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I'll try to post a photo, your truck is the same as mine. See the brake fluid reservoir? That device with the hoses coming in/out the bottom, is the 4X4 solenoid. Just disconnect the electrical at the top of it. What's going to happen is that the IWEs will lock in due to no vacuum, and will be turning the front diff. Listen for your noise, and try to pinpoint where it's coming from. When you do, plug it back together. DO NOT engage 4H/4L when doing this at this time.
Thanks johnday - unplugged power to solenoid, drove it up driveway, no noise at all. Selector was in 2H, but didn’t feel like 4x4. Plugged solenoid back in, pulled top vacuum line while running, and there is vacuum going to that line.
OK, next would be to bypass the solenoid. What you'll need to do is join those two hoses together to provide vacuum to the IWEs, and keeping them disengaged while in 4H/4L. You may have to make a trip to a hardware. Those hose ends can be pulled aprt and joined, but it's easier if you got connections and tubing. Once you get that done, try driving it in the same circumstance it starts grinding with 4H engaged. I'm not thinking it's your IWEs at this point, you proved out they engage with no vacuum, like they should.
Found a plastic fitting in my ‘why do you keep all that crap’ drawer - connected the two lines, switch in 4H, no grinding.
LOL, I think we've all got at least one drawer like that. Good name for it.
Well, and it still makes the grind and slipping feel when everything is back to normal? I'm assuming you tried it again. It's sounding like the noise occurs when the transfer case, and/or, the front diff is under load. So far everything we tried has been basically with no load on them.
After all this, it might seem like a stupid question, but have you looked underneath at the heatshields for anything loose or possibly a stone or something lodged on them?
Likely won't hurt to mention this. If I'm hearing that video right, that isn't an IWE grinding. They sound higher pitched, like a stone stuck between the rotor and dust shield. Yours sounds a lot like a ujoint is loose/bad.
Besides, IWE grinding usually occurs when in 2 wheeldrive, due to vacuum loss at the IWE.
Johnday, exactly like a ujoint sound, with the internal splines slipping. The heat shield is connected at all bolted points, yet kind of flops around anyway. But this is a rotational noise. How to check the ujoint?
