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Weird noise from my F150 ....

Discussion in 'General Automotive Talk' started by Rivethead, Jan 6, 2016.

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  1. Rivethead

    Rivethead Active Member Founding Member

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    So, I had a weird sound happen twice now in my pickup that I haven't really heard before, so thought I'd bounce it off the board. First, the details:

    Make/Model: Ford F150, V8, Automatic
    Year: 2004
    Miles: 56,000-ish

    About the noise: it has happened twice now, both times at high speeds. It sounds like, for lack of a better word, the static hiss from a radio not tuned in properly, though slightly more "gravely" in tone. At first I thought it was just that and turned off the radio, but the sound remained. The noise went away the second I came to a full stop. It didn't come back the next 3-4 trips on the freeway, but it happened again this morning. Again, as soon as I came to a full stop, it went away. I can't get it to happen while parked or traveling at lower speeds. No "check engine" light came on and I checked all the fluids, the battery, etc., and they are fine. The belts look fine to me, though I didn't take them off or anything like that. The weather this winter has been positively hellacious (torrential rain, snow, ice, freezing fog, etc.), for whatever it is worth.

    Any ideas on what this might be? Thanks all. :)
     
  2. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    So it is only happening at highway speeds and not every time?

    James
     
  3. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Ok I decided to do some searching. I found some that talked about the same issue. One guy after a lot of trouble shooting, thought it was a heat shield on the cat. It is vertical and he said it had a 3 mm gap. He feels like it was catching wind at high speed and vibrating.

    Others talk about the IWE system on the Ford for the 4wd. I believe yours is 4wd. Well the IWE system is a vacuum system that engage and disengage the front alxes on the Ford 4X4 system. I didn't know they had this type of system. I found a video that explains it and how to check it.

    I would look at both of these. I would check the cat first since it would take less time.



    James
     
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  4. Rivethead

    Rivethead Active Member Founding Member

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    Yes, only twice now, and both times at highway speeds. I haven't heard it going under 65 mph and don't hear anything amiss when it is parked and running. I just came back from work now and was on the freeway for about 15 minutes and no issues. Weird.

    Interesting. Thanks for the detective work. :)

    I didn't think of it at the time, but I did have a weird thing happen in 4WD a couple weeks ago. There was heavy snow, so I had it in 4WD. I was driving to town at 30-35 mph-ish, heard kind of a "gudunk", noticed the 4WD light was out, but the check engine light was on. I pulled over, turned off the vehicle, turned it back on, put it in 4WD, and no further problems. Now I'm wondering if they are related.

    I did some google-age, and it looks like there is a TSB that points to that as well.
     
  5. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Your welcome. Looks like that is something to definitely look into. Let me know if that is what it is. It will drive me crazy trying to figure out what it is. LOL.

    James
     
  6. Rivethead

    Rivethead Active Member Founding Member

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    Will do and I do appreciate the help. I know what you mean about driving one nuts. Those intermittent noise issues are always "fun" to track down. Now I have an idea on what could be causing it though, so that helps.
     
  7. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Your welcome. I enjoy trying to figure out problems. Strange sounds are a pain, I find it helps to brain storm with others to come up with other ideas. I always think I hear something after going off road. LOL. At least for the first 5 minutes or so.

    Hopefully it is a cheap fix if that is the problem. I didn't hear how much the part cost.

    James
     
  8. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Did you figure anything out with that noise?

    James
     
  9. Rivethead

    Rivethead Active Member Founding Member

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    Sorry for the late reply. Turns out the IWE was indeed the culprit. I had to replace the solenoid on said and now the 4WD works and there is no noise. Though the noise was totally at random and rarely happened. Either way, good to go now. :)
     
  10. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    That I good to hear. I'm glad you figured it out. Did you get a shop to to it?

    James
     
  11. Rivethead

    Rivethead Active Member Founding Member

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    Yes, I finally brought it into a shop to run a diagnostic and do so. Seems to be working fine now. Out of curiosity, I did some digging online and this apparently is a fairly common issue with this year.
     
  12. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    With just that one year? I wonder what changes they made at correct it.

    James
     
  13. Rivethead

    Rivethead Active Member Founding Member

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    I'm not sure if it was isolated to that one year, but at least in that time frame.
     
  14. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Did you find out if this is an issue becomes a reacquiring problem or if it is normally good after the repair?

    James
     
  15. Rivethead

    Rivethead Active Member Founding Member

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    From what I've read and was told, that normally fixes the issue moving forward. :)
     
  16. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    That is good to hear. At least you know where to look if you hear something next time. Or if another owner complains of the same problem.

    James
     
  17. Rivethead

    Rivethead Active Member Founding Member

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    Indeed. I've been pretty happy with the F150 line, but no mechanical device, vehicle or otherwise, is totally trouble free.
     
  18. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    My line is that they all break. Because of that, it is best to find one you enjoy enough that you don't mind fixing it.

    James
     
  19. Rivethead

    Rivethead Active Member Founding Member

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    True that. It isn't so much "indestructible" as "least annoying to repair". ;)
     
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  20. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    If you buy something you don't enjoy, even a bad wiper can set you off. If you love the car, a big repair like a transmission can just be a little irritating (been there).

    James
     
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