Talk to your service advisors manager and/or the shop manager. They misdiagnosed the issue(or did half A$$ job) and should make it right. If you swap the solenoid and IWE, there still may be other issues. But for what its worth, the IWE is damaged/worn if in deed the so-called hub was bad, and will most likely need to be replaced.

 

The passanger hub was definetly bad and the teeth were all grinded down, i replaced them myself. Since the hub was grinded out, that does mean the actuator needs to be replaced to because that is what pushes the hub into place and they were grinding on eachother?? and the actuator is also known as IWE?? please correct me if im wrong (im not the greatest mechanic, and im trying to save as much money as possible, im just a poor college boy)
Im trying to do everything i can before i take it back to the dealers to get further diagnostic on it.

 

Thanks for clarifying that, and a bad assumption on my part that it was dealer repaired.
Check the pdfs at listing #6 in this thread for the .pdf documents/shop guides on how everything works. https://www.f150online.com/forums/3663465-post6.html

I would browse through this entire thread first before starting. Some have figured out shortcuts around unnecessary steps.

1) I personally would start with checking vacuum. At the actuator/IWE. It may be something simple as clogged line, moisture, etc. Pull it loose at the IWE and check for vacuum. If possible, with a meter and for the correct spec. If no or very low vacuum, start here checking the lines, solenoid, and the other components listed throughout the thread. I have a method to bypass the solenoid completely that may be a last resort step for isolation of a bad solenoid before moving on to 2).

2) If vacuum is significant(enough to hold the line to your finger) I would move on with replacing the IWE. It most likely isn't holding enough vacuum to retract the integrated gear to disengage from the hub. May be a lubrication issue, moisture(frozen if cold). And from what you are describing, it probably is damaged anyways.

 

Ok, i will be checking the vacuum lines first thing in the morning. I dont know where exactly the vacuum line is, (let me know if im wrong again) but there are two lines off of the solenoid, one goes to the left and other to the right. I assume that s the vacuum line and i will just follow that down to the passanger hub?

Also, a little more information. I have the truck in 4 wheel drive right now (so i dont ruin another hub). Does that necesarilly mean that the actuator isnt broken? or not needing to be replaced? the 4x4 hi and low work great after i replaced the hub, its just not disengaging properly back to 2x4

Another thought from that link you gave me with the pics. The very first pic, on the right side of the pic is that the actuator being separated from the Hub on the left side of the pic??

sorry my thoughts are kind of scattered. And thank you so much for all your input it is greatly appreciated!

 

brickiv - see my responses above - No problem.

 

great! thanks so much. i will let you know what i find tomorrow under the hood.
again, thanks for all the advice, and that pic helped out a lot, i wasnt exactly sure where the actuator was or what it looked like.

 

ok, its fixed!
the vacuum hoses werent getting enough sucking power, the passanger side had most but the driver side had almost zero air pressure going through the hose.
I ended up finding a whole in the linke a couple feet away from the iwe. So i taped it up (hopefully it will hold) and so far it seems to have been fixed. No grinding, i can hit the 4x4 on the fly and it works. i will probably still check the actuator to make sure it is still in full function next week.

But it still doesnt make complete sense to me, the driver side hub was the one that had a hole near it and it didnt have any vacuum power but it was the passanger side hub and iwe that was getting grinded out... Is that normal or does it sound right?

Thanks so much for all your help!

 

After looking into it more myself, there must be two separate phases of vacuum control to engage and disengage. When normal(2WD) vacuum is supplied to one side of the IWE and when switched to 4WD, vacuum is supplied in the opposite direction. The spring within the IWE alone doesn't engage, it must have vacuum as well. In this case, if there was a hole in the line on the lft side, it could be that it is tee'd off and routed from lft to rt. From my experience, the solenoid on the passenger firewall controls the disengage of the RT wheel IWE. I'm working on a follow up reply to the post with more info on how to troubleshoot it.

 

Use this as a guide to bypass the RT(Passenger) side solenoid while troubleshooting potential vacuum or solenoid issues related to an untimely engaged front passenger wheel while in 2WD. This may be used as an alternate to engaging 4WD in an attempt to avoid damage associated with this type fault, especially under normal dry pavement conditions.

Symptoms that may warrant the use include: RT axle turning while in 2WD and/or vibration, grinding sound described throughout the IWE - Repair/Replace thread attributed to improper gear meshing of the front wheel while in 2WD.

1) Locate the solenoid on the RT side firewall(See Image)



Solenoid:


2) Disconnect and reconnect the line as shown:



This will allow vacuum to bypass the solenoid and provide pressure to the IWE to disengage the RT wheel while in 2WD. From my personal experience, this solenoid failed while temperatures dropped below freezing.

 

is the smaller line the main vacuum line?

 

brickiv.... is the white and black part on the other side of the elbow one of the check valves?

 

Question - Would a solenoid or actuator problem cause the SES light to come on after returning to 2H?

I only recently got a 4x4 and am not familiar with the equipment. I got the light a few miles after returning to 2H.

 

I have been working with this hub noise for a few days now and I think I am stuck. I have verified about -20 inches at the end of both vac lines at the IWE's in 2WD mode and at or near 0 in 4WD mode. I am seeing a small amount of pressure loss at each IWE with approx 10 inches falling to about 6 or 7 after a couple of minutes. My question is, what is the proper pressure drop over what time? I read there can be a pressure drop, but I don't recall how far it can drop over how long.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

Not sure on the spec but I would read through and or search the IWE threads for it. I'm assume your getting the grinding noise if not what noise is it and when, in 2wd or 4? Which side?

 

It is a grinding noise from the left front wheel area when either going straight, very seldom, from a dead stop or turning right, more often. It makes no difference 2WD, 4WD A, H, or L. It may have been in my head, but I thought it was a little better in 4WDH, but still made the noise on occasion. I found an unconfirmed spec of 1 lb per minute for the leakdown test is appropriate.

I noticed, however, when I pulled the vac lines from the actuator on the left wheel, they were not clipped into the holder on the shock body. After testing the actuator for hold pressure and the vac line coming from the solenoid, I put the clip as it should be and put the lines back on the actuator. I moved to the right side just for testing confirmation that the actuator and solenoid were working properly to that side as well. I also wanted a comparison test from one side to the other. Both sides acted very similar if not identical. So, I drove the vehicle today to and from work without the noise, about 20 miles of driving. I made extra stops and right turns to see if I could make the noise appear, which it did not.

I can't help but think maybe the vac lines were getting pinched somehow when they were knocked from the clip?