Has anyone done this on a 2006?
I just finished the job on my Suburban and figured it should be a piece of cake on this minivan. Now I'm not so sure.
The Chilton shop manual I have states that the axle nut should be discarded and replaced with a new one - it seems, based on the info I mention below, that there is a nylon lock-nut on the axle?
Also, the Chilton manual lists the axle nut torque as ranging from 157 to 212 ft-lbs. (Without specifying which model year is which so that's REAL helpful.)
As an aside, Chilton sells you the '95-03 WINDSTAR manual for the '06 Freestar.
A web search turned up a Hub Bearing Torque Specification guide that shows my '06 Freestar should be torqued to 259 ft-lbs! Plus it has a footnote that states "Install and tighten new front axle wheel end nut to specification in a continuous rotation. Stopping the rotation during installation will cause the nylon lock to seat incorrectly." This sounds like an easy one to screw up - trying to torque to 259 ft-lbs in one steady pull with the car on jack stands (as opposed to a lift).
That same document shows '07-'10 Freestars to have a torque spec of 111 ft-lbs. I looked for my Suburban and it had the same value listed as in Suburban shop manual so I THINK the document is trustworthy.
This should be a simple job, but I from what little information I'm able to find about it, there seem to be a lot of "gotcha's" waiting.
I'm generally not afraid of these kind of jobs but I'm considering backing away from this one and returning the parts to Car Quest.
Any advice would be appreciated.