just cant figure it out!!!! I bought an 06 f150 4x4 about 3 months ago and i havent been able to use my 4wd yet. first the vacum lines were plugged, locking my front diff in constantly. I cleared those up only to discover that my shift motor on the trans case was shot too. i replaced the motor... my 4X4 worked for about a day and now when i shift into 4HI all i get is a ratcheting sound out of my front drivers side wheel and nothing is locked in. today i checked all of my lines and the vacuum is fine on all. shift motor is still workin good. switch is fine in the dash... can someone please give me some insight as to why this ratcheting and slipping is going on??? keep in mind that i purchased the truck from an elderly gentleman who told me he NEVER put the truck into 4wd once in the 3 years that he had it. thanks

 

It probably needs a new IWE (integrated wheel end).

 

Besides that, the previous owner saying that he 'never put the truck in 4wd' would lead me to believe that it may have never worked?? You gotta 'use it or lose it' for the most part and if it was a old guy that owned it, it was probably only driven in the city and never had any real hwy time on it....

Did it have low mileage? In my experience, used vehicles with lower then average miles on it are going to be nothing but trouble in the long run....

When I bought my F150, I bought the one with more miles on it... There was another one with less miles, had better wheels and tires on it and cost the same.... Why did I buy the one with more miles on it?? Well, it did have the 5.4 compared to the other with the 4.6, but I also knew that it would be the one that has had all it's bugs worked out too...

Anyway, I've always had better luck with high mileage used cars, then low mileage ones.... Just my opinion on it....

Sounds like you've done some initial diagnosis on it and it's still not working?? Might just have to bite the bullet and take it in to get it resolved..

Good luck!

Mitch