I am new here and do not own a ford yet but have been in the market for one. I found a 2006 F-150 Harley Davidson Edition 4x4. It has 63k miles on it and is in near perfect condition, except for one problem. The seller has removed the front drive shaft due to noise coming from the transfer case. This is what he stated in his advertisement:

"I have the front drive shaft taken off the truck so it is only 2WD (Rear) at the moment. It is perfectly safe and drivable without the front drive shaft on. I have been driving it for about a year like this. If I put the Front drive shaft on it feels like either the front Differential Ring & Pinion Gear is worn and has bad contact or the Transfer case chain is loose causing it to skip. The engine, Transmission, and other drivetrain parts are perfectly fine. Don't let this small issue deter you from an excellent buying opportunity."

I have heard that this could possibly be a common problem with this year model truck and maybe a bad solenoid or sensor replacement would fix it. Worst case scenario, it needs a new or rebuilt transfer case, anyone have a ballpark estimate what that would cost? Would you stay away from this truck with this problem? It is priced about $6k below book value and seems to be a pretty good deal to me. What say you? Thanks in advance for any input. Cheers!

 

About this much;

2006 FORD F-150 Parts - TascaParts.com

Plus labor.

It's always buyer beware... Have the truck checked out by a mechanic.

 

It might be a IWE issue do a search, read up, then go look at it.

 

I second the possible IWE problem. I haven't seen many transfer case or front diff failures. One of the hubs could be leaking vacuum and the resulting grinding noise is mistaken for a transfer case problem.

 

Just FYI, the two posts you made where you linked to Tasca Ford don't show any parts, just the front search page for Tasca Ford parts.

Stewart