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

[navsnipe]

My 2019 XLT is not lifted. Sometimes it doesn't seem as bad as other times, but I suspect it depends on the speeds at which I drive - in town, 30 - 35 mph or highway speeds - and how aggressively I accelerate. I am noticing an increasing amount of tire noise. Hankook DynaPro ATM tires that were OEM. Hope it is not a harbinger of tread separation, that is the next thing I check.

Have you had your wheel balance and runout checked? Increased tire noise could be a sign of irregular tread wear due to out of balance. There have been a few here who have had defective wheels as well.

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[ChiefQM]

Have you had your wheel balance and runout checked? Increased tire noise could be a sign of irregular tread wear due to out of balance. There have been a few here who have had defective wheels as well.

I will have that done.

 

[jerardisflossin]

I’m new to this site. Ihave common issues with my 2020 Ranger XLT 2 wheel drive. (Stock with 800 miles at present). I had the tsb done last week and it made my vibration worse. It shows up at various speeds, but it’s worse between 20 and 30 mph. It has a frequency that is audible when it’s acting up. I was told by service writer that my concern was still there afterwards but it was characteristic of the truck. I’m totally unhappy with that assessment, on a 30000 dollar truck! He informed me that he is awaiting word from Ford as to how to proceed. I had a 1985 Ranger 4x4 previously that I drove for 16 years with no issues at all. So new and improved has’nt impressed me at this point! Lol

I will bet they installed the shims wrong which messed with the pinion angle further putting it out of spec. That is what my dealer did as documented in a previous post of mine. I ended up doing the TSB myself and it mostly fixed it. However I am now working with a driveshaft manufacturer to get a single piece shaft made. The 2-piece out of phase shaft is crap in this truck and is poorly balanced by Dana. Point blank.

 

[navsnipe]

I will bet they installed the shims wrong which messed with the pinion angle further putting it out of spec. That is what my dealer did as documented in a previous post of mine. I ended up doing the TSB myself and it mostly fixed it. However I am now working with a driveshaft manufacturer to get a single piece shaft made. The 2-piece out of phase shaft is crap in this truck and is poorly balanced by Dana. Point blank.

You would think with the amount of trucks in general that are that lifted (or not) and require driveline correction that this concept would be very familiar to the technicians. When i spoke with friends that DIY 4x4's or shops that work on them every one of them mentioned center bearing drop kits and axle shims. Why is it that allot of dealerships lack this basic understanding?

 

[Shomare]

There was no choice for I had my dealer look at it as they were installing the Ford Performance leveling kit and they said with the kit, I should expect a vibration because of changes to suspension geometry.

 

[Hellrazor]

most technicians can barely change oil without stripping the bolt! Having a vibration in your driveline is way above their level of skill. in my opinion the center support bearing needs to be raised up higher to make a drive shaft more of a straight line to the rear End. or maybe just a one piece driveshaft why would that work

 

[navsnipe]

most technicians can barely change oil without stripping the bolt! Having a vibration in your driveline is way above their level of skill. in my opinion the center support bearing needs to be raised up higher to make a drive shaft more of a straight line to the rear End. or maybe just a one piece driveshaft why would that work

This sounds like most technical industries these days. Lack of training and competency, here's your tools, go fix things.. What's funny is most independent shops I spoke with had the answer as soon as I described the problem.

 

[Big Blue]

Full disclosure: I'm one of the lucky ~75% of the people who do not have the problem. My truck is bone stock, I occasionally pull my ~4000 lb travel trailer or haul stuff in the bed.

I find it hard to believe that drive shaft angles are that critical. Any time you load the truck, hook up a trailer or cause the rear end hight to change those angles change.

But spitballing here. Why do 75% of the people answering the pole not have the problem if it is a physical design problem with the drive shaft? Yes, I can see this if only people with lifts had the problem as they are intentionally changing the angles. But, this is not the case as stock trucks have it too. Why is the drive shaft being singled out so much as the source? Because it is the easiest thing to mess with? Trucks have had two piece drive shafts before, you would think they would have it done by now. Why not look at other possibilities? How about transmission fluid fill level, been a known issue from the factory in the Passed?

Just seems like a blinders on focus on the drive shaft, without much real success. Even by Ford! Treating symptoms and not the real problem, what ever it is.

 

[kieefer]

+1
How many people who added a tune brag about how much better the truck shifts and feels?
There was another TSB on the programming of the tranny which made mine run and shift much smoother.
I honestly believe Ford hasn’t perfected the tuning and transmission parameters or they have but something is askew in some component builds. IMO.


Edit: As mentioned before, my dealer wouldn't preform this TSB because I leveled the front of my truck.

 

[navsnipe]

Full disclosure: I'm one of the lucky ~75% of the people who do not have the problem. My truck is bone stock, I occasionally pull my ~4000 lb travel trailer or haul stuff in the bed.

I find it hard to believe that drive shaft angles are that critical. Any time you load the truck, hook up a trailer or cause the rear end hight to change those angles change.

But spitballing here. Why do 75% of the people answering the pole not have the problem if it is a physical design problem with the drive shaft? Yes, I can see this if only people with lifts had the problem as they are intentionally changing the angles. But, this is not the case as stock trucks have it too. Why is the drive shaft being singled out so much as the source? Because it is the easiest thing to mess with? Trucks have had two piece drive shafts before, you would think they would have it done by now. Why not look at other possibilities? How about transmission fluid fill level, been a known issue from the factory in the Passed?

Just seems like a blinders on focus on the drive shaft, without much real success. Even by Ford! Treating symptoms and not the real problem, what ever it is.

My truck is stock except Eibach shocks on the rear. The shudder was noticed on day two of my ownership. I have had the TSB done twice, one by the dealer I bought it from who did it wrong. The second dealer verified my observation and did the TSB correctly but the shudder remained. They said it was due to two piece driveshaft design. My research showed numerous trucks, not just Ford, have had this problem on stock trucks with two piece driveshafts. Toyota Tacoma's have had this issue more than any other brand I researched. I first learned about center bearing shimming on a Toyota Tacoma forum.

I have had my transmission fluid level checked by the dealership and i checked it myself because I am an OCD mess. The level is correct and my transmission operates very well, no banging or slipping.

@Porpoise Hork was the first person on this forum that I saw had shimmed his center bearing and saw good results. I shimmed mine this weekend and essentially removed the shudder. No other adverse effects and no other adjustments were made.

 

[navsnipe]

My suspicion of why 75% of the trucks in this poll don't have the shudder is relative to frame construction. My truck was 1/2" higher on the rear right compared to the left before the TSB. If other parts have misalignment the center bearing bracket could too. That could explain why a 1/4" set of shims made the shudder go away 95% of the time. Ford is surely not going to give me a new frame or truck if they can tell me it is a characteristic of the truck and I have to accept it or get rid of it. My recourse after trying it Ford's way was to try and fix it myself.

 

[jerardisflossin]

There was no choice for I had my dealer look at it as they were installing the Ford Performance leveling kit and they said with the kit, I should expect a vibration because of changes to suspension geometry.

I would 100% not accept that. The Ford Performance kit only affects the front. Rear driveshaft angle relative to the transfer case remains unchanged.

 

[Shomare]

I would 100% not accept that. The Ford Performance kit only affects the front. Rear driveshaft angle relative to the transfer case remains unchanged.

Agreed, but I asked about it in order to note the concern such that that it was documented that it had the vibration pre leveling kit, not because of it. Crazy like a fox...

 

[Rangerguy]

So here's my update in case it helps the community somehow. I noticed the takeoff shudder during the test drives, was told it was the startup fan, knew it wasn't but assumed it was a characteristic of the truck. Then a few months later the TSB post came out so I took it in. They used a shim kit to raise the pinion angle from 3.5 to 5.5. That did not affect the takeoff shudder and now I noticed a bit of shudder slowing at stop signs, not brake related. Then the steering wheel angle changed, took it back and they found the wheels were out of alignment owing to a U bolt shift, they fixed that. Then the truck developed a rear end rustling sound that they isolated to the differential. They replaced the rear pinion and carrier bearings, which greatly reduced both shudders. I could almost ignore them in fact, but I was sensitized now.

OK, here's the bit nobody will believe. After reading all the threads on octane, I decided to try 91 octane gas. First tank, no change. But half way into the second tank the truck felt brand new -- no takeoff shudder and even less of that residual slowdown shudder, and the truck felt more responsive and smooth on the gas pedal. Even my wife noticed the difference. This is the truck I had intended to buy in the first place.

 

[navsnipe]

So here's my update in case it helps the community somehow. I noticed the takeoff shudder during the test drives, was told it was the startup fan, knew it wasn't but assumed it was a characteristic of the truck. Then a few months later the TSB post came out so I took it in. They used a shim kit to raise the pinion angle from 3.5 to 5.5. That did not affect the takeoff shudder and now I noticed a bit of shudder slowing at stop signs, not brake related. Then the steering wheel angle changed, took it back and they found the wheels were out of alignment owing to a U bolt shift, they fixed that. Then the truck developed a rear end rustling sound that they isolated to the differential. They replaced the rear pinion and carrier bearings, which greatly reduced both shudders. I could almost ignore them in fact, but I was sensitized now.

OK, here's the bit nobody will believe. After reading all the threads on octane, I decided to try 91 octane gas. First tank, no change. But half way into the second tank the truck felt brand new -- no takeoff shudder and even less of that residual slowdown shudder, and the truck felt more responsive and smooth on the gas pedal. Even my wife noticed the difference. This is the truck I had intended to buy in the first place.

This stuff will drive you crazy, it did to me. I'm finally at a happy place with my truck after the center bearing shimming I did. I've been using 93 octane since my third tank fill up due to the smoothness and slight increase in power. It's nice to finally enjoy the truck .

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