Notar1

Hello all, im in extreme need of help and i figured there would be no other place to go ask a questions besides here. I just bought a 2004 F-150 fx4 CrewCab, (New Body Style) and i love it. Ive had the truck for a month now.

Well 2 weeks ago i was driving to go pick my plates up from the dealer and i heard a loud clicking noise from the front end. It almost sounds like an electronic noice sputtering. sounds kind of like a seceda bug. well i heard it for a second and it stopped so i didnt really worry about it. i got the plates and as i started to drive home i heard it again and it would do it pretty often whengoing over 50mph. i drove the truck home and hoped it would be something stupid so i checked underneath to see if anything was dragging. nothing. so i drove the truck for a few days to the point where it got extremely bad. so i tryed driving it in 4x4 and the noise stopped! so i brought it back to the dealer who told me to go to his mechanic which was a midas, and it was there for a few days and they couldnt find out what it was. I was told it could be the transfer case, or a electronic hub. and they told me they it wasnt the transfer case and they would need to rip apart the whole front end to find it. so i took it back. i brought it to a transmission place to see if they could find it but because my warranty company is ****ty and dont pay for the diagnosis they stopped looking at the truck after 2 hours. i now told the dealer he needs to do something because ive only had the truck 2 solid weeks. so i brought it to his other guys whos had it for 2 days now and cant find whats wrong.

i know its long winded but please help me out here. this is the truck ive wanted for so long as worked so hard for and now 15,500 dollers later im riding my bike to work everyday. can someone please help me out! i will appreciate it so much!

please email me at my personal email if you think you know what it is at nicknotarfrancesco@gmail.com

ATOM

i am sure it's a 4x4 issue. the IWE solenoid on the earlier trucks is problematic. it could be that or you could have bad actuator up front, best way to pinpoint the exact problem is to have the 4x4 system vacuum checked, it will tell what is the exact issue(s)

Notar1

thanks for the fast response! i read somewhere that it could be a vaccum solenoid... what you think?

by the way if it helps its a 5.4 V8 with 55k miles

ATOM

the IWE solenoid is the intergated wheel end solenoid, a properly working unit creates a vacuum and holds the wheel ends and keeps the truck in 2wd, when the solenoid shorts out, FYI there is a new design with a shield, it loses the vacuum, regains it, loses it, so the truck is letting the wheels ends lock in and out at will. probably the sound you are hearing, however if this has been going on for a while, you could have destroyed the hub also, usually not but i have seen it both ways.

this is the part number for the solenoid--6L3Z9E441A, DO NOT let them give you the old one

Notar1

Thanks! im going to go to the mechanic first thing tommrow and tell him about it. appreciate the help alot thanks!

but what do you mean when you say dont let them give me the old one?

ATOM

there is an old IWE solenoid design and a new one, the new one, part number i gave you, has a shield around the solenoid, the old one does not. the old ones are prone to failure from water.

left is the old one, new style on the right



new part installed.

it is located on back of the firewall, passenger side. see how the water can drip right off the cowl on top of it, new design eliminates the water issue shorting it out

06fordf150

yeah thats prob exactly what it is i had the same problem and it was.. cheap and easy fix!!

Notar1

thanks for the advise atom! very helpful and very friendly im gonna take it back and see if i could do this myself because its been sitting at the shop for days now and hasnt been touched.

i will keep you posted

Notar1

it turns out it wasnt the solinoid but i narrowed it down... i spoke to a ford mechanic who is a friend of ours and he told me to unplug the solinoid.. i unplugged the solinoid and the sound is gone! i dont have 4x4 now but at least i can drive it until it goes into the shop on thursday, but thanks for all the help atom!

ATOM

then you have a bad 4x4 actuator, the rubber seal around it gets old and brittle, cracks and lets the air escape. simple fix, part is like 100 bucks, nuts are like 10 bucks, takes less than a hour.