Today I noticed that both IWE's are completely cracked and broken. 2 out of the 3 flanges where they bolt on are cracked off. How hard is this to replace? Do I have to mess with the wheel bearings or anything or is it just a matter of removing and replacing? Also any ideas what could cause this? Wrong tires maybe? The truck is an HD and calls for like 60 PSI in the front but i have Lt's on there now at like 39 or whatever they are rated for. Just a guess.

 

Looks it could just be a little corrosion cracking on the alloy IWE itself, or perhaps the bolts were slack at some point and the jarring as the hub engaged cracked them.

Replacement isn't too hard, there is a good thread on here somewhere with a diagram. You leave the wheel bearing etc in place, just undo the shaft nut, remove the wheel, break the upper ball joint and steering rod ball joint to allow you to swing the strut out far enough to withdraw the drive shaft.

You will need to undo the 3 bolts holding the IWE in place and remove the broken sections. Refit new ones and torque all the nuts again.

 

Thanks for the quick response. That's what i hoped to hear thankfully the parts are not too expensive. Will i have to do anything to recreate the vacuum effect once the new one is on? Im not too sure how the whole system works but it seems like the vacuum would obviously be gone since the whole side is cracked open.

 

It took me prob 2 hours to do it myself in my yard with just jacks. It's not hard and just hook up the vacuum lines and put it together the same way the old one comes out and you're good. Simple mechanic skills required

 

Ok that is good news. I'm going to order the parts now and get to it when they come. Thanks for the help.

 

Pictures, and tools needed are all in here;


http://www.f150online.com/forums/2004-2008-f-150/360269-iwes-removal-replacing.html

Don't over torque the three tiny screws that hold the IWEs on...

 

Ya this seems to be the go-to post for this job I kept coming across it no matter where I started searching. Thanks for the tip

 

Has anyone else had them crack like this? My truck moans pretty good and vibrates too. I'm hoping this will somewhat solve the problem when I replace these. I was thinking it was the u joints before I noticed this but they don't seem to have any play when I try and move them around.

 

Driving home with the radio off tonight, I suddenly hear what sounded like a piece of paper barely touching the blades of a high speed fan at ~50 MPH. I switched to 4 High and it immediately went away. I drove in 4 High for several miles and then switched back to 2 High and the noise didn't come back. If I would have had the radio on, even low, I wouldn't have heard it. I have a new 4x4 solenoid on the way from Tasca. I still have the old style on the truck. I'll have to keep a close ear to it and look to replace the IWEs if the noise continues. 70K on a 2005 Lariat SCrew.

 

OP,
I suspect that somebody over tightened the bolts at some time. Both my IWEs were bad at 45K but they were internal failures.

VTX1800- That sounds like a slight vacuum leak. Being intermittant the solenoid may be the problem.

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/836438-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-iwe-system-and-then-some.html