brokenarrow

Hey guys, I think I've pinpointed the problem I've been having with vibration at different speeds. Could you guys give this a read and tell me if I'm thinking through this properly?

So, the vibration is nearly gone when in 4wd. This discovery prompted a little more digging, which I just completed. It looks like neither of my IWE's are disengaging at the wheel. With the vehicle on, in 2wd, I checked each wheel independently, and both half shafts spin with the wheel. When I engage 4wd going down the road, it seems to be working, which is telling me that the problem is likely in the vacuum system. Thinking through it, since I'm not having any grinding or noise issues, it's making me think the IWE solenoid must be faulty. It's not sending any vacuum at all to the wheels. Partial vacuum or intermittent vacuum would lead to a noise, correct?

Help me check my logic here. If the solenoid fails, no vacuum would reach the tires, so the half shafts would always be engaged. The 4wd would still work as long as the transfer case works. I suppose the lack of vacuum could be a broken or disconnected hose as well, which is something I will check now.

Sorry for thinking out loud here. I was just hoping to gather some opinions in the hope that I'm finally on the right track.

Thanks guys!

brokenarrow

Just checked a few more things. From disconnecting hoses and feeling for vacuum, there is definitely vacuum getting to the solenoid, but there is NO vacuum on the outbound side of the solenoid. This confirms the solenoid is faulty.

I also hooked the vacuum hose coming from the intake directly to the hose going to the wheels. I confirmed the vacuum is getting to the wheels hooked up this way, so there is no blockage or disconnected hose. When I connect the hoses to the IWE's they still do not release the wheel. This would mean the IWE's are also shot.

What I'm thinking is that the solenoid has been bad for a while. As this is a new to me truck, I would have never known any difference. The IWE's have been engaged for the last 2+ months, and I bet they are frozen like that now. I'm going to order new IWE's for both sides and a new solenoid.

Dirttracker18

The only way to know for certain is to properly diagnos the system. To do this you need a vacuum pressure tester which can be borrowed from most parts stores. The liklyhood is that you are correct but doing a proper diagnosis could potentially save you time and money.

brokenarrow

Thanks for the reply. I will be going through the system as described in a few write ups I've found using a vacuum tester. I just wanted to check my thinking. Thanks again.

techrep

iTrader: (1)

What Dirt said.. troubleshoot it correctly.