I have a 2011 F-150 4x4 5.0 with about 45k miles. When I drive at slow speeds (ex. 5mph) and turn the wheels left or right there is a rubbing/growling sound coming from sounds like the front end. It does it either in forward or reverse. It's not a squeaking, clicking, or metal on metal sound. It does not do it when the wheels are straight. I rolled underneath and couldn't see anything that stuck out right away. Anyone know what could be causing this? Thanks

 

tires rubbing in fender well? Do you have bigger tires than stock? That is what it sounds like to me is rubbing on the wheel well, roll slow and crank over with someone walking next to your truck. Have em watch the tires. If you are running stock then hmmmm, I defer to the next person lol.

 

Tires are stock size. Couldn't see anywhere that they were rubbing.

 

4x4 engaged? Could be CV shafts starting to go bad or poss hub bearings starting to go bad . Jack it up grab tire at top and bottom see if there is any play .

 

Is it doing it at full turn?

If so.. Grease the stops where they contact the lower control arm. That fixed mine.

 

X2 on 4x4 engaged. Don't believe the switch/fancy lights either, get one of the front wheels off the ground to see if it rotates to be sure. If it doesn't rotate, you're in 4x4. Should spin freely even with the trans in Park.

 

Upon further review and investigation, I have concluded that the rear differential is stuck in the locked position. On gravel, turning the truck real slow you can see and hear the inside wheel wanting to spin at a faster speed. After doing some research, I am going to drain the rear end and replace with new oil with some friction additive from Ford. See if this will solve the problem. Hopefully it won't be a new clutch to replace in there.

 

If you have an electronic locking rear make sure the 4x4 **** is pushed in, like pushed into the dash. You might have pulled it inadvertently. Worth a quick check if that applies.

 

Tried the **** back and forth, and in & out with no such luck. Still locked in.

 

In that case, would pull the fuse for that system to try to unlock it or pull the shift motor off and manually unlock it. Definitely don't want to be cruising around with that locked up and tear up your rear end.

If you're under warranty the next stop is obvious. If not, let us know since there's a few easy checks to isolate the problem if you want to tackle it yourself.

 

After changing the fluid and seeing a little change but not much, went to the next step and checked at the dealer. Service Manager said that there have been some '10 and '11 models that have had clutch problems with the plates getting locked up. Hasn't been enough to get a recall on it, but under the powertrain warranty they will replace the clutch no cost. So end of the week getting a new one put in.

 

Problem solved!

 

Good for you.

Thanks for reporting back.