Okay this is my First Ford and while on a 3 hour road trip in my 2017 F150 Lariat SE with my entire family, I started hearing a grinding noise on front left. Only when lightly accelerating on the highway and would stop if I adjusted throttle position (floor it or let off and try again). After some research I think I know the problem is the stupid little $10 check valve, but after reading and reading I see that my driving for over two hours like this could’ve caused some other damage to the hubs, bearings?

I also learned that by using 4WD Auto it has stopped. Thanks to the forum for that. But my question is, am I safe to drive my wife and two small children 3 hours back home without worrying that a wheel could fall off?! Last month we lost a wheel on a friend’s Nissan Titan while doing 80mph down the highway. I cannot risk reliving that experience with my kids in the car! That was awful.

Thanks for any help! Only had this truck a week and it only has 24k miles on it. Makes me worried I made a bad decision. I only went with Ford because my Rams spent more time in the service department than my driveway, yet here we are again.

 

You won't have any issues running it in 4A whatsoever. There are people that run 4A 100% of the time.

As to the wheel falling off, I doubt it that you did much damage if you stopped it as soon as it started. From my experience on my 2010 which I did have to replace one IWE that was bad, it did not ruin the bearing. Place said the reasons that I didn't was because I didn't just keep on the gas to keeping it grinding and didn't continue driving with it that way. I think that there would need to be a whole lot more wrong if the wheel falls off due to a bad bearing and/or IWE. If it isn't making any noise in 4A, I personally wouldn't worry about it for the trip home. That being said, I am not there, I can't see or drive it and can only go by your description that you provided here. Only way you will get a close to a 100% answer is to have someone actually look at it.

 

I'll also add that I do think based on your description that it probably is the check valve. Once you get it home, come back here and we can help you narrow it down.

 

Thank you! Yeah I always tried to lift off the throttle or give it more throttle so it stopped. I only let it ride out once and that was to get a video for the Stealership when I take it in. I personally thought I would be okay as well, but the more I read about bearing failure due to IWE issues, I was making myself worry. If it was just me I wouldn’t even have a second thought about driving it home, but with my 8 and 2 year old in the car I tend to worry a little more lol.

 

Until you can troubleshoot further, just drive in 4a or unplug the electrical connection at the solenoid under the hood.
My vote is to unplug the electrical connection.
Both accomplish the same thing -locking the front hubs. However in 4a, the internal clutches may be used more frequently. If you have all highway, etc and you're not planning on setting the cruise control at 80mph you're totally safe.

Once you return home we can dive in. More times than not, the check valve is replaced and the problem still exists. If you wanted to stop by the Ford parts counter and purchase the replacement you can install it in the parking lot in 2 minutes if you want. If you don't have a Ford nearby -just drive home with the wiring disconnected or while driving in 4a.

This has been discussed in great detail 3 times in the past 2 weeks -so we can dig in further when you're home without going into more of the what ifs, ands, and other sideline talk that will just waste your time before getting back on the road.

Also no, you aren't at risk of any major damage. IF the hub is only partially locked (grinding), yes that is bad so you want to prevent the grinding. It will just wear off the teeth and the IWE (and/or the hub) will need to be replaced. The vehicle is still totally drivable if the teeth have worn down though, but 4x4 would not be reliable.

"Flooring it" should make the noise worse, letting off the throttle should make it better. More vacuum is created when NOT on the throttle. Vacuum is what controls the IWE disengagement.

Lastly, grinding isn't always the best description for IWE -grinding could be related to something else, but nothing you'll fix on the road today.

 

Thank you for all of that! We’re on the road now and so far no noise in 4A. Just sucks cause I’ve only had the truck a week. I am in love with the truck and prefer it over all of my Rams, but this is a little discouraging to say that least. I have so many plans to modify the truck, but this made me cancel my order for the custom tunes and the lowering kit until I know it’s good and they won’t blame me and refuse to fix under warranty. Been down that road before!

 

Yep, to all the above, you're completely safe driving it.

 

My dad was having intermittent grinding in his 2018 when accelerating out of a turn so he ordered a check valve. While waiting on it he pulled the old one and sprayed WD40 through it, wiped it off and reinstalled. The grinding stopped and he put the new check valve in the glovebox when he got it.

 

WD-40 fixes everything!! Haha… I will give it a shot! But based off of some noises I heard on my 4 hour drive back home (We did make it!), I’m willing to bet that bearing is toast. Slight vibration that I didn’t have before and the occasional humming noise.

I have to take it in anyway and have them reflash it or something cause the transmission is downshifting way too hard. It is the 10 speed, but the other ones I test drove, I don’t remember being able to feel the truck buck on down shifting. I sure hope this truck doesn’t end up being nothing but a headache LoL

 

I would not say that the bearing is bad. I've had the way the road was poured have ribs in such a way that made it sound like I had a bad bearing. Matter of fact, one of the roads I commute on, I can get it to repeat on the same spot in the same lane (3 lanes in each direction) every time I use that lane. Doesn't do it in any of the other lanes. That spot makes it sound like I have a bad bearing every time. Even my wife called me once and said she thought something was wrong with her car. I asked if she was in that spot and in that lane. She said "yes.". No complaints from her since.

Okay, it may but, I'd see if it continues on roads that you drive everyday before thinking it is.