I know this conversation has been covered thoroughly but I haven't read much information about 07-08 guys replacing their "updated" IWE solenoid with the water hood. I had the horrible sounds coming from my 07' this past Saturday. It happened 4 times total in about a 60 mile trip.

I did a bunch of research and figured it had to be an IWE issue. Most of the trucks I've read about with the issue are 04-06 and people recommend replacing the IWE solenoid because it doesnt have a rain cover and can get water in it and fail.

Well, I decided to replace the solenoid yesterday to start out with even though it had the rain cover. I drove it for about a total of 50 miles now and haven't seen the issue.

Reason why Im writing this is Im going on a hunting trip this weekend and still not %100 convinced this will solve my issue. It would help me hearing from 07-08 guys that can confirm the newer ones can fail.

 

Check all of your check valves too. I disconnected lines from solenoid and IWE and blew them out to. You would be amazed the amount of crap the ends up in there.

 

I was going to do this yesterday but then I remembered someone mentioing they blew out the lines and ended up ruining the vacuum box behind the battery trey. Is this something I would have to worry about? Or should I just disconnect that line?

 

Hmmmmm. My vacuum box survived. Mine is a 2005. Box seems pretty robust. Don't know about yours

 

Drove about 150 miles now and it hasn't happened yet. Still a little nervous taking it on the trip this weekend but I think it would have showed itself by now. Still would love to hear any 07-08 guys that can confirm the newer solenoid valves can go bad.

 

I wouldn't worry about it too much. If the noise comes back while you're on the road, then pull over and disconnect the solenoid. This will lock in the front axle. As long as you don't switch over to 4hi or 4lo, the transfer case will still be in 2wd, so you won't get any binding. I wouldn't leave it like that forever, but you'll be fine as a temporary measure. Many people, including myself, have done this with no ill effect, except for bad gas mileage.

 

+1 here. Till my check valve arrives I'm stuck doing that. The expense of replacing your IWE far exceeds the additional cost of gas.

 

I replaced the solenoid a few months ago on my 07. The IWEs were not disengaging and the solenoid fixed it. Rain hood or not they still go bad.

 

It must be a common issue with all 4wd, my 05 was making some bad noises, replaced the IWE and it didn't go away, then I came across this post, saved me about $250 by just replacing these hoses and vacuum tree on my own.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...715-noise.html

 

My IWE solenoid was working fine, but I had bought the "updated" one several years ago and decided to replace it today (168K miles).