

DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING

FRONT DRIVE AXLE

Refer to DRIVELINE SYSTEM - GENERAL INFORMATION .

The differential case (4205) is a one-piece design with two openings to allow for assembly of the internal
components and lubricant flow. Two opposed tapered roller bearings (differential bearings [4221])
support the differential case in the axle housing. Removable differential bearing caps (4224) retain the
differential assembly in the axle housing.

Inside the differential case, the differential pinion shaft (4211) supports two differential pinion gears
(4215). The pinion gears engage the differential side gears (4236), to which the left axle shaft (3A381)
and the axle cluster gear shaft (7L253) are splined. The differential pinion shaft bolt retains the
differential pinion shaft in the differential case.

An embossed metal tag, bolted to the rear face of the RH axle tube, contains front axle identification
information.

A front axle actuator motor assembly (7G360), controlled by an instrument panel-mounted switch,
actuates the front drive axle.

GENERAL PROCEDURES

DIFFERENTIAL CASE RUNOUT CHECK

Special Tool(s)

CAUTION: Actuate the front drive axle with the wheels in a straight ahead

position, and at light throttle only.

2003 Ford Pickup F150

2003 DRIVELINE/AXLES Front Drive Axle/Differential - Ford 8.8-Inch - F150 Pickup

Ford F150 Pickup. Manual - part 457