Hello everyone,

I have a 2005, F 150, supercab, 4.6L, automatic, manuel shift on the fly 4 wheel drive and I have an loud grinding noise sometimes when shifting into 4 wheel drive at speed less than 35 MPH. It usually occurs when I lift my foot off the accelerator and shift into 4 wheel as the truck is coasting. Since I just got the truck, I have only shifted the truck into 4 wheel on dry pavement while going in a straight line. After seeking help from the Ford technical people, the dealer added a spring to the front dif to better balance the front axles, and rebuilt the transfer case. All to no avail. Now Ford says that the griding noise is normal and it doesn't hurt anything. They say when you are coasting you are slightly decelerating and that causes some gears in the transfer case to spin backwards which causes the grinding noise. I have had 4 wheel drive Fords for 20 years and have never heard of something like this. Ford says the problem is normal yet the dealer's service department has never seen the problem before. Ford technical never told the dealer that the problem was normal until after authorizing the rebuilding of the transfer case and learning that it did not correct the problem. Anyone else have this grinding noise when they shift into 4 wheel high? Is Ford right that the noise is normal? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank You