rkelect7

i also have that mystery grinding noise up front, seems to be in right front wheel, my mechanic replaced the right hub, vac switch on firewall. thought it was fixed...nope..still there, back in the shop vac checks good at both wheels, hubs engage/disengage just fine while on the rack, took it out last nite in 4 wheel drive in the snow and I could hear noise like the hubs were not fully engaged, you could hear this whizzing noise like 2 plates rubbing together, switching between 2 & 4 wheel drive the noise will come and go.
Is ther anyone with suggestions or help, has anyone heard of a service bulletin or recall, if so, where can I find it?

Bart4

not good

mattd17

there is a TSB for the vacuum solenoid going bad (from injesting water), and then the water gets down to the IWE actuators. since you have a new solenoid, did the shop ensure there isnt any moisture in the vacuum lines? did they use a hand vacuum pump to apply vacuum directly at the IWE and watch to see if it holds vacuum? when you pump it up, it should only lose 1" of vacuum per minute. i just went through all the same thing, and i had to replace both IWE's in my 06 with 35000 miles.... i thought sure they would have lasted longer that that. luckily, it is an easy repair to change them out. also, when you have the hand vacuum pump installed, pump it up to about 20", and then see if the axle spins freely (make sure the t-case is in 2wd). it should spin freely without any noise or catching.

my guess is that you have a bad IWE...... goodluck.