4 Wheel Drive/SUVs: 2006 f150 4x4 broke-under warranty, spider gears, f150 4x4

Question
I put a 6" fabtech(installed by professional) and i was at work check doing a routine Silt discharge inspection for the EPA when I got in some slippery stuff and when I tried to put it in 4 hi there was pop and now the front just whines and clicks without engaging-Is this common with the electronic 4x4 and will my modification void my warranty/

Answer
Jake,

This shouldn't be a result of the lift unless something was installed improperly. I would go to the shop that installed the lift first, and have them check it out.  

As far as the warranty goes, this can depend on the individual dealer.  Since the lift was professionally installed, it should be covered unless it is something specific to the lift.

There are a lot of things that happen when you go to that size lift.  One is the angle of the drive lines can be fairly extreme, and may have to be modified, or they can bind up.

Does it work ok in 4 low?  If it does, then I would suspect a faulty switch or relay.  Some of the Fords have electric components in the front differential that engages the front axles.  I had a similar problem with my F250, and it was a broken wire going to the differential.

Another slim possibility is that a front axle broke, or your spider gears in the differential broke.  This isn't real likely, as this usually doesn't happen unless the vehicle is under an extreme load or bind.

These are just a few ideas, as it's real hard to diagnose something like this without actually being able to listen to it or physically looking at it.

Carl