Today I will be making a post about replacing a CV Joint on a Ford Edge SEL. I'm making this post to explain why it's much cheaper to replace it yourself and not to have to pay a mechanic a lot of money to do it for you. This job would be rated at a 6 out of 10 for difficulty but with some time and patience you can do this yourself. This is more difficult than changing your oil but much easier than many advanced repairs. If you have never done this before take your time and don't get in a hurry. You don't have to watch a YouTube video to do this if you are mechanically inclined, but again be patient and don't get frustrated cause that's when you make mistakes.
In this post I'm going to go through a breakdown of costs to do it yourself compared to shop costs, the process of what you have to do, and some pointers to keep an eye out for. If you find this to be beneficial please share it around and don't forget to comment! Enjoy!
Cost Breakdown
If you go to your local shop they will charge you a 200% up charge on the parts at least. They will also charge you a minimum of four hours of work time that is based upon the book. Labor will be $100 to $200 per hour for labor depending on your area. These prices are based on average American costs. So, for a job like this you're looking at $800 to $1,000+ and that's not if they add on extra things they say you need repaired.
The cost for me is as follows. We got the part ordered in and sent to the local shop with a total cost of $156 but I was able to get a discount and got it lowered to just under $90 for the part. As far as tools most auto shops will borrow you tools as long as you purchased the parts from them. Luckily, I had the tools already but if you have to buy the tools this can all be done with a metric socket set, a hammer, a breaker bar, and a jack. You can buy all of that for under $300 and you will have those tools for next time. So, even if you have to buy all the tools and the parts you're looking at under $500 or as low as under $100 which is much better than what a shop will charge you.
Repair Breakdown
First, before you can do anything make sure to have your tools set out in an orderly fashion as that will help you be prepared for what is to come and you won't have to constantly be searching for what is needed.
Next make sure to jack the vehicle up and have it secured. You will then remove the tire for the side you want to replace the CV Joint. This is fairly simple and I'll assume most who are reading this know how to remove a tire.
You will then have to remove the brake caliper bracket and the brake rotor.
You want to make sure not to hang the calipers by their own weight as it can cause damage to your breaks and you don't want to do that. As you can see I used a bungee cord to keep the pressure off it.
Once you have all that off you will use a 36 mm socket to remove the center pin for the CV shaft. Once that is removed then you will have to hammer out the pin to loosen it from the bracket arm. Now, once we have that off we can remove the rest of the CV.
Make sure to pick up some grease unless the part comes pregreased. We got lucky and our part was already greased so we were good to go. You may have to pound out the rest of the CV that goes to the axel if it's blown apart like the one I'm repairing, but if not it will all come out fairly easily.
Once we have all that done we can now put the new CV in. Let's start with that process now.
This process is pretty easy but you may have to use your hammer and pound it into place. Once it's into the axel you're now cooking with grease. Feel free to use your body to get it lined up and pushed into where it needs to go as shown in the pictures below.
Don't be scared to take an oil bath. All mechanics must be baptized in oil and grease. It just comes with the territory lol.
Once you have that all lined up you will now put it back together the same way you took it apart. Make sure you tighten all the bolts back to their specifications from your user manual. This one is 150 lbs of torque but yours may be different. Make sure to check the factory requirements.
Now that we have this all back together we can sit back and enjoy the nice smooth ride without any noise from the front end. And we also don't have to worry about the CV breaking and the wheel leaving you stuck on the side of the road.
Pointers and Suggestions
The biggest suggestion I have is for you to take your time and be patient. The right tools are always recommended but sometimes you have to make due with what you have. Make sure you have grease. Do not let any dirt get into the CV cover where the bearings are. This will destroy it quickly. Be careful and be patient. You can do this!
If you have found this informative or beneficial make sure to share it around. Also, I would love to hear what people have to say in the comments. I'll try to get some more posts written up as jobs come to me. I would like to thank 
