So, as expected the slightly larger much more aggressive Nitto tires have dropped MPG a little. Looks like about 1MPG on my typical commute. I was able to get 12.5+ before, so far i'm seeing 11.5 or so with the same conditions. Well worth the slight drop in MPG for the much better look and capability.


Today the IWE noise came back, worse then before. switched it into AWD poof gone! so debating on how bad i want to let it get before i take it back.

 

Ahhh! Seriously a week after I bought my 2012 Lariat it iced over down here and I threw my truck in 4x4 ONE TIME and this happened to me.

I didn't get the extended warranty on my vehicle and I was very upset about the whole thing. I took into the dealership and it would have been around an$800 fix.

The GM of the dealership came up to me when I was pondering what to do and he asked what was wrong and my mechanic explained it to him and went on to say that they would fix it for free since I had bought the vehicle only days before. It was awesome, I didn't expect the dealership to step up like that, especially when they didn't have to to.

I really hope I don't experience this issue again in the future though.

 

Like AlaskanEx is thinking, I just decided to live with the noise rather than deal with it. That was a mistake because the issue only got worse to the point where the Hub would not engage. At this point if I used 4wd Auto I would still get the noise. It sounded horrible if there was wheel slip & the truck tried to put power on the fronts.

The mechanic told me, in most cases, the problem can be diagnosed on the rack by doing a vacuum test. The truck needs to be on a lift with the wheels hanging free. First test with the wheels pointed straight. If no leak turn the wheels all the way to the full lock position. If no leak turn the wheels all the way to the other lock position.

He did this on mine & on no leaks until the wheels were turned to the 2nd full lock position. Then there was the vacuum leak. By full lock he turned the front wheels all the way with some force.

He also told me there are NO improvements on new actuators, they are exactly the same as the originals. He did say that they've had good luck on the units they replaced. It's almost as if the unit is good out of the box or bad. My first new one was bad and had to be replaced right away. This one seems to be holding.

The ones that leak tend to let dirt and grim get in which makes the problem worse. I had both fronts replaced just in-case. I was able to look at the old & new parts. The left side looked like new the right side was dirty.

I'm glad your dealer took care of you. That was nice!

 

I think i'm going to wait until it's making noise constantly, otherwise it's a crap shoot if they will be able to find it and actually repair it.

 

Weather won't work with me, i want to give it a full interior and exterior detail.

At work today.

 

them bigger tires should help get that noise to be made more often and get it broke so youll get a chance to have it fixed sooner then later. id use the gas pedal lots.

 

Made a trip to Seward,AK today, found a little snow up in the pass. Weather was crap with wind gusts up to 85 mph and pouring rain/wet snow. Not the best way to check highway MPG although i did manage 15 mpg with all things considered it's decent.

I'll pick up oil this week so i can change it.

 

Looks wet and sloppy. The winds can really kill the MPGs.

 

It was pretty wet and windy but still a good trip, plus the whole reason i went was to hit the candy shop and get some salt water taffy...love that stuff!

Rolled 32k today, creeping up on 10K since late July 2014.




Then it decided to snow today...lovely April Alaskan weather.

 

Hey Russ the postal service could mail you the taffy for allot less money

 

That was actually one of the main reasons we went, to get taffy haha It was less then $50 in gas and a great way to spend a Saturday.

 

So Russ, ye FAA went out, eh? Is that the same as the IWE? Dagnabbed acronyms. I just watched a video on how to replace the FAA (that'd be front axle actuator for y'all geezers like me), the thingamabob that uses vacuum to engage/disengage 4WD. Man, I was surprised at how flimsy the whole 4WD system looks on trucks! You mean that's all there is taking the engine torque and power to pull ye through all kinds of gook, mud, snow, and ice? It's a wonder to me the thing works at all. If you have a way to stand up under the truck though, it didn't seem to be a real hard job. The youtube was from 1A Auto, I think.

 

Well, Apparently nothing has gone out yet, as the noise has not came back and I've been running in 2wd for some time now. I was sure it was an IWE but not 100% sure what the noise i heard was. I still have over a year of power train warranty left so we'll see how things go for the next year.

 

Hey Russ, check out old Makuloco's video on replacing that 4WD actuator too. He uses a different method than 1A Auto's video, both get the job done. If still under warranty, I'd say go ahead and get'er fixed. That vacuum tube that goes to the actuator looks kind of flimsy to me, what with salt, ice, rain, etc. being able to hit on it a bit. Also, there is a protective water shield that is supposed to go over the actuator solenoid on the firewall. If yours doesn't have it, have them put that over the solenoid. I think Makuloco said it was something they do because they messed up by leaving it off from factory on some year trucks.

 

The earlier year (04-08) trucks did not have the water shield on the solenoid. All 09-up trucks should have it. My IWE's have passed all vacuum tests and held no issue, all lines look good. i'm just going to keep a close ear on any possible noises.