What Might Cause my AWD/4WD System to Stop Workkng??

[Nalajr]

Hey all.

I need some suggestions, ideas, help, solution.....anything.

I have a 2003 Expedition Eddie Bauer 5.4 with the 4WD OR AWD system.

Mechanically it was doing pretty well up until about 6 months ago. My sister borrowed it and got into a wreck. She changed lanes on top of someone else and my fender and running board took the damage.

I replaced the fender myself and straightened the running board.
Not long after getting it looking decent I took it out for a drive to make sure there weren’t any mechanical problems. There were.
I noticed that when I would turn kinda sharply to the left, I was hearing a POPPING type of noise. It drove just fine, but the popping was there. Just to make sure I activated the AWD and the dashboard illuminated signal didn’t come on. I moved it to 4WD High, same thing. I tried all of the setting with the same result. None of them worked.

So, I am trying to figure out what might be going wrong with it. It’s just too coincidental that my AWD/4WD SYSYEM would stop working right after the fender bender on the RIGHT FRONT and now the “popping” noise with it.

I’ve checked the fuses and even though I don’t have a volt meter, I took the same sized fuses and swapped them into the locations that looked like it could have anything at all to do with the 4WD system and it’s operation or shifting. None of the fuses appeared to be burnt.

I think my problem with the popping sound is a bad CV joint. I’m going to replace both sides of the CV Axle since they aren’t that expensive.

I was wondering whether those CV joints, or whatever it is causing the popping when I turn corners, is also the cause of my non-working 4WD/AWD system. Thoughts on that aspect??

By the way, the dashboard lamp that illuminates when the AWD/4WD system is turned ON, works. It’s not burnt out.


OK, can you all think of anything that would be causing the malfunction? It would almost have to be related to the accident or the “popping” noise wouldn’t it??

Please, any help you can give me on this problem would be great. It would be such a load off my mind if I could get it working properly again.

Thank you all kindly for your time and any advice or help you care to give me.
Have a great week!!
Larry

 

[deweysmith]

Can you get the codes pulled with a nice reader at AutoZone or similar? If it's not trying to shift there's probably a code set that can give you a clue.

Sounds to me like your IWEs are toast, but that usually doesn't make the lights not come on at all. It's possible your 4wd PCM is toast.

 

[Nalajr]

Thanks for the suggestions.

There are no codes showing at all. You would t know a thing is wrong unless you flipped on the switch to try and use the 4WD SYSTEM and found it not coming on and failing to engage.

Larry

 

[JExpedition07]

Thanks for the suggestions.

There are no codes showing at all. You would t know a thing is wrong unless you flipped on the switch to try and use the 4WD SYSTEM and found it not coming on and failing to engage.

Larry

Did you check to make sure the vacuum lines are attached behind the wheel?

 

[Nalajr]

Well NO,...I did not.

You have to remember that I am a NOVICE at this stuff. Prior to this forum a couple months ago, I never done as much as change my oil or brake shoes. Now I've changed my own brake shoes, so progress is being made.

With the "pooping" noise in the right front side, I am thinking that it's a bad CV Axle. Since they are only $75, there's really no point in trying to service the CV joint itself so I am going to try and replace the whole axle myself. The auto stores around here have the tools I can rent and I think I can get it done.
I figured that it had something to do with the accident. That's just too much of a co-incidence for me to swallow. I was looking through all the resources I could find to see if there was some kind of 4WD part that would be in that area that would fail if an impact happened in the right front. I came upon a 4WD Actuator that is connected to the hub on each side. I just read that they are vacuum controlled. So, that is what I am going to check first when I start this project. I know it's not a fuse, so it has to be something related to that impact and probably the CV joint going bad after the hit.

If you know of a good diagram of the part, please send it to me cause I have been unable to find one.

Also, what is that part called?

One last thing, I have seen it described 2 different ways. One way says that it is only on 2004 and later and the other says that it is on the 2003 model year. Do you know what the truth is?

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me. It means a ton to me cause I don't have the money to spend to take it to FORD and get it fixed. On the bright side, I am learning about something that I never thought I would, so that's a GOOD THING.

Have a great weekend.
Larry

 

[deweysmith]

The CV axle may cause the noise but it absolutely wouldn't cause your 4x4 to just not work.

The part he's referring to with the vacuum hose is called an IWE, an integrated wheel end. It has splines for the CV shaft and it unlocks/locks from the wheel based on vacuum from the engine to save gas when in 2WD.

I shamelessly plug it all the time, but alldatadiy.com is a terrific resource for the inexperienced and seasoned veterans alike. It lets you view the ALLDATA (latest repair manual data, your local shop probably uses it too) for one vehicle for like $20/yr. It's invaluable for testing stuff like this.

Also, did you read codes with your own code reader? Most cheap ones only talk to the main PCM that gives emissions codes and turns on the check engine light. If you go to AutoZone or Advance they have nice Bosch ones usually that can talk to all the modules, it should be able to pull codes from your 4x4 computer. I find it hard to believe that it just doesn't work and doesn't set any codes, unless it's totally dead (which is possible.)