Ford Escape Front Drive Shaft Installation

[___Brandon]

Hello,

I took the front drive shaft out of my escape, and now I can't figure out how to get all the ball bearing in place and get the thing back together.

It has a regular U joint in the back, but the front has a constant velocity joint setup with about a half dozen ball bearings in it that all hit the floor when you take it apart.

How do I get this thing back together?????

Thanks,

[___Brandon]

I found that if you tap around the big 3" thick spacer it will come off and then the whole driveshaft assy can be hauled over to the bench and the ball bearings can be wrestled back in place. The thing really doesn't act like a slip joint though. Is it just supposed to a misalignment coupler?