4x4 Vacuum Solenoid replacement

thewrubelator · Aug 15, 2014

Hey guys, so my 4WD went out on the truck, my wife brought it to Ford for me as I am out of country. I bought a powertrain warranty on the truck, so i wasnt expecting the warranty to cover it, which it didnt. The tech said that the Vacuum solenoid went bad, and it would be $360 to fix it, (I was not going to have them fix it anyways). But he also said that even if i change the part myself the 4x4 stil wont work unless I bring the truck in for them to clear code. Ive read multiple threads on this problem and have yet to see anyone saying anything about this imaginary code.

Just wondering if it is true or not.

Trqmnstr · Aug 15, 2014

More info
Does the 4x4 light come on
Can you hear or feel the transfer case engage when you turn the switch.

Ive been told that vac solenoid was bad and changed it to no avail. As for it throwing a code i dont think anything in the 4x system will give a cel. Except maybe if it has the auto 4x t case option, idk anything about those.

$360 is rediculous. Iirc that solenoid was less than $100 at napa and takes about 30 seconds to change out. Is it the one in the passenger side fender well?

thewrubelator · Aug 16, 2014

Thanks for the response. Yea the 4x4 light comes on, Tcase engages, just won't lock the hubs automatically. Everything works fine when manually locking.
As for the Solenoid, it's the one in the passenger firewall. I've already talked to Sunrise Ford on here and am ordering it from them for like 60 bucks.

I was just wondering if the tech was Bull****ting us, which they usually do. Lol.

Trqmnstr · Aug 16, 2014

Yeah id say he is full of **** on the code thing.
If the new selonoid doesnt work the most likely you vacuum lines are clogged. Does your heater default to the defrost vents even when set on the floor or dash vents? Thats a sure sign the vac lines to the hubs are clogged.
I ran an 02 needing to manually lock the hubs for a long time. No big deal but it sucks getting out in the cold to lock up the hubs.

thewrubelator · Aug 17, 2014

I was planning on buying the DieselSite Steel Vacuum lines for it along with the solenoid just to prevent his problem from happening. The air does go to defrost. question now is, those lines are for 05-07 trucks, i wonder if they will work for an 04? or did the route of lines change drastically in the year change..