making a horrible grinding noise. metal on metal. not breaks. has 4WD. changed solenoid wasn’t it. grinding noise is getting worse and is bad when making turns or decelerating.
Could be a wheel bearing and if it’s as bad as it sounds, do not wait to get it repaired.
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Not sure if you have IWE hubs but I had mine looked at and replaced and the issue was gone. It didn’t become apparent until I went through high water with it in 4wd and had problems trying to shift out. The hubs were partially engaging causing the grinding noise. The vacuum ended up sucking water into the system due to cracked hoses and causing me bigger issues.
Replaced the solenoid, hoses and hubs and it’s been flawless since then.p
If it is an issue with the IWE’s (integrated wheel ends), the grinding noise should stop when the truck is put in 4wd. I don’t know if Ford used that 4wd engagement system back in 2000, though…
Noises making turns makes me think of the rear differential, so check the fluid level there. I had some noises like that when making slow speed turns on my truck after it had been sitting unused for 6 months, and it was the differential limited slip discs grinding againt one another. I replaced the diff fluid, put in a dose of fresh limited slip additive, and just driving the truck more frequently solved it. My neighbor – has an opinion on every topic – was certain it was the brakes, but I was equally sure it wasn’t. The problem w/this differential theory is that there’s no explanation why decelerating is involved with the noise. If you are able to switch from 2WD to 4WD mode, try it both ways and see if that affects the sound. If worse in 4WD check the front diff fluid too, and the xfer case fluid.
I’ll add that on my own Ford 4WD truck with manual locking hubs if I try to drive it in 4WD mode without first getting out and locking the hubs all sorts of bad noises and other unfortunate events will happen.