Torsen front axle problems ! anyone else ???

[ITSALLGOOD]

Just wondered if anyone else has had problems with there 2012 front axle while engaged in 4x4 high ? Today while in 4x4 high towing my girls two wheel drive Toyota away from our snow covered roads in the mountains of Cali the front axle felt like it was going to snap in half about five times or so throughout the 5 mile journey to the dry roads. What I'm hearing sounds like a loud bang in the hub or axle assembly under a load going about 25mph or so . THis is really the first time using the 4x4 since I bought the truck , it only has 8k miles on it . I checked the vacuum lines going to the hubs and everything seems to be working like it should ,engine running , hoses are pulling a vacuum , engine off , no vacuum to the hubs . I have never had any problems or noises from the front end when the truck is in two wheel drive. Anybody have any ideas before I have to take it to the stealership ? FYI , I had the mid perch done when I bought the truck,if that makes a difference or not ?

 

[Squatting Dog]

just because vacuum lines have vacuum doesn't mean IWE are operating correctly..

Ford IWE system - YouTube

good explaination evern though it is a 2005 f150, it still applies to the Raptor..

 

[6.2]

Is it possible it wasn't slippery/loose enough terrain to allow the wheels to slip? Just cause its snow doesn't mean it's gonna let the wheels slip.

 

[Netix]

Whats a full floating wheel hub?

 

[ITSALLGOOD]

Just got back from trying to make it pop while in four wheel drive in the snow and on dry pavement and it made the loud popping noise twice in about 15 miles of testing while on icy roads , I cant manually duplicate the noise it just happens while driving , mainly under a load going about 20 to 30 mph while in 4x4high I was just wondering if this is a characteristic of the Raptor or not ?

 

[Squatting Dog]

no it is characteristic of FORD's crappy IWE...

 

[whtrapta]

At the midwest dune trip, i frequently heard the front torsions on the other trucks sound like it was broken! they were in 4WD and it was pulling but you would hear it pop and spin like it broke the axle, but then would grab again pretty violently. It was a nasty sight and sound. Plus several people are tearing CV boots. Makes me glad I have a 2010.

 

[ITSALLGOOD]

Lol... So this is normal ? Everything seams to work ok with the 4x4 engagement ,disengagement , just getting that loud ass bang noise while minding my own business in 4x4high cruising up the road.

 

[ITSALLGOOD]

no it is characteristic of FORD's crappy IWE...

I'm starting to lean towards the vacuum solenoid valve bleeding vacuum causing the IWE to engage and disengage under certain load conditions, what are your thoughts on that ? although , when I engage the 4x4 switch to the high position while doing like 30mph , I don't get the loud bang noise during normal engagement , so I dunno wtf ... Guess maybe it's time to invest in a GOPRO to get some real time video while the 4x4 system is in action..

 

[Yukon Joe]

This is exactly the way I would describe it too. Only happens when under load. I want to take mine back to the dealer before the Snoball500.

Yukon Joe