Has anyone ever gotten a bad IWE right out of the box ? I have replaced everything from the firewall to the HUB and still have the grinding Iwe sound. Im about to just pull the ripcord and bail out of ford, love the truck but cant stand weak designs in running gear.

 

I just replaced mine because I had the grinding noise but mine swapped fine. I had a problem with the passenger side one not spinning as freely as the driver's side but once I switched from 4wd to 2wd a few cycles all is good now. I replaced both of of them at the same time just because they were cheap and it was a fairly easy install.

 

I replaced everything and still had the grind/ rubbing sound. Ended up my heat shield was just touching my rotor enough to make the sound. Felt like a moron but I fixed it.

 

Are you sure you don't have a vacuum problem? I had a broken line on the passenger side that caused me some grief until I found it.

 

I tracked all the vacuum lines and looked at all the fuses, im sure its the IWEs just not sure why.I can feel them engage then back off and start to chatter. I checked power to the solenoid and everything else im going to jam something down the vent tube and make sure its not plugged. I can tell it changes with throttle response, meaning when vacuum changes.

 

Why not get a Vacuum pump and troubleshoot properly... most auto part store's will loan you one.. sounds like your leaking some where and a pump will help you pin point..

 

I've got one of those mityvac hand pump units. Works great for troubleshoots these IWE's.

 

If it is changing with throttle response, then your vacuum check valves between the intake plenum and the solenoid are bad. They are there to let air flow in only one direction (toward the engine) and prevent exactly what you are experiencing. Read:

https://www.f150forum.com/f72/how-di...m-esof-186872/

You can use these to replace them:
IIRC, there were 3 on my 05.

 

Also are you sure you torqued your axle nut down right? If it's just a little loose that could cause grinding too. But I would look at your check valves also like VX mentioned. Also look at your reservoir box on the passenger side firewall for cracks.

 

Both good points