TSB 20-2277 2019-2020 Ranger - Shudder/Vibration When Accelerating From A Stop

[Tann3rth3hamm3r]

What speed did you experience the shudder? Mine occurred at 12 mph before the shim and at 7 mph after the shim. It's going right back next week for round number two of shim fix.....

Im not sure the exact s

What speed did you experience the shudder? Mine occurred at 12 mph before the shim and at 7 mph after the shim. It's going right back next week for round number two of shim fix.....

I'm not sure the exact speed but I would say it was definitely under 15 km/h which is about 9.3 mph. I'll be interested to hear if the larger shim gets rid of it.

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[Zaph]

I've read through all 7 pages of this thread now (I even posted early on with my own angle measurements) and I have yet to see anyone who has reported that they took their truck in for the TSB and that the dealer did the work and it actually resolved the shudder.

Can anyone confirm if the dealer actually resolved the issue? I'm especially interested to know if they'll apply the TSB to a leveled truck (rear is stock, front has been lifted 2.5").

This is the main reason I'm not taking mine in. My vibration has always been there, but not bad or annoying enough for me to subject myself to inept dealer service departments.

I don't see this working nor do I see dealers giving a shit or doing it right. I honestly think, the better solution is shimming the carrier bearing. It has a better chance at working at least.

 

[navsnipe]

Hi Dave,

The problem for Ranger is that there are likely few if any Rangers out of warranty where you can take them to such a shop for fixes. It is on your dime...not dealership warranty, unless the dealer outsource it and pay the independent shop but file the claim with Ford....It is and has been done but is rare for this to happen and the customer is likely not aware of the outsoursing.

I am saddened that there are few dealerships that really can fix problems. You are correct...part changers. Sucks big time!

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

My honda was out of warranty. The dealership sold me new tires and then said they did not support manufacturers warranty when I identified a problem. I went to the indy guy who provided a professional opinion and the honda dealership refunded my money on the tires once I got replacements and gave they back the dunlops they sold me. This was a somewhat long and messy process.

My expectation for Ford is they fix the truck. It seems there are a large number of Rangers that do not shudder. I would love to get the shim kit myself and install it so I have the satisfaction of doing it myself. I want to trust the service people but history shows this cannot be assumed. If they can't fix it I would explore 3rd party options as i really like the truck otherwise.

 

[ChiefQM]

My Ranger goes in to the dealer in the morning. I discussed the issue again with the shop foreman yesterday when he called to set up the appointment. He again said that based on what he knew from the tech, the truck did not need the shim. I reminded him that he had told me that mine was the worst he had ever felt. We discussed the difference in the rear axle pinion angle that the service advisor had told me, 5.4° and I told him that I had measured negative 6.2° (that was with the analog and phone app clinometers) and that when, per the TSB instructions, -6.2° was subtracted from 5.25, the difference was -.95°, or negative 1°. He said, as I could envision him throwing up his hands, they would install the negative 1° shim. I don't want them taking my word, I want them to measure properly and put the proper shim in place.

This morning, I went looking for an indy shop to do the measurements for me so that I would be forearmed with what the actual measurements are. None would do it, all claiming that they didn't have the digital inclinometer. I was referred to a driveshaft specialist, who said they were booked for 2 weeks. So I went to Harbor Freight and bought their magnetic digital angle finder. This afternoon I measured again per the TSB instructions, zero'd out the device against the flat part of the frame and this time got 5.70 for the rear axle yoke pinion angle.

So my question (I caught people for a living, as opposed to fixing things) is, if the final expected yoke pinion angle is between 5° and 6° and mine measures 5.7°, are they still supposed to subtract the 5.7° from 5.25 to get the shim dimension of -.45°? I suspect the tech measured it when I took it in last week and and said, "Hey, this one is within specs, get him out of here!"

I can really kick myself in the ass for not spending the extra $10K to buy the 2020 Lariat that didn't have this issue instead of the 2019 Certified Pre Owned XLT.

 

[Tann3rth3hamm3r]

My Ranger goes in to the dealer in the morning. I discussed the issue again with the shop foreman yesterday when he called to set up the appointment. He again said that based on what he knew from the tech, the truck did not need the shim. I reminded him that he had told me that mine was the worst he had ever felt. We discussed the difference in the rear axle pinion angle that the service advisor had told me, 5.4° and I told him that I had measured negative 6.2° (that was with the analog and phone app clinometers) and that when, per the TSB instructions, -6.2° was subtracted from 5.25, the difference was -.95°, or negative 1°. He said, as I could envision him throwing up his hands, they would install the negative 1° shim. I don't want them taking my word, I want them to measure properly and put the proper shim in place.

This morning, I went looking for an indy shop to do the measurements for me so that I would be forearmed with what the actual measurements are. None would do it, all claiming that they didn't have the digital inclinometer. I was referred to a driveshaft specialist, who said they were booked for 2 weeks. So I went to Harbor Freight and bought their magnetic digital angle finder. This afternoon I measured again per the TSB instructions, zero'd out the device against the flat part of the frame and this time got 5.70 for the rear axle yoke pinion angle.

So my question (I caught people for a living, as opposed to fixing things) is, if the final expected yoke pinion angle is between 5° and 6° and mine measures 5.7°, are they still supposed to subtract the 5.7° from 5.25 to get the shim dimension of -.45°? I suspect the tech measured it when I took it in last week and and said, "Hey, this one is within specs, get him out of here!"

I can really kick myself in the ass for not spending the extra $10K to buy the 2020 Lariat that didn't have this issue instead of the 2019 Certified Pre Owned XLT.

How do you know the 2020 Lariat don't have this problem? I have to wait 3-5 days for the dealership to get the part. Ultimately if they can't fix the shudder than I'm going to ask for my money back and tell them to call me when the 2021s come in.

 

[VAMike]

How do you know the 2020 Lariat don't have this problem? I have to wait 3-5 days for the dealership to get the part. Ultimately if they can't fix the shudder than I'm going to ask for my money back and tell them to call me when the 2021s come in.

Because most rangers don't have an issue.

 

[ChiefQM]

How do you know the 2020 Lariat don't have this problem? I have to wait 3-5 days for the dealership to get the part. Ultimately if they can't fix the shudder than I'm going to ask for my money back and tell them to call me when the 2021s come in.

I test drove a 2020 Lariat that did not have the issue. Only one I test drove before I drove this one. On the test drive, I immediately noticed the vibration/shudder/bucking/insert your own description and remarked on it to the salesman, who was in the back seat. He gave me a lame ass excuse that it was because it had been sitting out in the sun. I should have known better, but I had done no research on the vehicle. Had I known of the issue, I would have left it there. But nooooooo. It was certified pre owned with 12K miles, and a long warranty. My bad. Where I was really pissed off was when the dealer service department (at this and another dealer) did their dead level best to convince me the vehicle was operating as designed. I know, because they both produced another Ranger with the same characteristics, that Ford put them up to it, to make us think it was normal and go away. As someone else on this forum noted, "The fact that there are more than one vehicle with this issue neither makes me feel better nor fixes the truck." The service people at the dealership had know idea that the TSB had been issued, and I printed a copy with the instructions for them to perform the work. They refused to order the shim kit until they had examined the vehicle. They were totally focused on the 10 speed transmission being the problem and were surprised that the focus had shifted to the rear axle. They refused to do the TSB work, telling me the rear axle pinion angle was within specs of 5 to 6 degrees. From the information I had obtained here (Thanks, Phil Shilke) I already knew it was an issue with the driveshaft/center carrier. I am not optimistic it will be fixed, but with luck, I will get some relief.

 

[Ogden Dan]

They didn't tell me the specific measurements but indicated they were on the phone with the Ford tech line for a considerable amount of time. Apparently the 1.5 degree shim is not included in the TSB shim pack so Ford wanted to verify all measurements before sending the new shim kit to the dealer.

I already spoke to the dealer and it's going back on Monday for round two.....

Dan

Round 2.......

Dealer ended up trying just about every shim in the kit and it still had the low speed vibration.

They shimmed to what they thought was the best with minimal (yes I said minimal, they acknowledged it is still there) and the service advisor wanted my opinion. It seems marginally better at low speed but now I'm getting a vibration at high speed which I did not have before.

This is starting to piss me off now. The tech spent all day working on just my truck and half the day on the Ford tech line.

I don't think Ford knows what the f*** is going on with this vibration.

It's going back again tomorrow because I can't live with the high speed issues.

Dan

 

[navsnipe]

None of this give me the warm fuzzies that this TSB is a fix even though the math makes sense. I saw some guys had shimmed the center bearing and had success. I may wait on having the TSB done if this just shifts the vibes. I can live with the take off vibes over high speed vibes. This is crazy!

 

[Extreme01]

Is this going to be a recall from Ford?

 

[ChiefQM]

None of this give me the warm fuzzies that this TSB is a fix even though the math makes sense. I saw some guys had shimmed the center bearing and had success. I may wait on having the TSB done if this just shifts the vibes. I can live with the take off vibes over high speed vibes. This is crazy!

I was researching yesterday and called a place that does 4wd builds and the first thing I was asked was whether Ford was shimming the center bearing.

 

[navsnipe]

I was researching yesterday and called a place that does 4wd builds and the first thing I was asked was whether Ford was shimming the center bearing.

I got a similar response from a friend just after I got my truck. The only problem is his shop is five hours away and I don't want to mess with my warranty.

Wasn't your truck going in today for the TSB?

 

[Rp930]

Is this going to be a recall from Ford?

Since very few vehicles have this problem and it’s not a safety issue - not likely at all.

 

[ChiefQM]

I got a similar response from a friend just after I got my truck. The only problem is his shop is five hours away and I don't want to mess with my warranty.

Wasn't your truck going in today for the TSB?

It’s in right now

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I can really kick myself in the ass for not spending the extra $10K to buy the 2020 Lariat that didn't have this issue instead of the 2019 Certified Pre Owned XLT.

I have a 2020 Lariat (Nov2019 Build) with locking rear diff and it has the vibration.

I was researching yesterday and called a place that does 4wd builds and the first thing I was asked was whether Ford was shimming the center bearing.

When I went looking into this a few months back to see if the EU/AU guys had been having the same issue, the first thing I found were center bearing shim kits. Most if not all of them stated that the Ranger driveline was very sensitive to angle changes caused by suspension lifts. I then looked at how their rear suspension was setup and compared it to ours. And surprise surprise, Ford is using a different mounting plate with a taller bushing on it as well as added shims between the axle and springs for the NA market. They also used a different center bearing and mount for our market. From this it is clear that Ford effectively put a 1.5-2.5" lift kit on the Ranger, but may not have accounted for this for the driveline angle. Thus causing the same vibration experienced by nearly everyone in the EU/AU market that lifted their trucks. Then looking into the forums the number one recommendation to fix it was install the shim kit on the center bearing... This led me to testing out shimming my center bearing and with it currently having a 1/2" shim between the mount and bearing the vibration is nearly eliminated, but the stock bolts are not long enough to safely go thicker. The issue has not been high enough on my annoyance gauge since taking it to 1/2" to pull a bolt out and go get longer ones to add more/thicker shims.

So yeah as far as I am concerned, the shop you called has clearly dealt with this before. I want to say the Frontier and Tacoma also suffer similar issues when raised. So with the AU guys having it as well then they are raised, and all evidence points to Ford installing a factory rear lift for NA, shimming the center bearing is likely going to be the actual fix.

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