Had this problem after I had new tires installed on the 2010 F150 Lariat. Rattling sound coming from the drivers side Wheel well, Sounded BAAAADDDD, like $$$$$ bad. To make a long story short, I looked around and turned out the vacuum lines on the passenger side weren't even plugged in!!! Somehow they had gotten unplugged while the tires were changed. I plugged it back in and the sound went away. Thanks for your help guys.

 

I have replaced the solenoid, checked the vaccum lines, and I put on a new actuator. What else could I check? I put a vacuum tester on my the lines going into the actuators It's getting 20" on the passenger side and 15" on the driver side. Idk what else to do. The passenger side is grinding the worse.

 

I searched and decided to start a thread since my symptoms weren't easily discovered with the "search" button here:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...nt-wheels.html

And I was directed to this thread...

I have a vacuum pump/gauge and am going to try and start troubleshooting my inoperable 4x4 system. I have a few different symptoms, and want to get opinions:

(1) If the actuators are "released" under vacuum, then shouldn't my hubs lock when I remove the vacuum lines from the actuators?

(2) Has anyone had the IWE solenoid/actuators be at fault for not getting INTO 4x4? It appears that the symptoms are all will not come OUT of 4x4, or starts to engage 4x4 without being prompted.

 

Update: I didn't pull the wheels/hubs yet, however after a simple test, I saw that the halfshafts were both turning in 4wd, and not turning in 2wd... I infer that transfer case and diff are OK, and since both sides are permanently DISENGAGED, the problem likely started in the solenoid, and now I have 2 failed IWE actuators.

Price quoted for parts at local dealership:
IWE actuator - $170 each
IWE solenoid - $46

They agreed to sell for $140 & $35, respectively. I am doing all 3 and buying locally for $315+ tax. I didn't get a labor estimate, as I believe this to be a job I can do at home.

Best price for parts online: $260 shipped
http://www.ebay.com/itm/321900439287?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

OK, I have an update...

1. I pulled things apart, and one IWE was physically damaged (more the CV seal, and not the bladder), and one looked OK...

2. With the truck on, I had the 4WD activated from inside the cab, with no "release" of the vacuum... so no 4WD actuation (presumably) due to a faulty solenoid.

3. Installed new solenoid, and with CV's removed, - I plugged the vacuum hose onto an uninstalled IWE and re-tested the system... it was now engaging 4WD, but not fully pulling back in for 2WD. I plugged the other vacuum hose into another IWE - and results look good. With IWE's (one new one old) hanging on the truck, and new solenoid installed, I appear to have a working system. (I took video of these working if it helps anyone down the road).

4. Do things ever go that easy? Well... one of the hub gears is severely damaged (on the side with the damaged IWE). So... I get to return an IWE to Ford, and turn around and buy a replacement hub.

 

Hi everyone I have a 2009 f150 and this is the problem i'm having with my truck. The truck will not shift into 4 hi or 4 low while idling or on the fly. However if I shut the truck off and put the electronic control in 4 high and then start the truck again it will shift into 4 high and work fine. Any ideals what could be causing this issue , both iwe actuators replaced last year along with new vacuum hoses for the truck.Sorry for the font size don't know how to change it back

 

Bought a 2008 two years ago, lots of after market stuff. Everything was good till about 2 months ago, now I've got that grinding, rattling whatever you want to call it in the left side hub. New hub bearing new actuator, new vacuum line, still rattles. Plenty of vacuum on the right, still almost none on the left. The 4 wheel seems to work it just rattles in 2 wheel.

 

Hello gang, new here, however veteran forum junky. Does anyone have any pictures of the solenoids installed say from 2011-2015? My 2015 is at the dealer now for the noise that is almost like a bearing going out and they say its an IWE. $500 later, i'm getting robbed. Im not interested in repeating that adventure. I would like to do my own in the future when its not -8*

 

Great OP Post! Very educational. I’m fairly mechanically inclined, but I was not aware of the vacuum and IWE system that Ford is using in my truck.
I have an '08 F150 SCREW, and I noticed this odd grinding/chattering sound recently, when the weather got cold in Central PA. When accelerating, I could hear the chattering in the front of my truck, especially whenever I passed by some parked cars on passenger side of my truck. I could hear it reverberating off those vehicles. I thought for sure I had a problem on the right side of my truck; maybe exhaust leak or something. But, I dispelled that (I thought) by revving the engine in neutral. When I did that, there was no noise.
I read this OP's post today and went outside to visually inspect my vacuum lines. It's 15 degrees F here today and I wasn't planning to do more than visually inspect in this weather.
It didn't take long to find an issue, but it wasn't on the right side at all. I found on the driver's side wheel the hose to the IWE actuator was disconnected. The hose end was dangling a few inches away from where it needed to be connected to the actuator. At first, I suspected it just yanked away today from it being so cold and me turning the wheels to the extremes so I could poke my head in there to inspect. But, then I saw what had happened: I had the vacuum hose attached the brake line and ABS cable clips too far "upstream" from where it originally was. This shortened the allowable throw of the vacuum tube when the wheels turned.
I remembered almost instantly what happened: this last Summer, I replaced a brake caliper on Driver's Front wheel. I recall snapping the little clip that kept the vacuum tube grouped with the brake line and ABS cable. I quickly reattached it at the time, not realizing that I didn't reattach it at the right spot along the vacuum tube. This likely didn't matter in the warmer months, since the hose is pretty flexible when it’s warm. But, at some point when temps dipped down, turning the wheel likely yanked the vacuum hose off the left side IWE actuator nipples. This is my guess, anyway.
The odd part is that I thought I had two problems (which miraculously began at the same time). I was also hearing a low revving sound in the transmission, like what you hear when your going too fast in a lower gear. So, I had the chattering when accelerating and then this revving when moving at any condition. I suspected exhaust leak and maybe a bad torque converter or all the issues I’m reading about #9 torrington bearing (whatever that is). At any rate, I reconnected this driver’s side vacuum tube to the IWE actuator and took the truck for a spin. Both annoying sounds are gone.
Today, this is the vehicle the family will use for our errand running, and we’ll see if both problems are completely gone.

 

I have 2006 f150 4.6 4wd on floor. I replaced both actuaters and I didn' have any vacuum at the hub when I pulled the lines of on either side. So I had a feeling there was a leak in the line some where because I had suction when I took the line off the solenoid on the firewall and its about a year old and is the new style as well.and theres no leaks close to the solenoid that i can hear or feel.so I got some vacuum line and a couple tees and ran a line off each tee and ran one to each actuater and took the old line off but put the breather line of the old hose back onto the breather nipple of the actuater on each side. My hubs are now unlocked which is great but now when I try to engage 4wd they don' lock in so for some reason it's not cutting the vacuum off to them and yes the 4wd light comes on.did I do something wrong at do I need to install some sort of check valve? Any help would be greatly appreciated guys and ty so much in advance.heres a pic of the tees I installed.well it won't let me or I don' know how to pay a pic.I have 2006 f150 4.6 4wd on floor. I replaced both actuaters and I didn' have any vacuum at the hub when I pulled the lines of on either side. So I had a feeling there was a leak in the line some where because I had suction when I took the line off the solenoid on the firewall and its about a year old and is the new style as well.and theres no leaks close to the solenoid that i can hear or feel.so I got some vacuum line and a couple tees and ran a line off each tee and ran one to each actuater and took the old line off but put the breather line of the old hose back onto the breather nipple of the actuater on each side. My hubs are now unlocked which is great but now when I try to engage 4wd they don' lock in so for some reason it's not cutting the vacuum off to them and yes the 4wd light comes on.did I do something wrong at do I need to install some sort of check valve? Any help would be greatly appreciated guys and ty so much in advance.heres a pic of the tees I installed.

 

would the IWE system also cause the feeling of the back wheels locking up while in 4x4 and trying to reverse and turn?

 

integrated wheel ends

 

Very thorough write up. Helped me troubleshoot my system to find a crack in one of the plastic vacuum lines. A quick splice w/ a piece of rubber vacuum line and we were back on the road. Thx!

 

Good thread! I had an intermittent issue that I lived with for years. My drivers side hub would lightly grind every once in a while on 1-2 shifts. Motorcraft YG360 check valves and my drivers side actuator were leaking slowly. One check valve wouldn't engage under 7 pounds of pressure. Make sure to test the check valves at lower levels and slowly pump it up. I found that my actuators took up to a minute to engage upon startup. So the system would slowly build up enough pressure to disengage the hubs but not hold enough to keep them that way all the time. Thanks again for the thread.

 

Hi, i have an 08 ford 5.4 f150.

i found a plastic hose that broke off from the driver side that goes to the iwe on the driver side. i'm just wondering where that connects. the hose comes up under the air duct. one of the line is not broken, i believe this is the breather or vent tube that runs across from one end (solenoid) to the other side of the driver. the piece that i believe is broken is the vacuum line that goes to the iwe on the driver side. i just need to know how or what supplies vacuum or where it connects to on the driver side. I've attached a picture.

thanks.