Question on how 4x4 works - 2018 F150 4x4
03-21-2019, 03:52 PM
#11
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03-21-2019, 03:54 PM
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johnday in BFE (03-21-2019)
03-21-2019, 04:11 PM
#14
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To test if the hub disconnect aka IWE is working correctly there is a very simple test you can do.
Lift the front wheels off the ground, I suggest jacking up from the lower control arm. You can do one wheel at a time if it makes it easier for you. With the wheel(s) off the ground spin the tire. With the engine OFF and the truck in 2WD, the CV Shaft SHOULD be spinning with the wheel. You can even go a step further to eliminate the possibility of a slight friction or partially engaged IWE causing the CV Shaft to spin but grabbing the CV Shaft with you hand to try and keep it still as you turn the wheel but like I say the CV Shaft SHOULD spin as you turn the tire with the engine OFF and in 2WD. The way the IWE works is by vacuum. With no vacuum they are engaged, with vacuum they are not engaged. The reason the CV Shaft should spin with the engine off is because there is no vacuum with the engine off.
Now crank the truck and do the same thing. Engine RUNNING and truck in 2WD spin your tire, the CV Shafts SHOULD NOT spin. Every time I have done this test, there was no need to hold the CV Shaft because I didn't spin at all which tells me the IWE and the vacuum to it was working as it should!
Wayne
Lift the front wheels off the ground, I suggest jacking up from the lower control arm. You can do one wheel at a time if it makes it easier for you. With the wheel(s) off the ground spin the tire. With the engine OFF and the truck in 2WD, the CV Shaft SHOULD be spinning with the wheel. You can even go a step further to eliminate the possibility of a slight friction or partially engaged IWE causing the CV Shaft to spin but grabbing the CV Shaft with you hand to try and keep it still as you turn the wheel but like I say the CV Shaft SHOULD spin as you turn the tire with the engine OFF and in 2WD. The way the IWE works is by vacuum. With no vacuum they are engaged, with vacuum they are not engaged. The reason the CV Shaft should spin with the engine off is because there is no vacuum with the engine off.
Now crank the truck and do the same thing. Engine RUNNING and truck in 2WD spin your tire, the CV Shafts SHOULD NOT spin. Every time I have done this test, there was no need to hold the CV Shaft because I didn't spin at all which tells me the IWE and the vacuum to it was working as it should!
Wayne
Last edited by Z7What; 03-21-2019 at 04:22 PM.
03-21-2019, 04:14 PM
#15
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Sorta leaves the guys at the tailend hanging. How nice of them. Typical.
03-21-2019, 04:19 PM
#16
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Your axles are spinning even when in 2WD, but the Hub in the wheel is not engaged (locked) so they do spin ''freely''. That's one of the reason why 4x4 have a lower MPG than 2x4. Extra friction = extra fuel consumption. For what it's worth, also note that when your engine is not running, your truck is always in 4x4 (dinosaur vacuum operated system...).
The front axles SHOULD NOT SPIN IN 2WD with the engine running.
Also with the engine off the truck is NOT in 4X4. Yes with the truck off the IWEs are engaged which means your wheel is now "locked" to the CV Shaft but the truck is not in 4X4 because the transfer case is not engaged,(which is electrical, not vacuum) so although the wheels and CV Shaft do spin with the truck off its not engaged to the transfer case because, well, its in 2WD.
Wayne
03-21-2019, 04:41 PM
#17
Senior Member
took them over two months to get my parts, they originally told me 4 months until I got the ford customer service involved. The hubs and iwes are in high demand. Ford also changed the service procedure to require new bolts whenever they take the front end apart, that was what they had a hard time getting. And to top it all off, sounds worse now than before I dropped it off in December.
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johnday in BFE (03-21-2019)
03-21-2019, 05:09 PM
#19
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took them over two months to get my parts, they originally told me 4 months until I got the ford customer service involved. The hubs and iwes are in high demand. Ford also changed the service procedure to require new bolts whenever they take the front end apart, that was what they had a hard time getting. And to top it all off, sounds worse now than before I dropped it off in December.
