sglover

May have been going on a while and rounded the splineS not letting it lock in now, I would give it all a good once over when your done to make sure your getting the Vacum you need to disengage the IWE's. It's not a bad job to do at least.

VTX1800N1

Yep, that's the plan. USPS didn't deliver the part again today, even though their tracking says it should have been delivered yesterday. No wonder they are going bankrupt.... Hopefully Monday it'll be here. Good thing the truck is not a daily driver.

Chrisminer01

Finally ordered my new actuators today. For anyone who has done this job... can I get away with not replacing the wheel end nut, upper ball joint nut and tie rod nut or do these definitely need to be replaced?

VTX1800N1

I just re-used mine. The tie rod end and upper ball joint nuts get torqued to 111 ft-lbs. The axle end nut gets torqued to 20 ft-lbs.

My IWE arrived this afternoon. Took me about an hour to get it installed and tested. I suggest you remove the brake caliper before removing the upper ball joint and tie rod nuts. You need to let the lower control arm all the way down to have enough clearance for the axle end to slip past the hub. If the caliper is still installed, the brake hoses limit how far the steering knuckle can tilt outward and there isn't enough clearance to get the axle out. I did not unbolt the half shaft from the axle.

Tip- DO NOT break the upper ball joint or the tie rod end free of the steering knuckle until you have their respective nuts completely removed. Otherwise, the joints will just spin as you try to remove the nuts. I was able to get my impact on the tie rod end nut and spun it right off. There wasn't enough clearance to get the impact on the upper ball joint nut, so that had to be removed with a wrench. If I had to fight the ball joint turning, I'd still probably be out there (and cursing myself).

This is what it will look like when you have enough clearance.



Remember to not let the caliper hang by the hoses. These calipers are heavy and will damage them. The lower control arm makes a handy shelf. The ABS sensor wire remains attached to the hub and is long enough, even with the caliper resting on the lower control arm, that you can swing the steering knuckle out enough to get the axle out. Remember to remove the three 8mm bolts from the axle side of the IWE before this step.



So this is what I found when I pulled mine apart:



Note the needle bearing inside there. Be careful when you pull the axle out not to damage it. You can "collapse" the axle into the truck just enough to get it past the inner hub without touching the bearing without too much effort.

After wiping the grease out, I discovered that the hub took damage. I just bought the truck 2K miles ago, and only once did it ever make a slight grinding sound (in 2WD). Who knows how long the previous owner drove with the IWE problem. Here is the beveled gears on the hub (I think they should be straight- can anyone confirm?):



So, I had a choice at this point- put the new IWE in and risk that it would be damaged by the worn hub, or put the old IWE back in until I can get a new hub. I decided to try the new IWE just to see if it would lock in and whether or not it would grind. I reassembled everything and it locks when it should, unlocks when it should, and there is no sound whatsoever from the 4x4 system in either 2WD or 4WD. I really don't even hear it engage other than a soft click from the solenoid, but you can sure tell that it's in 4WD now! I did add a good amount of grease to the hub and needle roller bearing. I also greased the seal on the IWE that compresses against the hub when you tighten the 3 8mm IWE bolts. From the rust present in that area and all the dirt in the grease of the old IWE, I'm hoping that the grease will help seal this area off.

Use a jack under the control arm where the strut attaches to lift it back up when you are ready to install the upper ball joint back into the steering knuckle.

There is an excellent write-up with files you can download on another forum for this job: http://www.f150online.com/forums/art...replacing.html

If I can do this outside in the near freezing rain in an hour, anyone can do it. As long as you have the tools, save yourself some money. An air impact helps, but is not necessary. If it turns out that I do need a new hub in the future, I'll get this one- much cheaper than OE Ford:

Chrisminer01

Great write up thanks for the tips. I wonder why the instructions say to remove the half shaft, seems like your way makes more sense.

VTX1800N1

Just remember to press the caliper pistons back in a little (use a piece of wood to make sure both pistons go in at the same time) to make it easier to get the caliper back on the brake pads.

Storm Chasing Ford

That was pretty good! Another worthy of a sticky?...lol

sglover

Good deal, for the cost of the hub I would have done the same thing and if you have to do again in the future you no what your up against.

06F150CFCT

Yeah your hub gears look pretty worn down. The gears should be pretty straight and not curved. I replaced my hubs and not the actuators on both sides(will be doing actuators in the spring). They were like 90 apiece from rock auto i think. They came with the ABS sensor which if you try to buy separately is over 100 bucks...very strange.

If you ever have problems again, I would for sure replace your hubs. Glad to hear you have your 4x4 system back.

06F150CFCT

Yeah dont do that. Overkill for sure. They are just playing it safe, so instead of pushing your half shaft in towards the differential, you can just remove it to prevent any damage. You wont break anything by gently pushing it in to get the shaft out of the knuckle. I did it this way as well. Much, much easier. I couldnt even get my half shafts off with the 12-star socket when i installed my lift kit. Mine are on there really tight but im sure the rust doesnt help either. Save yourself the trouble.