Truck vibrates off the line

[Noel Willhite]

I had a leveling kit and leafs installed , an re-aligned, now it vibrates in first gear
I want to take it back in to have them look, anything in particular that could cause this issue? Any help would be greatly appreciated i don’t want to go in blind!

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[HighCaliberMitch]

Only in first gear?

Not at a specific speed?

 

[P. A. Schilke]

I had a leveling kit and leafs installed , an re-aligned, now it vibrates in first gear
I want to take it back in to have them look, anything in particular that could cause this issue? Any help would be greatly appreciated i don’t want to go in blind!

Hi Noel,

Sounds like you changed the pinion angle of the rear axle and have exacerbated the start up shudder. The shop needs to check the rear axle pinion angle and shim as necessary to return to the stock pinion angle. Good Luck.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Noel Willhite]

Hi Noel,

Sounds like you changed the pinion angle of the rear axle and have exacerbated the start up shudder. The shop needs to check the rear axle pinion angle and shim as necessary to return to the stock pinion angle. Good Luck.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Thank you!
Should this be a service that was supposed to be checked the first time or will they try and flip me a bill for the time ?

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Thank you!
Should this be a service that was supposed to be checked the first time or will they try and flip me a bill for the time ?

Hi Noel

I cannot say as I do not know anything about your installation. Was it at a Ford Dealer or an independent shop? It would be most likely the leaf spring additions that caused this, but is just a SWAG on my part.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Noel Willhite]

Hi Noel

I cannot say as I do not know anything about your installation. Was it at a Ford Dealer or an independent shop? It would be most likely the leaf spring additions that caused this, but is just a SWAG on my part.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Independent shop
They are looking at it tomorrow,
They are loyal and i trust they will give an honest assessment , I really love the lift “as-is” and would hate to have to adjust it in any way

 

[Noel Willhite]

Only in first gear?

Not at a specific speed?

Low speed , first and second gears only

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Independent shop
They are looking at it tomorrow,
They are loyal and i trust they will give an honest assessment , I really love the lift “as-is” and would hate to have to adjust it in any way

Hi Noel,

One thing that they can do is loosen the center bearing on the drive shaft and put the vehicle in reverse, then drive (engine running) a couple times and retighten the center bearing. Sort of a long shot but easy to do and worth a try if they balk at measuring and adjusting the pinion angle of the rear axle to spec... BTW, hopefully they have the procedure for checking pinion angle on the Ranger....my shop manual is not handy now so can't easily help you on this procedure.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[HighCaliberMitch]

Low speed , first and second gears only

Others, experience have already mailed the problem, buy I was going to say, "it sounds like an acceleration issue making the back tires bounce quickly."

 

[jlmotox]

I had this problem with my F250 when I lifted it, The pinion angle changes when lifting the rear and you can get a vibration when taking off from a stop. With my F250 I had to install a carrier bearing drop kit to lower the 2 piece drive shaft to get everything lined up... parts were $30-40 if I remember right and it was a pretty easy install...

Hard to say if they will charge you... But it shouldn't be too much if they do.

Do we have a 2 piece drive shaft in our Rangers?

 

[P. A. Schilke]

I had this problem with my F250 when I lifted it, The pinion angle changes when lifting the rear and you can get a vibration when taking off from a stop. With my F250 I had to install a carrier bearing drop kit to lower the 2 piece drive shaft to get everything lined up... parts were $30-40 if I remember right and it was a pretty easy install...

Hard to say if they will charge you... But it shouldn't be too much if they do.

Do we have a 2 piece drive shaft in our Rangers?

HI Jeff,

Yep....two piece driveshaft with center bearing...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[treimche]

Considering that many of our Rangers vibrate off the line, even when completely stock, it is no surprise that a lift will amplify these vibrations. Maybe the pinion angle is incorrect from the factory?

 

[Noel Willhite]

Carrier needs bushings to straighten Out driveshaft,
I don’t have pics before lift but based on this slope from one leaf addition i wouldn’t be surprised if the factory was a touch off
I didn’t experience any shuddering before the Mod, so i can’t speak for other rangers but it’s worth looking into if anyone that has a stock gets it looked at
My guy said it’s an easy fix, charging me $70 in labor be just needs to measure and find the bushings

 

[treimche]

Carrier needs bushings to straighten Out driveshaft,
I don’t have pics before lift but based on this slope from one leaf addition i wouldn’t be surprised if the factory was a touch off
I didn’t experience any shuddering before the Mod, so i can’t speak for other rangers but it’s worth looking into if anyone that has a stock gets it looked at
My guy said it’s an easy fix, charging me $70 in labor be just needs to measure and find the bushings

On the front joint where the driveshaft connects to the transmission (or transfer case, whichever it is), is there any flex there? Just wondering if the carrier bearing is spaced downward some if that will put unwanted stress on that front joint or not. I can crawl under mine and look too.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

On the front joint where the driveshaft connects to the transmission (or transfer case, whichever it is), is there any flex there? Just wondering if the carrier bearing is spaced downward some if that will put unwanted stress on that front joint or not. I can crawl under mine and look too.

Hi Troy,

U joints should be operated between 2° to 4°. Looks like the lifted back end has increased this angle above this recommendation. I would space the center bearing down a bit to see if the driveline angle can be improved without exceeding 3° for the front joint angle at the transmission. Not an ideal thing to do, but might help a bit on the startup shudder. Using axle shims slightly life the pinion angle might also help....sort of a trial and error when vehicles are modified...

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

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