Upgraded IWE

[Hockster]

I know you dont need this video but maybe it will help others that dont understand what is going on..
Ford F150 - 4 Wheel Drive Disconnect - YouTube

 

[Squatting Dog]

So hockster what do you think? By using a locking ring/collar to physically lock hubs to the axle and eliminating all the vacuum crap and wear due to grinding gear teeth?

-Greg (aka squatting dog)

 

[DirtNasty]

So i wouldnt be surprised if due to that design they didnt put as strong of components elsewhere that you will wear/break faster.

---------- Post added at 10:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:57 PM ----------

Also i would think that ford would have gone with an electromagnetic mechanism vs a vacum based system.

 

[BigJ]

So i wouldnt be surprised if due to that design they didnt put as strong of components elsewhere that you will wear/break faster.

Oh that's guaranteed. All fixing something like this does is reveal the next weak spot.

Having said that, I would be interested in a manually locking hub. Interested to follow your progress Greg.

 

[Hockster]

So hockster what do you think? By using a locking ring/collar to physically lock hubs to the axle and eliminating all the vacuum crap and wear due to grinding gear teeth?

-Greg (aka squatting dog)

I love the idea... At the 500 mine stayed locked for quite a few miles after I disengaged more than once... You get this big thrust forward like you were towing a trailer and it came off while driving with a bang!!!
Be nice to make a collar that you reached in there and locked it. SO at the start of your adventure you can lock it, leave it locked and when done you can unlock it and drive home... Im looking at it too... I sure wish I had the shop I had at Ford, man its a bitch to make this stuff with the small crap I have at home here... lol

 

[BigJ]

Dumb question alert: why didn't Warn come up with this 10 years ago? What are we all missing?

 

[DirtNasty]

They (warn/ARB/all other locking diff manufactors) didnt go full retard and try to disconnect shit at the wheel, they do it at the center diffs.

It is an absolutely amazingly stupid design decision in my book to use vacum, and then pull the air for the vacum from areas that could be prone to contamination (like where they are venting the rear diff/IWE).

But what do i know, i only engineer complex computer systems...

 

[BigJ]

Hmm I don't think that's exactly right. Warn makes lots of locking hub kits for disconnecting the axle at the wheel. Put a set on a Pathfinder a while back for a friend. Worked/works amazingly well.

 

[DirtNasty]

I am pretty sure you are correct and i have mis communicated or misunderstood the different systems at play.

I was thinking that a typical eaton style e-locker for a differential vs the IWE system.

Granted on old vehicles you would get out and run around to the four corners and twist the little spinny thing in the hub to "lock" your wheels. I see the IWE being the vacum powered version of that. Which again i think is absolutely ******* stupid to do that vs an electromagnetic solution (its not that hard or expensive to weather proof wire for the love of god, the actually electromagnets might be a bit more expensive then some ****** plastic but i would wager they are going to be stronger)

I see an elocker setup being the mechanism that locks/unlocks at the center diff to transfer torque to the wheels. (when disengaged the axles and everything still spin obviously)

Feel free to point out what ever im missing

 

[BigJ]

You're mostly on the right track. I think you're confusing locking axle (half) shafts together vs engaging those shafts to the wheels so they can drive them.

Locking the half shafts together is done at the differential. You basically do something to the diff that stops allowing it to variably apply power to either shaft, and instead apply 50% of the incoming power to each side, all the time.

Engaging the shafts so they can drive is usually done at the hub. This is what the IWE does. It ties the wheel to the shaft so that the wheel is no longer free spinning.

In 2wd systems, the wheels are permanently locked to the shafts of the drive axle. No need for (un)locking hubs. This is how the rear of our trucks are set up.

When you go into 4x4 two things happen, and both affect the front: 1) the IWE's engage tying the front wheels into the front axle's shafts, and 2) the transfer case starts sending power to those shafts. In older/manual hubbed systems, before engaging 4wd at the transfer case you'd have to do #1 yourself; you'd get out and manually lock the hubs to the wheels.

Two different systems that do two different things. Hope that makes sense.