VTX1800N1

I looked up the part you referenced and it appears that your posts here are not relevant to the topic. That seal is for a previous generation of Ford 4x4 system. I'm not sure what your purpose is for posting this here.

Troopermacc

I have 2006 F150. About one year ago I replaced the vacuum solenoid and drivers side IWE. Completely fixed my issues. This winter I began to have some 4x4 issues (truck wouldn't go into 4x4 high or low) but no real issues in 2x4.

I was out on my property the other day and got stuck in the mud. Upon "trying" 4x4 I heard a loud clicking/grinding noise coming from the drivers side front wheel. 4x4 wouldn't work and eventually I got myself out.

I was checking out my issues today while using this article and determined this

- I replaced the drivers side IWE again cause it was under warranty....everything looked clean

- passengers side half shaft turns no matter what...truck on or off, 2x4 or 4x4, vacuum lines hooked up or detached

- drivers side wheel has no clicking noise while turning in 2x4 (half shaft doesn't turn)

- drivers side wheel has a clicking noise while truck is in four wheel driver (half shaft still doesn't turn)

Any thoughts or advise on diagnosing this further? I was thinking of replacing my vacuum solenoid again, just because it is easy, in order to eliminate it from being the issue. With both sides acting strange, I thought it could be a vacuum issue.

Thanks for the help

Dave

VTX1800N1

Go to the first page of this guide and follow the steps for diagnosis. I suspect that one or both of your IWEs are bad. As for why they are going bad, the reasons are detailed in the beginning of this thread. I suspect they are rusted internally. It may be as simple as having too much grease between the IWE and the hub, preventing the spring collar from pushing the IWE into the lockup position (much like hydro-lock). You will need a vacuum pump/gauge to determine whether the solenoid and vacuum lines are functioning correctly. You can remove the IWEs and watch them work, hooked up to vacuum. You can also test them to ensure that they hold vacuum. If you follow my guide step by step, I'm confident you will find the source of your problem.

JDaPP

#1 Thank you so much for this step by step guide it is fantastic and if I meet you in person, first one is on me. So for my situation:
- Working on my Dad's 2004 F150 (he passed away ~6 years ago) for my Mom. She does not drive it very often so I am trying to get back up to full working condition. She uses it for working on the property/livestock they bought before he passed on. I am in the military and I am about to move across country so I only have about 2 weeks to get this done.
- I have changed the differential fluids, transfer case, transmission filter/fluid, coolant, oil, etc.
- 4wd was not working at all, I changed the transfer case motor (worked with grinding after the change) and then the 4wd solenoid (had no effect).
- I have run through all the diagnostics mentioned in this thread and everything passes. That being said I don't have a vacuum gauge so I used the troubleshooting video on page 18 to check vacuum and everything did what he said it should. Obviously a vacuum gauge would be best but unfortunately not in the cards right now.
My Problem: 2wd works fine, 4 lo works fine, 4 hi engages if I am stopped. If I am driving and I throw it in 4 hi it makes a god awful grinding noise to the point I disengage it. If I am going slow or decelerating (as in coming to a stop sign) I can throw it to 4 hi and it will engage. There is still grinding, but it is short duration and doesn't sound near as bad.


Due to the fact that I am about to move and I don't have a vacuum gauge I am going to take it to a mechanic to finish up the repairs on the system. In an effort to keep the costs down for my Mom (70 years old/fixed income) I want to try and narrow it down as much as I can for the mechanic. Based off of reading through this post, the fact the wheels freewheel when they are supposed to and lock when they should according to the diagnostics and the fact that I see a difference between slow/stopped and driving at speed I believe that there is a leak somewhere in the line between the solenoid and the hub. Does this sound reasonable or I am completely off base? Thank you in advance for the help.

VTX1800N1

Vacuum is applied to the IWEs from the solenoid in 2WD, so if a leak were the problem I would suspect you would hear grinding in 2WD mode. I suspect the internals of one or both of your IWEs are corroded and though they still work, they are working very slowly. What is likely happening is the slow actuation due to corrosion is causing the IWE and hub to grind as the gears are trying to mesh. When you are stopped, the heard mesh and lock and you have no problem. If you are going to be far away, I would have the IWEs removed and inspected and if there is any doubt, replaced them both.

JDaPP

Thank you for the info. I ended up replacing the IWEs myself, but I am still having the same issue. I replaced both using the video earlier in the thread. Old ones really didn't look that bad, I followed the video exactly, is it possible to install wrong? All the gear teeth looked like what I would expect and I did not see any excessive wear. thoughts for the next step?

VTX1800N1

Did you get the axle end nut torqued properly? Have you run the diagnostic and vacuum tests at the beginning of this thread?

JDaPP

I torqued the axle nut to 25 ft-lbs as the video said. I don't have anyway to test the vacuum system. I did try the vacuum test in the video and everything worked like it said it would, however that didn't test level of pressure only that it had vacuum. Could the vacuum pressure being low cause this? It works fine in 2wd and fine once it is in 4wd. It is just the engagement while moving faster than ~5-10 mph

VTX1800N1

Vacuum is applied only in 2WD, so low vacuum will not affect 4WD operation.

It could be that one or both IWE vent lines is clogged with dirt. These are the smaller diameter lines at the IWE. They each run to the engine bay where they vent to atmosphere. You can safely disconnect them AT THE IWE and then use a can of compressed air like what you use to clean a computer to blow them out.

Did you get the three 8mm bolts that hold the IWE to the back side of the steering knuckle tight?

You really need a vacuum pump/gauge to diagnose the system properly.

JDaPP

Bought a vacuum gauge and checked vacuum per your description on page one. Showing 19-21 across the whole system with a low of 19 when I rev it up. Also went back and retightened the 8mm bolts on the IWEs. No change to the situation.
Not sure what to do as I have checked vacuum and replaced both IWE. Axle bolts are both at 25 ft-lbs. At this point I am going to tell my mom to just make sure she engages 4wd below 5mph. Only things I can think of is it is somewhere between transfer case and front wheels and I am not doing a good job of pin pointing the where the noise is or the gears are ground down enough that it is not meshing well. Just not sure now.