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My brother has a 2004 F-150 with about 110,000 miles on it. He called me up the other day and said his front passenger tire was making a strange noise. I remember reading on here about the IWEs. So, I told him to come on here and see what he could find.
We came to the conclusion that it was probably the IWE solenoid. So, he called the dealer and they said a new one would cost $77. He asked if that was with or without the shroud. The guy double checked and said without, the one with was $31. DUH! So, we got a new one and put it on. It is still doing it.
If he puts it in 4 wheel drive the noise goes away. The truck is parked and we are wondering what is next.
I am thinking to check the vacuum line and see if it is split. If the line is OK then it MUST be the IWE, right? Any help or insight would be appreciated.
-Matt
P.S. He probably regrets me looking at his truck because I found he needs all new ball joints and tie-rod ends as well.
Check out this thread, Read the posts from me for ways to test the IWE actuators and figure out where you vacuum leak is. Mine was the IWE on the drivers side, making the passenger side grind.
My understanding is that even if you replace the solenoid, you should check your vacuum lines for water in them and clear them if needed. This is what causes the problem to begin with.
If water was the original problem, yes it should be checked.. Not all IWE solenoids allow water into the vac lines when they fail though. Water shorts out the electrical part of the IWE solenoid, But i don't know if water and get past that part and into the lines.
FIXED! It ended up being the vacuum line that runs from the passenger's side to the driver's side. In the middle right below the engine the line connects to itself. They had come apart. So, the driver's side must have been locked because there was no vacuum and then it allowed the passenger's to lock itself intermittently.
Apparently my brother took the truck to the dealer a few days earlier for an oil change. Sabotage?