i have a 2005 f150 5.4 fx4. i had the same problem everyone here has described with the grinding in the front end. So i did as the tsb said and got the iwe solenoid kit- (comes with solenoid and cover) and still had the noise. So i was like now what. I started doing some research on alldata (THIS COULD HELP SOME PEOPLE RIGHT HERE IF YOU DID AS THE TSB SAID AND YOU STILL HAVE THE NOISE)------> The front hubs are supposed to disengage with 7lbs of vaccum or less. Jack up the front enough to get the tire off the ground, disconnect the rubber vaccum lines (it will be 2 together) take a hand held vaccum pump and rotate the tire slowly applying vaccum, the axle shaft should stop turning around 7lbs of vaccum. DO IT ON BOTH SIDES!!!! I did the and found that the passenger side hub was only pulling halfway off. So i put a new one on and took the old one and i cut it open to see what was in it. This truck has never been in the mud or in water or anything but the inside of the hub was so full of rust it wouldn't let the vaccum fully disengage it...................I HOPE THIS HELPS YOU GUYS IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO ASK!!!

 

Ok... i drive a 2005 f150 screw lariat with the 5.4.. i was experiencing this same exact problem except it only happens when it was pretty cold outside.. i have been having this problem for a little while and i read all of your posts about it... i took it to my local dealership today and had the IWE solenoid installed.. Hopefully that takes care of that problem.. in the meantime i have been having a problem with my 4WD engaging an i figured it was the IWE that was keeping it from.. Obviously thats not the case. As soon as i left the dealership i stopped on a patch of ice an tried to engage the 4wd and only the rear wheels turned.. so the solenoid obviously didnt help the engaging of the 4wd but hopefully it got rid of the grinding sound

Symptoms:
I turn the 4wd **** to 4H and you can hear a click as if it where engaging but it doesnt engage. sounds likje it wants to though

i put the truck in neutral, apply the brake, an go to 4Low same thing.. souunds as if locked in but it didnt

i go back to 4H from 4Low and it sounds like it engages but it doesnt lock in..

Please any advice would be awesome!

thanks,
Rich

 

After having read all of everyone's posts there are a few other ideas I will consider if I still have the intermitent grinding

- water could still be in the vaccum lines ever after new solenoid, harness, actuator and hub
- could be my other hub and actuator that is gone
- could be a leak in a vacumm line some where, either cracked, not fully on, worn out etc

here's my post

Get this!

Just got my 07 back from the dealer today, I had the exact same problem you described, gringing noise under load only and it would go away when ever I turned on 4X4 manually. Basically the 4X4 was fully disengaging. And it happened last Friday.

I had the shop manager test driving it with me yesterday and we talked about the IWE Solenoid most likely being the culprit. They changed the Solenoid with the new harness (bigger cover eliminiating water infiltration), it didn't solve the problem so they also changed the actuator on the right hand side as well as the hub assembly. Was very happy when I found all this out.

Took the long way home after picking it up. Ran great the whole way except after I had to slam on the breaks and swerve to avoid ramming someone from behind. I gunned it on the green and low and behold I hear the same grinding at first on the left side this time and then it sounded like all over the place. Pulled overand vented on the phone with my wife, decided to turn back to the dealership but as I was drving back I couldn't duplicate the grinding no matter what I did.

So I'm really hoping it was the pressure and sytem sorting it outself out after the new parts installed and that the sever breaking and swerving caused it. Needless to say I'll be monitoring this, if all the actuators and hubs need to be replaced then so be it.

Hope this helps you a little. I'm lucky I have a year left of powertrain warranty.

Dre

 

An update

It happened to me again today and I think I am able to nail down the exact circumstances which causes the grinding sound.

It only happens now between 100 and 110 KM/hr, going up a steep hill and with cruise control on.

It happned once yesterday and once today and it seems to be happening on the left side now.

I'm calling the dealership tomorrow to try and explain this.

This really sucks as I've only had the truck for less then a month

 

I have an 04 f150 fx4 with a noise coming from the front hub in 4x2. when i put it into 4x4 the t-case engages but the hubs make the grinding noise even louder and the front wheels will not pull. I checked the iwe switch and it seems to be working properly when it is in 4x2 it has a pretty steady suction and when i select 4x4 the light comes on and you can hear the t-case engage. any ideas???

 

Good evening everyone, I have the same problem you have mentioned with my 2004 F150 5.4L 4x4. I have heard the "blender noise" and as soon as I turned the switch to 4WL it goes away. Does anyone one have any pictures of where the solonoid is located? Thanks

 

Jsmith76n, my guess would be that your hubs are shot. They are either stripped too badly or they will not fully engage possibly do to them being rusted. nickd75 posted about this 4 posts prior to yours.

Larry 1, it is behind the battery on the firewall.

A little write up on how my 4wd system has been acting. I have an 04 f150 xlt 4x4. My IWE solenoid seems like it is completely dead. Will not pass vacuum through it whether it is in 4H, 4L or 2H. I jacked up the front and spun one front tire with it in 2wd and the CV axle on that one wheel spun and so did the drive shaft. When i put it into 4wd, the other wheel spun the opposite direction and the drive shaft did not spin. I pulled the vacuum lines off the IWE solenoid and used my hand vac pump with a gauge (numbers might not be very accurate, gauge has taken a beating). I am getting about 22"HG(~11psi) at the solenoid at idle. Whether i put it in 4H or L or 2H i get zero vacuum on the otherside. If I disconnect the outlet of the solenoid and pull vac on it with my pump, the hubs start to disengage at ~6"HG(3psi) and seem fully disengaged at about 8"HG(4psi). I checked and I do not have any vac leaks at all. When the hubs are fully disengaged the axles do not spin when I spin the tire. My only question is when voltage is sent to the IWE, does it open or close? I am short on cash so i want to make sure it isnt the signal going to the IWE that I am having issues with before i replace it.

 

Ok so here is my experience with this fun and exciting problem, I have the chain draggin down the street, or dry bearings tearing up presiouse metal on the spindle. Now after playing and whatnot I have decided to change out the vacuum solenoid, but something I thought I would share, and wondering if anyone else has done this, I took out the battery and tray to get a better look at things, then read that if you shift into 4wheel it will go away. so I put the truck back together and drove down the road......where did the noise go? It disapearded, so anyone else tried this? Im guessing somehow it reset something in the Iwe switch and it decided to work right? Now Im not a gynecologist but I would say thats what happened, unless Im just completely tarded. I will replace it anyways, cause well Im sure it didnt solve the problem completely, I dont think......

 

I have a 2004 F-150 5.4 4x4 Super Crew. I have replaced the IWE solenoid. I still have the grinding/blender noise but not as bad, now it comes and goes. If I do hear it I flip it into 4WD High as long as I am not above 45 mph, after doing this the sound is still there but real low. Any one have any other tips?

 

Your Iwe diaphragm might have a whole in it, or whatnot. I dont know if you have tried this or not. Its my next step if this doesn't work, but Jack the truck up so you can spin the wheel freely, after that take off the hose going into the Diaphragm its the one with 2 hoses sandwiched together. All you have to do is pull no special clips or whatnot. Take a pressure guage and hook it to one of them, then spin the tire (do this with the truck off) The halfshaft should spin. now put around 7-8 psi into it, at this point the halfshaft should stop spinning and the tire will keep rotating. If this works on both sides its good, if not then its a bad diaphragm. Another way to check it if you dont have a pressure guage is to take a small diameter hose, I found that the fuel line for rc cars is a perfect size. suck in until you cant suck anymore, then put your tongue on it to seal it off, it shouldnt lose suction, but if it does bad diaphragm. This is just info I have gotten from this website in other places, but its worked for them, so hey might be worth a shot! Im still convinced on mine that reseting the battery has made mine work a little longer, might try that. If that works then you may have another bad vacuum solenoid. Make sure it has a big hood over it, if not its an older model! Anyways hope this info helps!

 

My truck started making an awful metal grinding noise out of the blue. It comes and goes with no rhyme or reason. It can be 3 days to a week and
just when I think it is gone, it happens again. It is quite alarming as it is a horrific sound.

First, I went to Ford and they laughed me off, this crazy woman does not
know what she is talking about. So I took to my local mechanic (non-Ford) and he looked at recent brake job he had performed and all was good there. He even replaced a new rotor he just replaced in case there was some imperfection.

Again, the noise started and back to the mechanic I go. He checked the
differential and the transfer case. Nothing!

I took the truck back again and a few days later it was back again.

I know from the sound that it was not good. Basically was at point just
have to wait and see what fails I guess before we know what it is.

I finally started researching the internet scouring for info on this as I am
now losing my mind trying to figure this out!

It was this forum that I found the post about the service bulletin and everything matched up to it being the IWE Solenoid ($27). I got the part from the local Ford dealer and took to my mechanic and he installed it.

No more noise!!! Apparently it was failing due to water running under the hood and was causing the truck to try to shift into 4WD. I guess this is a common problem and people are spending money they don't need to and
fixing things that are fine in an attempt to fix this problem.

 

Sad to report that Ford apparently hasn't fixed this issue by the '07 models. Dealer is telling me that the solenoid is bad and I'll assume is being replaced and nothing else is damaged that they can see. Boy that makes me feel not so good about the life expectancy of this newer unit that replaced my trusty 2000 that I got rid of only cuz of dings, dents and rust...oh, and that leaky rear window gasket! Starting to wonder why I love my Ford Truck so much!!

 

shaky, for what it's worth, since the IWE solenoid was repaced in my truck 4 years /40K miles ago, the problem has never returned.

 

Gents, I found out what my fix was. Been a busy summer, and wanted to share this earlier so here goes.

I basicially tracked my vaccum hoes from the vaccum solenoid to the Ide's on each front wheel. When I found out what was going on I was livid!! The F'n Dealership was screwing me over big time even took pictures of every piece of evidence I saw and was planning on writing a huge letter outlining the timing of events and placing the proof (pics) in with the letter to Ford Canada as I truly don't think they would appreciate knowing that their dealerships are giving Ford a Bad name.

I decided not to do this because in the end it would be my word against there's.

Here's what I found. There are three or four clips (can't remember right now and haven't look at the pics in a while) that hold the vaccum hose in place from the vaccum solenoid all the way to the IDE. There is a nipple on each IDE that the hose goes on too. Here's the kicker if the hose is not held in place by the clips what happens over time as you turn left and right day after day the hose slowly starts to remove itself from the nipple.

Guess what.

All of the clips had been removed from my hose.

It was basically attached at the vaccum solenoid and at the ide nipple (but barely). Those f'ers detached the clips on purpose and knew that over time it would slowly come off. If I actually brought the truck back in and pointed this out they would have claimed mechanic mistake.

I put all the clips back on the hose and took it for a test drive. Again it started happening.

The second time I made sure the hose was strechted enough and held by the clips so that there was enough of a loop as it attached to the IDE. I've driven the truck all summer long and not a peep not a single grinding noise nothing.

What could have cost me thousands of dollars I fixed after an hour of trouble shooting on my own. I'd like to go into that dealership and pound on a few of those a holes.



Another update

 

I have just repaired a 2005 F-150 with the same problem. It was a little difficult to first diagnose, but after a few different tries I found the problem. This truck would exibit the same symptoms as yours. I put a vacuum guage on the system and found the vacuum line from the selenoid to the left front wheel, that later tees off and continues to the right front wheel, would not hold a vacuum. I took all the lines out and after removing the protective covering, that looks like wire loom, I found a spot that came into contact with the exhaust and melted slightly. This area was about 8 inches down the line and would restrict the vacuum and leak a little. I ordered a new vacuum line kit from the dealer, about 75 bucks, and installed it. Works perfect. Took about 45 minutes to install, no tools required except to take off the wheels to make it easier. Turns out the manufacturer knows this to be a problem because the new set of vacuum lines has three areas with heat reflective tape in the same area as this trucks melted line.

Do not replace the IWE until the vacuum is tested, just a waste of money. The dealer is also going to recommend replacing the selenoid first, also a waste of money, unless there is moisture in the lines near the wheels ends.

I did find two of the three one way vacuum valves on the main vacuum line from the brake booster to the selenoid to be bad. The dealer also sells this line for less than 20 bucks that includes the valves. The only other line goes from the selenoid to the vacuum reservoir that is located behind the battery tucked in the firewall. That line costs around 15 bucks. It take a few minutes to diagnose, but if the dealer is going to charge you 100 bucks diagnostic time, save your money and replace the vacuum lines. A 35 dollar vacuum pump with a guage from Harbour Freight and an hour of spare time will allow you to diagnose it yourself.