CV joint?

i have an 89 ford taurus 3.0L auto.. its been having trans problems for awhile (slipping) But I was driving down the road the other day and it started vibrating real bad.. A little while later the car just stopped moving.. In drive, when you push the gas, the speedo still goes up as normal, but the car doesnt go.. Im thinking its a broken CV joint? any ideas? if so, which one would it be? (which wheel is the drive wheel) how tough are they to change? any special tools needed?
Dont have any experience working with FWD vehicles..

I REALLY doubt it's a drive axle. If so, it would be pretty obvious upon inspection, particularly if you remove the wheels on each side. It's more likely you have a major transmission problem.

Tim

well I havent inspected it yet, Im going to go pull the wheels off now..

If it is the drive axle *crosses fingers* what do I all need to take off, to replace it?

it is indeed the cv joint.. the boot was tore and the bearings are layin on the road..

any tips to replacin it?
I got the old one out easy enough.. But I cant get the new one in.. I just have the steering knuckle off, nothing else.. I tried engine end first and hub end first.. dont have enough room to get it in..

Do you have the correct replacement part? i.e. Is the replacement part the same length as the original? Are you able to fully seat the shaft into the transmission?

Since you removed the original I am assuming that the steering knuckle is disengaged from the control arm at the ball joint. This should allow the whole strut/knuckle assembly to swing out away from the transmission and give you the space you need for the drive shaft.

yeah I can fully seat the shaft into the tranny, or the hub, but not both..

The problem was I couldnt seperate the steering knuckle from the control arm.. I had to quit last night cuz it was too dark, but im gonna try again right now..

The steering knuckle and control arm are separated by using a prybar at the ball joint. Of course this means that the nut at the bottom of the ball joint must be removed. It is actually a straight-forward manuever, nothing will break.

The prybar is used when assembling the contraption as well.