Ford: Ford F100 rear axle, soda pop cans, ford f100

Question
Last week my the rear axle on my truck seperated from the rear drive and the whole wheel came off the truck.  I am wondering how to reattach the axle shaft so that it does not come out again?

Answer
John, this is a very involved type of question.  First you will need to open the cover and make sure that the ring gear, pinion, or anything else got messed up.  What more than likely happened, is that your axle keepers ( they look like "U" shaped clips) broke and released the axle.  This has happened to me before.  The pieces can chew up ring gears like a goat can eat soda pop cans.  If everything looks good inside the rearend, then buy new keepers ( you can pick them up at your local parts store.  They are available through Motormite or Dorman) and install them.  If you have anymore questions about this situation, feel free to ask.   Jason