Here you can find information regarding the assembly of the Ford Flex front end. In this guide we will cover the
essential repairs for the front end of this vehicle. Included within these repairs
is the inner and outer tie rod removal and change, the front wheel hubs installation, ball joint removal and
installation, the upper and lower control arms, and the front strut installation. Along
with the repair procedures we also include the corresponding bolt torque specs for each fastener involved. These
guides are intended to assist in each procedure to help diyers with the job.
Ford Flex Tie Rod Change/Removal
To install a new tie rod on a Ford Flex you must first remove the old one from the vehicle. This can be
done by raising the vehicle up by either the use of a floor jack or a vehicle hoist.
Once the vehicle is in the air you can remove the corresponding tire for the side that you want to change the
tie rod on. Once the tire is off you can now access the old tie rod and remove it for replacement.
The outer part of the tie rod uses a nut that will need to be removed, this nut may spin with the rest of the tie rod depending on how
rusty it is. I suggest using a pair of vice grips to hold the portion of the bolt to prevent it from
spinning. You may also use a wire brush to clean off the threads prior to removal and or use penatrating oil to
aid in removal of the nut. Once removed you can now tap out the tie rod from the spindle and
start to remove it completely. If you want to replace just the outer portion of the tie rod you can remove the clamp bolts further down the tie rod and remove the outer portion of the rod and replace.
Once the outer tie rod is off you can now install the new part and reinstall it the same way it had been
removed. Once you get the nut back in place you can torque it to 111 ft-lbs.
Ford Flex Outer Tie Rod Nut Torque Spec : 111 ft-lbs
Ford Flex Inner Tie Rod Torque Spec : 60 ft-lbs
Ford Flex Tie Rod Locking Nuts Torque Spec : 30 ft-lbs
Front Wheel Hub Installation
To install the new wheel hub you must first remove the old hub from the vehicle. To do this you must first jack
up the vehicle and remove the lugnuts from the side of the vehicle that you want to replace
the part on. Once the tire is off you will need to remove the bolts from the brake bracket on the steering
knuckle. These bolts will be rather tight so you may want to use an impact or find some
leverage. Once removed you can move the brake assembly out of the way and move the brake rotor from the vehicle.
Now you will have access to the wheel hub bolts from the rear of the part. The best way to remove
these is to move the steering wheel one way and then the other to allow yourself more room to access each bolt. Once the four bolts are removed the hub should be
able to move out of the vehicle. You may need to use some penetrating oil to assist in the removal as
occasionally corrosion builds up and causes it to become stuck. Once the hub has been removed you can install
the new hub in reverse order from which it had been removed. Start by placing the hub into the
knuckle and then fastening the 3 bolts into it from the back. Once in place these bolts will need to be torqued
to 95 ft-lbs. The next step is to reinstall the brake rotor and bracket. The bracket bolts torque
to 100 ft-lbs. With the axle shaft back in place and the braking system tightened down you can torque the axle nut
down to 258 ft-lbs. Now with everything back in place you can install your tire and torque your lugnuts to 100 ft-lbs.
Ford Flex Front Wheel Hub Torque Spec : 95 ft-lbs
Ford Flex Lugnuts Torque Spec : 100 ft-lbs
Ford Flex Front Axle Nut Torque Spec : 258 ft-lbs
Front Ball Joints Installation
The Ford Flex has only one set of ball joints as the top part of the suspension is held together with the strut.
For that reason we will only go through the lower ball joint. To replace the joints without replacing the knuckle
you will need to press the old joints out and then press the new joints in. Once done the lower ball joint nut
torques to 148 ft-lbs.
Ford Flex Front Lower Ball Joint Torque Spec : 148 ft-lbs
Front Struts installation
To replace the front struts on a Ford Flex you will first need to remove the upper mounting nuts for the strut.
These can be accessed from under the hood of the vehicle or by the side with a wrench. Once removed the next bolt to remove
is the lower bolt that connects the strut to the control arm. With this bolt removed you can now remove the strut from the vehicle. The new strut can then be moved back into the vehicle the same
way the old one came out. Once the new strut is installed you can start by installing the bolt and nut on the control arm and hand tightening it. Next you can install the upper nuts by aiming the
strut up into the holes, the upper nuts can be tightened to 22 ft-lbs. The lower portion of the strut absorber where it connects to the lower control arm can be tightened to
129 ft-lbs. This is a large bolt and nut and can be installed using some red loctite or blue depending what you have available.
Ford Flex Strut Upper Nuts Torque Spec : 22 ft-lbs
Ford Flex Front Strut Lower Bolt Torque Spec : 129 ft-lbs
Control Arm Installation
The Ford Flex front suspension uses a lower control arm which connects the steering knuckle to the vehicle. This control arm connects
via ball joints that are covered in a different portion of this web page. The control arm consist of 2 different fastening points. One being a bolt that is located
towards the front on the vehicle and then the other being a series of nuts towards the back of the vehicle. The front bolt gets tightened down to 136 ft-lbs and then the nuts
get tightened to 73 ft-lbs. The ball joint that connects the arm to the knuckle can be tightened to 148 ft-lbs.
Ford Flex Lower Control Arm Bolts Torque Spec : 136 ft-lbs
Ford Flex Lower Control Arm Nuts Torque Spec : 73 ft-lbs
Stabilizer Bar Installation
The Ford Flex has a stabilizer bar in the front end that helps with the control and handling of the vehicle. This
bar conects to two ends of the vehicle via nuts and then has 2 brackets one being on each side of the vehicle to hold the bar into place.
The bracket bolts torque down to 41 ft-lbs while the endlinks tighten to 111 ft-lbs.
Ford Flex Stabilizer Bar brackets Torque Spec : 41 ft-lbs
Ford Flex Stabilizer Endlinks Torque Spec : 111 ft-lbs
