You already know but for For reference you can search Recall Reference Number: 23S65

 

New bolt?

That wouldn't get you back on the road. Especially if the axle splines had already fretted enough to inhibit driving force to the hub.

I sheared a bolt and the truck was 100% drivable. But Ford still replaced both axles and hubs. As soon as I got home I removed the factory bolts and replaced them with "better" bolts at considerably less torque than the service manual calls for, as well as added a Bellville washer.

Now when I rotate my tires I change the two bolts out and check for the splines to be still press fit. (no fretting)

So far so good. But admittedly I'm less mileage than you.

 

They must have come up with a new design. Never seen a REAR axle bolt there. I can’t picture in my small brain what that is securing.

 

It’s only on the 3/4 Float 9.75” HD axle that came on the 2021+ powerboost, hdpp and max tow trucks

 

What causes the bolt to break? Is I backing out and allowing the hub to wobble on the axle or is there a minute amount of wobble even if tight? Both could flex the bolt enough to work harden it become brittle and break especially in the head/ shaft area where I have seen most of the breaks happen

 

There is ""wobble" in the bolt when tight....

Ford's description is "The combination of vertical and lateral load upon the wheel-end creates bending fatigue of a specific wheel fastener, which can lead the bolt to break."

 

Not gonna lie, I'm losing faith in the blue oval too. If they can't sort out mine before the warranty is up, ram has a gas Cummins coming out that sounds intriguing.

 

Cummins lost me with hydraulic lifters in 6.7 Diesel turned a dead reliable motor into a 💩

 

The bolt is garbage, in my opinion.
And I also think the torque spec is beyond what a 12x1.75 grade 8 bolt should be.

Again, just my opinion.

Like I said earlier, I replaced mine with an aftermarket bolt torqued at 84ftlbs. Added the Bellville washer for some "give", if you know what I mean.
It's le$$ than $10
No way am I letting go of the most amazing 1/2 ton truck I have ever owned because of the shortcomings of Ford to address the fix.

10 new axles wouldn't cover the co$t of depreciation, just to make a point that Ford would never even feel.

 

The bolt is garbage, in my opinion.
And I also think the torque spec is beyond what a 12x1.75 grade 8 bolt should be.

Again, just my opinion.

Like I said earlier, I replaced mine with an aftermarket bolt torqued at 84ftlbs. Added the Bellville washer for some "give", if you know what I mean.
It's le$$ than $10
No way am I letting go of the most amazing 1/2 ton truck I have ever owned because of the shortcomings of Ford to address the fix.

10 new axles wouldn't cover the co$t of depreciation, just to make a point that Ford would never even feel.

Standard torque for a metric grade 10.9 M12 x 1.75 is 88ft/lbs. Not sure what Ford's torque spec is.

 

Why wouldn’t Ford just done a regular full float like a Dana 70 multiple bolts on the axle end.

 

Probably because $$$. They had a Max Tow/heavy payload option for their F-150's prior to 2021, I had two of them, and they never had any issues. Changing the design likely saved them a few dollars per truck. Now it is probably going to cost them a LOT more than a few dollars to correct it, not to mention the number of axles they've already had to replace.

 

Are the ‘25 s max tow equipped with the same axle?

 

I saw on another forum a design change in 2024 but when I looked it up on parts.ford.com, I came up with the same axle assembly.

 

It's really a very simple design. At least the axle itself. It's a mystery to me what could be the reason for the unexpected design failure.

And although the failure rate seems to have significantly diminished, compared to a couple of years back, nobody knows or can exhibit any differences between the components in the axles that don't shear that bolt and those that do.

I torqued a bolt with the Ford spec. (52ftlbs and then another 90°) I don't remember exactly what my torture wrench measured that to be but I do remember it FELT wrong. It was certainly more than ~84ftlbs.

 

nobody knows or can exhibit any differences between the components in the axles that don't shear that bolt and those that do.

I've looked around a bit on this - and as @snakebitten says nobody knows...
But I found this tidbit elsewhere, posted in 2022, interesting on what Ford changed -

its all the max tow axles from what ive seen- they went back to a 1939 design "3/4 f;loat" axle, but splined it rather than taper fitted, the splines walking in its thou or two clearance, bolt gets stressed and breaks...​

​

Anyone interested in reading the recall 23V896 - go here - (1) Recall 23v896 Rear axle bolts may break - certain 2021-2023 F150's. | F150 Ecoboost Forum

 

So the skipped an easy machining process. Taper and a keyway would have made it bulletproof. 1-2 thou splined shaft probably doesn’t come apart nicely anyways.

 

My mind goes to it’s like that one bolt holds a lot of pressure and it takes 6 bolts to hold the rim to the axel flange. 4 bolts to hold the bearing hub to the axel tube. I know the physics are different between the three but that’s what spins in my head.

 

Ironically, that bolt doesn't really have any purpose but to "locate/hold" the position of the axle sitting between two splined ends. Visually, and on paper, it shouldn't really be stressed to a breaking point. Not at all.

But it appears in reality, the amount of "flex" in the wheel bearings does in fact put a constant radial stress on the shoulder of that bolt and it can fail under fatigue.

The one constant for these sheared bolts is they fracture in the same place, relative to the head.

 

Ironically, that bolt doesn't really have any purpose but to "locate/hold" the position of the axle sitting between two splined ends. Visually, and on paper, it shouldn't really be stressed to a breaking point. Not at all.

But it appears in reality, the amount of "flex" in the wheel bearings does in fact put a constant radial stress on the shoulder of that bolt and it can fail under fatigue.

The one constant for these sheared bolts is they fracture in the same place, relative to the head.

Could have probably just used something closet to the same C clip design as the standard axle.

 

Put one on each end of the tapered bearings. With shims to take up machining tolerances is so needed.

 

I'd be thrilled if the crystal ball revealed to me that in the first 100,000 miles of my 2022 F150 Ecoboost/Powerboost, the most serious issue that I would contend with is a sheared Max Tow axle bolt.

It's relatively inexpensive assembly. (axle/hub) and the book time for replacement is minutes, not hours. (~30 minutes per side)

Besides, I've already experienced it, under warranty, and it was low drama relatively speaking.

 

I picked my truck up yesterday and all they replaced was 2 axle bolts and the broken axel. They did not replace the hub on the broken side like @snakebitten mentioned they did on his truck. Another issue I'm having is the transmission has a shudder in 4th and 5th gear, I mentioned this to the service adviser who was working my truck, she said I should take it to the dealer where I live because it could take weeks to fix. That's why I mentioned I would be looking at different manufacturers. I test drove a couple different trucks and I just can't switch, my truck drives so nice compared to the others. Now looking at 2025 3.5 EB without MAX TOW.

 

That's crazy that they wouldn't replace the axle/hub assembly. It's literally a part# and comes press-fit. In my opinion, if the bolt shears, the press-fit splined surfaces are almost guaranteed to "fret". (if driven much unwittingly) So the new axle splines will be mating to a compromised aluminum hub spline. Or put another way, it almost insures it to not have the expected lifespan.

Ford clearly states in their documentation the part #'s to use if/when the bolt shears. It's the assembly.

 

If I'm ever in this position because I plan on buying a 21 or 2235 which all three point five EcoBoost have the 9.75 rear end not sure if they were all semifloat or not is I would call ARP and have them make me a bolt for that It would obviously be 10 times stronger than a grade 8. They have both with up to 200,000 lb of tinsel strength

 

There are 2 different 9.75 axles.
Different designs.
The 2021-2023 Max-Tow axle is the culprit.
Non max-tow, no bolt to shear.

 

Someone discovered that Dorman has a replacement axle that they claim addresses the issue. It certainly looks like it might.

$252 on Rockauto

 

That Dorman shaft kind of looks like the old AMC 15.

 

If you have a max tow rear axle, you have the bolt.

Pull your wheel or center cap and see if there's a bolt head in the center of the axle. (picture on the left)
The recall is replacing the axles with the one pictured on the right. (identical to the Dorman designed axle in the previous post)

 

I lost drivability when my axle failed suddenly, no warning, hi risk area, 65 mph in the rain. worse I had to wait for the police to stop traffic in my lane because I was in a tight breakdown lane. This failure occurred with replaced interim axles. I encourage anyone who has been in danger or at risk with this recall to file with the NHTSA. I‘ve always loved Ford. They are a good company but this has caused a lot of problems and it’s 10 weeks now of loss of use.

 

It should not be ten weeks loss of use. I'm sure Ford will prioritize your vehicle for the new axles. My dealer set me up for the recall replacement axles, had them in four days and had me in two days later on May 19th for the recall work. I sat in their waiting room for an hour and fifteen minutes and was back out on the road again with the new axles. If your dealer is sitting on your truck, I'd give him a call and read him the riot act.

 

Ford currently is replacing the MaxTow axles via a recall. (new design)
The loss of drivability from the sheared bolt on the oem axle is fairly rare, although the sheared bolt isn't.
I sheared one on the passenger side and Ford replaced both axle/hubs with the original design. They've been fine, but at some point I will schedule the replacement for the new design.

 

Ford currently is replacing the MaxTow axles via a recall. (new design)
The loss of drivability from the sheared bolt on the oem axle is fairly rare, although the sheared bolt isn't.
I sheared one on the passenger side and Ford replaced both axle/hubs with the original design. They've been fine, but at some point I will schedule the replacement for the new design.

My recall is tomorrow morning. Wonder if they are replacing with updated axles or new old ones

 

I think a dozen donuts for the service manager is way past due.

 

Generally sage advice, but in this case Ford should be giving him the donuts.

Need to draw a line between engineering failures that cause inconvenience vs. life threatening accidents.