There were two possible part numbers listed for this application. One was listed simply as a “CV Shaft”, and the other was listed as “CV Shaft – AAR”. However, there was no other info given to help determine which one was needed for this application.
The local parts stores had the regular (“Standard Tripod”) CV Shaft in stock, but not the AAR. This would usually indicate that the non-AAR shaft is the more common part.
For further clarification, we posed this question to the parts department of a large, leading Ford dealership. They said they were unable to determine whether the vehicle called for an AAR or not, but were able to give us the part number listed.
A query on Google AI told us that the use of the “AAR” CV Shaft vs. the “Standard Tripod CV Shaft” was determined by FWD vs. AWD and the engine size – but did not specify which. So we took the Ford part # and crossed it via the parts interchange section of a leading parts store website – and finally, it listed the AAR CV Shaft as the called-for part.
Sometimes I’m surprised by the amount of research needed just to determine the correct part for the job.