I have a 2018 Expedition XLT and I just had to replace the IWEs after 26500 miles. There is a TSB report number 19-2252 that explains the cause and procedure for replacing. This is after replacing 5 shocks, taillight lens, second row seat, and reinstalling SYNC. I am rebuilding....
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99WhiteC5Coupe
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You said you had to replace the IWEs?
Wasn’t the work covered under the new car or power train warranty?
Wayne Decker
Full Access Members
What is an IWE?
The IWE is the Integrated Wheel End. There is the vacuum system that keeps the transmission in 2WD. The default is 4WD and if the vacuum system begins to fail, IWEs make contact trying to go into 4WD. You hear a brief grinding sound upon startup. The IWEs begin to wear out from the contact.
What type of ass backwards design is that??? What ever happened to the good old actuator in the transfer case
The transfer case still has the actuator and clutches. The IWEs disengage the wheel so they the front drive shaft and diff do not rotate and reduce fuel economy (you still end up with minor rotation).
But you are right, why would you still use vacuum in this era! Problematic and cheap design.
I disagree.... I have a combined 200K plus miles on these with my trucks. Never had a problem. Granted, I don't know if they changed the design on the 18 and up though.
The design didn’t change much. There is a check valve that fails and allows the hub to lose vacuum.
You just got lucky. When the time comes to fix an air leak in the system, you will know what I mean
)Maybe so
I went from a 95 Bronco to the Expedition in 05... I have to be honest, I was completely baffled by this set up. I do like the default so you will have 4WD if you need it. It's not all that unlike driving with the manual lock hubs in the locked position when not in 4wd I guess. The front axle probably doesn't like it all that much, probably a fuel economy issue too.
I went from a 95 Bronco to the Expedition in 05... I have to be honest, I was completely baffled by this set up. I do like the default so you will have 4WD if you need it. It's not all that unlike driving with the manual lock hubs in the locked position when not in 4wd I guess. The front axle probably doesn't like it all that much, probably a fuel economy issue too.
The IWE on our 2019 Expy (22000 miles) started failing the other day on a road trip. Went from an occasional brief metal grinding noise to a near-continuous grinding over the span of 30-40 minutes, and having to keep dropping speed by 10 mph increments to keep the grinding from being continuous. Kept stopping looking for something dragging or stuck in the front wheels, etc, but nothing in evidence.
Luckily, about the time it escalated into the truly alarming stage, making it sound like it was about to seize up on the freeway, turned out there was a Ford dealer within 5 miles, and the vehicle stumbled into the service area shortly before closing on a Saturday. We were going 20 mph by the time we got there because it sounded so bad to go any faster.
(Also luckily, the service advisor was able to, on very short notice at closing, get a big enough loaner for all of us and our stuff to drive the 200 miles home.)
They diagnosed it yesterday as a faulty IWE check valve not holding vacuum and fixed it under warranty. Said it was lucky we got there as rapidly as we did, that it could have stranded us on the freeway most unfortunately at any time if we'd kept driving it.
Seems like Ford trucks have a history with IWE valve failures. So many posts out there about F-150 and Expeditions experiencing similar failures. There's also a series of TSBs for those vehicles about this issue. For example, TSB 20-2189 covering 2013-2018 F-150/Expedition/Navigator vehicles. It's interesting it doesn't (yet?) cover 2019 Expys. Maybe they were using the updated valve from the TSB in 2019 production (vs. 2018) and thought it was already resolved? I was told this was the first 2019 Expy they'd seen with a faulty IWE check valve.
Sure hope it doesn't happen again, but out in the middle of nowhere far from a dealer. Seems like a poor design choice, to use a vacuum valve, and for it not to be bi-stable, requiring voltage (or vacuum) only to switch between the two stable states (4WD, 2WD). Failing that, they should've at least made the single stable state be 2WD (hubs disengaged) so that when there's a partial vacuum, you could just flip the switch to 2WD and keep on trucking down the road. As it is, with 4WD being the stable state, flipping it to 4WD isn't really an good option since that'll damage other components while driving on concrete.
Luckily, about the time it escalated into the truly alarming stage, making it sound like it was about to seize up on the freeway, turned out there was a Ford dealer within 5 miles, and the vehicle stumbled into the service area shortly before closing on a Saturday. We were going 20 mph by the time we got there because it sounded so bad to go any faster.
(Also luckily, the service advisor was able to, on very short notice at closing, get a big enough loaner for all of us and our stuff to drive the 200 miles home.)
They diagnosed it yesterday as a faulty IWE check valve not holding vacuum and fixed it under warranty. Said it was lucky we got there as rapidly as we did, that it could have stranded us on the freeway most unfortunately at any time if we'd kept driving it.
Seems like Ford trucks have a history with IWE valve failures. So many posts out there about F-150 and Expeditions experiencing similar failures. There's also a series of TSBs for those vehicles about this issue. For example, TSB 20-2189 covering 2013-2018 F-150/Expedition/Navigator vehicles. It's interesting it doesn't (yet?) cover 2019 Expys. Maybe they were using the updated valve from the TSB in 2019 production (vs. 2018) and thought it was already resolved? I was told this was the first 2019 Expy they'd seen with a faulty IWE check valve.
Sure hope it doesn't happen again, but out in the middle of nowhere far from a dealer. Seems like a poor design choice, to use a vacuum valve, and for it not to be bi-stable, requiring voltage (or vacuum) only to switch between the two stable states (4WD, 2WD). Failing that, they should've at least made the single stable state be 2WD (hubs disengaged) so that when there's a partial vacuum, you could just flip the switch to 2WD and keep on trucking down the road. As it is, with 4WD being the stable state, flipping it to 4WD isn't really an good option since that'll damage other components while driving on concrete.
Zig10
Full Access Members
Stupid question here, but if the IWE is failing, putting it in 4WD Auto and let it release the pressure and engage the hubs to stop the grinding seems like the best solution short term, correct? Not that you'd want to leave it thay way, but it seems it would prevent further damage to the hub splines by letting them rub constantly. Besides, running in sport mode defaults to that 4WD position, so it can't be horrible on the drivetrain, just MPG.
mwl001
Full Access Members
I had a malfunctioning module causing the same mechanical issue, and that's exactly what I did until I could drive to the dealer.
Johnathan M
Full Access Members
I know my post is five years later, but I'm posting to help anyone in the future who's looking for answers. Another easy way to resolve the grinding problem until you can actually fix it is to unplug the electrical connector from the solenoid (vacuum line plugs into it and it controls whether there is vacuum applied to the IWEs) on the firewall on the driver side. On my 2013 Expedition it's just under the hood on the driver side by the firewall. If you unplug that electrical connector to the solenoid, it releases the vacuum, and the hubs will lock in. This does not put the vehicle in four-wheel-drive as long as you still have the selector switch in 2 Wheel drive, but it locks the hubs in so that they don't grind. Then you can still put the selector in the four-wheel-drive position if you need it, and the hubs will already be locked in. This would be similar to having the hubs locked in with manual locking hubs and then just using the selector to choose whether it's in 2 Wheel Drive. or four-wheel-drive so you don't have to get out and lock the hubs in every time.
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