2015 Ford F150 Front differential bearing noise NOT (IWE) Integrated Wheel End

[@af9p]

I have 2018 F150 Lariat with 4mode transfer. My 91,000 mile gently used truck is having front differential being removed and rebuilt by FOMOCo dealer under extended warranty as I write this. At least 2 years ago I complained of subtle noises from front wheel (s) . They did some " repair" and the noise I had been hearing while turning was gone. Move ahead several months and now hearing very faint but discernable noise somewhere if front driveline. They blew it ( and me) off as tire noise. Sounded like a twig from a tree was stuck under truck and dragging just to describe sound. Dealer claimed the couldn't hear anything. You needed to be on quiet smooth road with heater and radio off. The noise continued and in the interim I started to notice a generally sharp reduction in fuel milage by about 18% or more. No codes, no misfires etc. " try an injection cleaner "dealer says. Now I am told that the noise I have been hearing is loud enough for dealer to recognize as being front differential bearing failure! They could hear it now! Amazing! Hit me like a ton of bricks...why the f%$ is the front differential running all? I have been hearing this for about two years! In the 60,000 miles I have driven the truck in Wisconsin the front has been locked in 4x4 during snow perhaps 30 miles. 4A perhaps as much as 100 to 200 miles. 4x4 low with rear diff lock as much as perhaps literally a thousand feet! 2wh 99.9% of my old man grandpa driving. Again why is the front differential turning at all. Well apparently the noise I heard while turning was from the IWE Actuators. Without telling me they apparently discarded the vacuum line between source vacuum and the check valve to IWE control vacuum solenoid and capped the ends. So, for 2 years I have been wearing front differential parts, increased tire wear, significantly reduced fuel milage and now get to pay for the deductible portion of extended warranty work the nature of which was caused by the Ford dealer action 2 years ago! I'm pissed! They should have at least told me that the front hubs would now be continuously engaged... do you mind?? I have been trying to fully understand the design and workings of the 4mode transfer case and the operating criteria. It has been hard for me to find specific design or description on the internet. Perhaps i am not looking in thevright arra ir using wrong sesrch vernacular. Someone alluded in this comment arena that the front drive shaft is always engaged and the front differential will be spinning all the time even in 2wd. From what I have learned ( I don't have access to the full breakdown books. I miss Cholton and Motors etc at the local Library) the front shaft is engaged with an electric clutch. If that is the case nothing should be rotating when 2wd when IWE Actuators are operating as designed. Please clarify if that is NOT the case. 2) Even though there is a TSB to disable the vavum to address IWE noise ( that I apparently had encountered) shouldn't they have replaced offending components? Gee, my brakes make noise when I step on the brake pedal... mechanic says ill just cut your brake line... your noise will be gone!! Is there any class action suit over this IWE bypass business? Vehicle is now clesrly operating outside of federsl fuel milage certification. This is easily a $3000 plus billable job. I estimate that I have directly lost $500- $600 per year in added fuel consumption . Judt few weeks ago l was looking at my tires thinking they are wearing a bit more than the original set. By about 5 to 10 % more. Sorry for the length if comment but judt had to clear air or muddy it up a bit! Thanks! Ron

[@Iambl2]

Man I think I’m having the same issue with my 2015. I have a wierd grinding noise on the left side I can’t figure it out I changed the iwe just last week an it dint help one bit and did your truck ever pull hard one way?

[@mikewicks9563]

@@Iambl2pull the vacuum line off iwe, see if noise goes away, probably problem with the vacuum line system, iwe not disengaging all the way

[@ckd7823]

I too have a 2018 F150 Lariat with 4mode transfer. Within my first 3,000 miles, I would periodically (about once every 10 times I drove truck) hear a grinding noise from up-front. I did research on-line and found that it was likely the IWEs partially engaging due to a faulty IWE vacuum check valve. Took truck to dealer and explained the problem (and that it was an issue many other owners were reporting) and asked if they would replace the IWE vacuum check valve. They said they would check it out and after they drove the truck I got the typical "could not duplicate" response from the dealer (I told them up-front it was very intermittent) and they would do nothing. So rather than allowing this to continue and damaging my IWEs, I pulled the IWE vacuum check valve and blew through it several times. It would periodically not hold or seal-off properly. I went on-line and purchased a few of the check valves (Motorcraft YG360) and installed two of them in the vacuum line. I haven't heard a grinding noise since and I now have 43,000 miles on the truck.

[@regisrusnock4985]

If you F150 has the AWD option on the 4WD selector switch , commonly found on the higher levels of trim, then you have a different transfer cases than those without this option. The engagement system is different to give you AWD. Unfortunately, this system has parasitic hydraulic drag that turns the front drive shaft even when in 2WD. It’s similar to spraying water on a paint roller and watching it spin. This is going to put a lot of extra wear on the front dif as the drive shaft spins all the time. There is also a TSB out there that says to cap the iwe vacuum system to correct vacuum leak associated problems. This turns your front drivetrain into something reminiscent of a 1990s full time 4WD system. Again more wear even when in 2WD Something to be aware of

[@giobikefans]

That makes sense. Mine has 40,000 miles on it and developed this grinding sound and this was the problem. Thankfully covered by warranty, but seems like an incredibly early failure for this part.

[@eddytheman1384]

Thanks my F 150 2016 which I bought brand new now has 77KM got this problem and I been driving 95% in 2WD.Just return from Ford dealership here in Toronto and they asking 3800$ cad for replacing whole front axle.:-(

[@landoncrane5258]

@@eddytheman1384 2015 Lariat with 100k. Just purchased. Too miles later this popped up. They're telling me its gonna cost me $3.2k. Anyone know how important for me to get fixed?

[@sqd37l]

more of a problem if you drive around in 4A all the time, if your IWE's are working it's not a problem

[@denneychavez9972]

Did you happen to make a video on this rebuild? It would’ve been amazing

[@thejourneymen7722]

Far as the mileage goes that doesn’t really tell you anything because nothing moves in these front differentials unless the truck is locked into four-wheel-drive so if the owner only uses the four-wheel-drive option one time in six years you’re going to have very little mileage on the internal parts but that’s also the reason so much moisture builds up in them because they rarely get used to build up enough heat to burn off the excess moisture.

[@trentm1]

This isn't an oil contamination problem, it is a crappy parts problem. My 2019 with only 40k on it is needing to be completely rebuilt. Dealer says they see it a lot and they have attributed it to "cheap Chinese" metal.

[@iSAAConrad]

What did the noise sound like? It seems to me if it’s in 2WD it shouldn’t make any noise because the axle isn’t moving unless the IWE is failing and causing the axle to spin

[@CK-dt6nx]

I was going to say the same thing. And I have the same hum left front. Louder when you turn right, goes away when you turn left. Makes no difference 2 or 4wd. Ain't the diff oil.

[@Sal_Gunz]

@@CK-dt6nx I have the same issue in 17. You figure out what the issue is? It only happens when I’m turning right and my steering wheel is at a certain angle, it does not do it on a full lock turn and only does it at speeds under 10mph.

[@tadt.6262]

Hey fellas. Any updates on the noise?

[@Brett.284]

@@Sal_Gunz I have a 2017 and this just started happening. It's very frustrating.

[@Sal_Gunz]

@@Brett.284 mine ended up being the IWE and a bad wheel hub bearing. I narrowed down the IWE by disconnecting the IWE solenoid and the noise went away in 2wd. Seems like i wasn’t getting the common IWE scraping/grinding noise but it was definitely shot. My wheel bearing going bad ended up being bad timing along with the IWE as it was most likely on its way out and it was a combo of IWE and wheel bearing noise I was hearing.

[@nwwells98]

Had this exact problem on a 2018 bought used with 100000 on it. Noise started at 101000 and had increased steadily.

[@colbyhays6363]

What is the cost to redo bearings and seals front differential

[@johnboyce8753]

What does a job like this run price wise and time wise?

[@ross7684]

My 2019 F150 with 40000 miles has same problem. It goes in for bearings and seals in 5 days.

[@snowrider5150]

When you test drove it, did the noise go away when turning right or left?

[@charles17508]

I've done all my services and done difs once my truck is a 150 2014 and I have a problem with a worn ring and pinion don't know how but I do have a 6 inch lift and have 35s on it maybe that has somthing to do with it ?

[@Southwell_13]

Mine might be having this problem. My sound goes away if it’s in 4wd and also if front driveshaft is out.

[@johnenwright8617]

Yeah I think my 2015 F150 lariat has this issue. I turn the wheel to the left and I can feel it and hear it. I replaced the front left bearing and the noise is still present. What did it cost to replace these bearings at the dealership? From the pics it looked relatively easy.

[@videoserviceinformation6639]

This dealer I think charged over $1,000, but this is a dealer with dealer pricing.

[@Brenny627]

I have bad grinding in 4hi on my 2020 sounds like left front, hope it’s not diff and just the axle

[@connoraustin9787]

Can someone tell me what this costs to have done. Roughly

[@rustbeltrobclassic2512]

Doesn't matter, bought a CPO f150 and i've owned it 5 weeks.. it's been at the dealer for 4 weeks.. this is one of the many faults.. just buy new.. and what you can afford, too many incompetent techs out there to put faith in anyone but yourself.. sadly..

[@rpc2112]

CPO is just a marketing term. That is all. It does not mean anything regarding quality. They turn and burn vehicles to make money. If it rolls, they'll send it right out CPO to make money. CPO is the biggest scam in the auto industry over the past 25 years.

[@eddytheman1384]

Thank you !

[@garybennett8775]

Will that make a sound like Shaking e ery o cr n awhile Goin on highway

[@markolson2707]

So would you except this on a 2013 with only 64000 miles on it?

[@rustbeltrobclassic2512]

mine has 58k on it.. has the issue

[@motorizedbicyclenation53cu90]

Check valve causes issue also fix it immediately and no harm will come

[@robbiesmith-kh7ds]

How much does this cost?

[@woff688]

Good info

[@codythrower484]

What did this cost?

[@doughboyracing]

This.I'd like to know as well. Nevermind, I see it answered below.

[@sqd37l]

bought my last ford. $3200 to have my front diff rebuilt at the dealer. all done with fords

[@rpc2112]

So, you're trading one problem in for another problem on another make. Every make has issues. You cannot get away from them.

[@sqd37l]

@@rpc2112 you're totally out of your mind

[@garypollack6948]

Bet the fluid has never been changed

[@blainemcdonald6972]

What sort of man hours to make the repair

[@kman2560]

Do yourself a favor buy a toyota.