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Brand new 2018 F150 4x4 XL with 3.3L V6 is having 4 Wheel Drive issues... what the?
Hey guys, boy does this suck. Earlier this year I bought myself a brand spanking new 2018 F150 4x4 3.3L V6 with the 8' truck bed. Part of the reason I bought it was to tow my 4,000 lb trailer. Well, at about 12,000 miles when I was towing my trailer to Vegas, heard the most alarming metal on metal scraping sound coming from the front left wheel. Pulled over multiple times checking for something jammed in there, but nothing was. The sound would stop when I tapped on the breaks, and seemed to go away and only came back when I was going up hills at certain angles, but sometimes it would just happen randomly. After doing some research, I heard about new F150's having a lot of issues with IWE's/4WD actuators, so when I heard the sound again I switched into 4WD high. The sound went away.
Now whenever I'm in 2WD the damn thing sounds off, as if the front left tire is trying to engage in 4WD. I'm thinking it's the IWE in the front left wheel or possibly a vacuum leak? Maybe with the hub connector? Taking it to the dealership this Tuesday and will report back, but really gonna press them and focus on the 4WD making the sound go away so they can't jack me around and say they couldn't figure out the issue.
Problem is: the dealership is about an hour and a half away, and I'll need to tow my trailer there. When I drive the truck in 2WD now it just sounds/feels weird. Sometimes if I switch into 4WD High, then switch back to 2WD, it'll go back to normal for a bit. Would it be safe for me to tow my trailer an hour and a half at 4WD High?
Thanks for any advice on this guys. From what I've read, this is a very common issue with new F150's and I really hope Ford is taking notice!
Would it be safe for me to tow my trailer an hour and a half at 4WD High?
If your truck has the basic 2Hi/4Hi/4Lo (without the 4A setting) it's not recommended to use the 4WD setting on hard pavement or high traction surfaces, as it puts tremendous stress on the drivetrain components. I certainly wouldn't drive with it engaged.
From your description, it does sound like you've properly diagnosed the problem as a faulty vacuum system for the IWE system. There are quite a few threads on this forum that give instructions on a simple fix IF the problem is the vacuum check valve.
It would be preferable if you could find that part at a local auto parts shop or online and do the install prior to taking your truck in to the dealer. It might be advisable to check your vacuum line connections at each wheel to see if something may have come undone.
Really appreciate the reply. Good to know, I will avoid driving to the dealership in 4WD high. It just sounds so bad when I'm driving in 2WD right now, definitely like the front left wheel is trying to engage in 4WD, that it makes me nervous to drive in 2WD.
To be honest with you, I'm not the most car/truck-savvy guy, so it's hard for me to tell if something is loose in there or not. I did take a look, but you know what I think I'll go under there again and take photos and post them here. This forum has been awesome with advice/help, so hopefully if I post some high-res images of the vacuum lines/hub etc. behind the front left wheel, maybe one of you truck dudes could say "Hey, that line is loose dumb dumb, push it in tighter."
Watched a couple YouTube videos where they installed a new component (IWE?) and it had a "hood" over it so water could not get into it and destroy it. Maybe that's what I need. I'm definitely worried about the dealership screwing me/having the truck for days, so I'll be back in this thread later with some photos and man if you guys could help me spot the issue that would be amazing. Really hope something just got knocked loose in there and I can just plug the damn thing back in. Thanks again.
Originally Posted by icantdrive55
If your truck has the basic 2Hi/4Hi/4Lo (without the 4A setting) it's not recommended to use the 4WD setting on hard pavement or high traction surfaces, as it puts tremendous stress on the drivetrain components. I certainly wouldn't drive with it engaged.
From your description, it does sound like you've properly diagnosed the problem as a faulty vacuum system for the IWE system. There are quite a few threads on this forum that give instructions on a simple fix IF the problem is the vacuum check valve.
It would be preferable if you could find that part at a local auto parts shop or online and do the install prior to taking your truck in to the dealer. It might be advisable to check your vacuum line connections at each wheel to see if something may have come undone.
One additional caution: When you take your truck in to have it "fixed" make it clear that one or both of the hubs has been grinding. I've never had one of these apart yet, but whenever I hear someone describe the noise as a metal-on-metal grinding, I have a hard time believing there is no damage being done inside the hub. You may want to insist they disassemble and inspect the hubs for wear/damage.
Yes, go to that link, and see my photo in post #8, mine is a '17, and yours would be the same.
If worse came to a lot worse, you could disconnect the hose coming off the solenoid to the IWEs. Vacuum, or what vacuum you're getting would be bled off, and your IWEs would be locked in. As long as you don't switch to 4H/L, you won't hurt anything. The hubs would be locked as if in 4X4, but the transfer case won't be engaged.
The only problem you could then would be the checkvalve sucking in air to the engine.
You could also just pull the hose between the checkvalve and engine, double it over on to itself, to basically pinch it off, and use a ziptie, tywrap to kept it in place until you replace the checkvalve, and go from there.
Last edited by johnday in BFE; 10-27-2018 at 03:04 PM.
Checked out the link, super helpful thanks guys. Going to inspect here in about an hour or so and take some photos and post in reply here before I start pulling stuff out/unhooking anything. Like I said, really not that car/truck-savvy, so gonna be real careful what I mess with. If I could fix this myself it would be a huge relief.. not only am I nervous that the dealer will screw me, also nervous about driving 1.5 hours to get there with the truck behaving this way. It's terrible because switching to 4WD makes the sound stop, but then after the truck has recently switched to 4WD, 2WD gets all messed up.
Anyway, I'll be back soon with photos. Thanks again.
Originally Posted by johnday
Yes, go to that link, and see my photo in post #8, mine is a '17, and yours would be the same.
If worse came to a lot worse, you could disconnect the hose coming off the solenoid to the IWEs. Vacuum, or what vacuum you're getting would be bled off, and your IWEs would be locked in. As long as you don't switch to 4H/L, you won't hurt anything. The hubs would be locked as if in 4X4, but the transfer case won't be engaged.
The only problem you could then would be the checkvalve sucking in air to the engine.
You could also just pull the hose between the checkvalve and engine, double it over on to itself, to basically pinch it off, and use a ziptie, tywrap to kept it in place until you replace the checkvalve, and go from there.
Hey guys so I looked under the hood at the check valve and connections.. I did find a couple connections that didn't seem to be pushed in all the way but it was so minor I can't believe that's the issue. Could not see a leak anywhere or anything wrong under front left wheel with vacuum hub or connections. I'm attaching a bunch of photos so you guys can see if you spot something. The truck acted normal again after I pushed those connections in near the check valve but again probably just coincidence. If you guys can spot anything weird in these photos please let me know.
really appreciate the help here.
Hey guys one thing I did notice is that my check valve seems to be missing a plastic piece at the seam? In the other thread you guys linked me to johnday has a black plastic piece at the seam. I have attached the photo of mine so you guys can see the difference. Is this the problem?
10-27-2018, 01:50 PM
Brand new 2018 F150 4x4 XL with 3.3L V6 is having 4 Wheel Drive issues... what the?
