Raptor People: To IWE Delete or not...

[gascapkevin]

I have been thinking about rebuilding the IWE system on my high mileage Gen Juan. But it seems the majority of Raptor owners go down the path of deleting the IWE system. We have developed a good sized group of Raptor owners here on BLGT so I am curious on everyone's thoughts.

My biggest fears is added CV boot wear and a drastic drop in gas mileage. I get that talking about gas mileage when driving a Waptuh is laughable, but I do love when I get over 300 miles out of a tank. I also like knowing my 4wd will work when I need it to.

To address my CV boot issues... (I always seem to have a CV boot leaking, and I can only imagine it would get worse when the axles are spinning full time)
My drivers side axle developed a hole right before KOH this year. And I replaced my passenger side axle last year after KOH with a new Motorcraft axle, and just noticed the inside boot already has a hole in it. I ordered the SDHQ CV boot kit to replace the boots on both axles but I don't think replacing the boots should be a yearly activity. I was originally running Eibach springs on stock shocks in low perch and have since changed to a 3.0 Fox shock which is no higher. So my CV angle is not excessive.

@WW_RANGER_X just installed the deletes on his truck and so far has had no complaints.

@2012SVTSC and myself seem to be Delete Curious but not quite ready to make the jump.

Anyone else have positives or negatives to say on the matter?

@philofab @Donttellmywiferacing what are your Gen 1's running?

 

[2012SVTSC]

My biggest concern is back driving the front diff and any extra wear that my occour on that or the transfercase system when in 2wd.

But, I also like the idea of how simple the IWE delete rings are, especially if there are no noteable side effects.

For *now* I will probably keep the IWE system in place, only because it dose stop many other parts from moving unnecessary.

 

[philofab]

I have no idea what my Raptor has, I haven't even gotten it on the lift yet. I did a exhaust real quick on it and changed wheels but that's all. I figured I'd inspect everything when I do Deavers, front bumper, shocks, and what not.

 

[Epiccreation]

So I have a 2013 f150 with raptor swapped front suspension on it. I was in the same boat as you where I wanted to keep the IWE'S cause of mpg, wear on the drivetrain and such. I had no issues with mine up until when my truck hit about 105k on it. Then my truck destroyed 3 iwe's within a month. I got tired of it and got the doorman delete kit which looks like a standard IWE but with a solid ring inside. I liked that it was a closed design compared to the rcv iwe deletes that just leave the back side exposed (I originally ordered these but later found out there were on a bad backorder and my local auto parts store could get the dorman ones next day). I've had the delete kit on now for roughly 20k miles. I lost exactly 1 mpg switching to the delete kit (my truck has a 5.0 for reference). I may try and put the factory IWE's back on at some point but for now I have no complaints as I only really drive the truck when going out to have fun.

 

[WW_RANGER_X]

I've had the deletes in for almost 2k miles now. I locked into 4wd a handful of times on our last offroad trip without issue. Almost 900 miles round trip and i averaged 12 MPG, with nearly 300 of those miles being offroad. Highway driving to and from i averaged 15 MPG which is exactly the same MPG i was getting before the delete. I'm a fan, and as of now i don't think I'll ever switch back.

 

[2012SVTSC]

I'm leaning into doing the delete. Trying to do the secondary shock and it will be nice just get the vacuum lines out of the way.

 

[2012SVTSC]

Look what you made me do. 120k flawless miles with the IWE system. Now I am deleting it. I ordered doorman ones for the reasons @Epiccreation pointed out.