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

[navsnipe]

Has anyone tried for shits and giggles removing the rear leaf blocks (but keeping one on the drivers side to compensate for the lower left side) that came stock with the truck, which would lower the rear and see if that fixes vibration issues? I had vibration issues since stock but not terrible. After my 3" eibach leveling struts, its bad.

It's interesting you mention that. I recently saw some rear suspension pictures of a 2019 Ranger Lariat Crew Cab that is confirmed to have no take off shudder. It only has one leaf block on the left and none on the right.

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[VegasRanger]

You know what I noticed today? The front left side sits lower than the front right side by 3/8”. Do you think that could cause vibration? I have the rough country 2.5” leveling struts on my truck

 

[Mitch65]

I am a slow convert to the start up shudder not being my issue. I have had techs and shop foremen ride with me and tell me that even though what they feel in my truck is the worst they have ever experienced with the bucking and shaking while steady in a gear (not shifting), the truck was operating as designed and neither their shop nor Ford was going to pay them to work on it. I gave up on them even attempting to find the problem. As suggested elsewhere in this thread, when I start the engine, I put it in tow mode (and strangle the auto start feature), That holds the trans to shifting later, and the engine rpms are kept to about 2000 RPM, and the issue has virtually gone away. I am assuming you have a tow package, obviously. Hit the button on the side of your shifter and you can see that the trans is not shifting to 8th gear by the time you hit 30 mph. If I am going to drive over 40 mph and at highway speeds, I take the tow mode off. And they did the TSB (wrong, but they did it) to shut me up.

I just saw this post and I’m pretty sure my new tremor is behaving the exact same as you describe. In normal D mode when cruising at 30mph and giving light throttle the rpms drop too low and the truck shutters/vibrates and just feels horrible. Seems to happen below 1500rpm in certain situations.

tow mode and sport mode above 2k rpm and everything is butter smooth and fine. Is this what your describing? Almost feels like the engine is lugging. I’v been debating about taking it in to Ford but maybe it’s normal. Idk. Tow mode and sport mode are awesome and no issues but regular D sucks lol
Any updates on yours?

 

[JTDay]

What gear are you in when that happens? At 30mph, 6th gear is the maximum safe bet. My truck would try to go into 8th gear at 25mph in the city so I lock out 7-10. 7th is good once you get passed 40mph but in the city, I never go beyond 7th. These transmissions lug the engines, just how they are.

 

[Mitch65]

What gear are you in when that happens? At 30mph, 6th gear is the maximum safe bet. My truck would try to go into 8th gear at 25mph in the city so I lock out 7-10. 7th is good once you get passed 40mph but in the city, I never go beyond 7th. These transmissions lug the engines, just how they are.

I AGREE! Mine tries to go into 8th around 30mph and it lugs until it downshifts. I'v been driving in tow mode and it keeps it 1 gear lower and feels much better.

 

[ChiefQM]

I just saw this post and I’m pretty sure my new tremor is behaving the exact same as you describe. In normal D mode when cruising at 30mph and giving light throttle the rpms drop too low and the truck shutters/vibrates and just feels horrible. Seems to happen below 1500rpm in certain situations.

tow mode and sport mode above 2k rpm and everything is butter smooth and fine. Is this what your describing? Almost feels like the engine is lugging. I’v been debating about taking it in to Ford but maybe it’s normal. Idk. Tow mode and sport mode are awesome and no issues but regular D sucks lol
Any updates on yours?

No updates. It is now a cultivated habit to push the tow mode button when I get in the truck. I had the 20K mile service done last week and the service advisor told me that Ford is now advising to use Sport Mode or Tow Mode. He did not give me a cite for that info, though. Easier to tell people it's normal, but you can use these workarounds rather than come up with a fix, I guess.

 

[ChiefQM]

What gear are you in when that happens? At 30mph, 6th gear is the maximum safe bet. My truck would try to go into 8th gear at 25mph in the city so I lock out 7-10. 7th is good once you get passed 40mph but in the city, I never go beyond 7th. These transmissions lug the engines, just how they are.

How do you lock out 7-10?

 

[JTDay]

@ChiefQM The owners manual has good info on that. With the shifter in "D" press the (-) button on the shifter. You will see the gear indication pop up in the screen on your gauge cluster and you'll see the number 10 at the top. Just keep pressing the minus button until you only see a 6 at the top and you will have locked out gears 7-10.

 

[navsnipe]

During a recent oil change and alignment service I got a call that my thrust angle is near max which is confounding the alignment. After some conversation of history of my driveline shudder I reminded them they did TSB 20-2277 and touched the rear axle last, December 2020. I asked if the axle could have slipped on the perches, they responded no ,not likely. They said they would work on it more. I picked up the truck and while the wheel was straight I noticed on the TPS display all four wheels have different pressures. I stopped and equalized them and now my wheel is cocked to the left to go straight. My patience is maxed and contemplating getting rid of the truck. I get my head together and formulate a plan.

I got underneath the truck and looked at the rear leaf/shim stacks on both sides and discover a problem. I can see the axle center bolt head properly in the hole on the right leaf perch but cannot see anything in the left leaf perch hole. I would expect a technician to catch this but apparently not this time.

I had already been planning to try my hand at the TSB and had new u-bolts and axle center bolts on hand. Long story short, I jacked up the truck (following good safety practices) and removed the u-bolts. I found on the left side the flat shim that was supposed to be removed in the TSB was still there preventing the axle center bolt head from reaching the perch hole. On the right side the flat shim was not removed but there was no issue with the axle center bolt position. The 1.5° angle shims were in their proper places. The design of the Ford angled shims is not bolted with the axle center bolts to the leaf stack but held by the head of the bolt (it is longer than a standard leaf bolt head)

Summary, I removed the flat shims on the left (6mm) and right (7.6mm) sides. I reassembled the left side with the existing flat shim that is bolted to the leaf stack along with the thick 1.5° angle shim. I assembled the right side with only the thin 1.5° angle shim. I tightened up the u-bolts nuts snug, lowered the truck and followed the progressive torque instructions eventually to 98lb/ft.

I took the truck for a test drive and noticed a big difference in the take off feel. The shudder is not gone but it is barely noticeable now and there is a smoothness at low speeds in the shudder zone that has never existed before. My truck also tracks straight and also finally level in the rear. I had to do a driveway centering of my tie rod ends to get my steering wheel straight until I can get a proper alignment. I am beginning to like my Ranger again.

Some may ask why I did this myself and not bitch at the dealership who did the TSB and alignment last. I have lost confidence in those who should have done this right to begin with. I am a mechanical/technical person and now I have the satisfaction of the job done right.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

@navsnipe By removing those shims you lowered the truck and altered the driveshaft angle thus reducing the vibration.

For those who have not seen it the first part of this video really explains why we're having the issue in the first place. I know it's for the Tacoma but their driveline is very similar to the Ranger's.

When Ford brought the Ranger to the NA market they altered the rear suspension mounting setup and raised the truck by roughly 2.5". They also altered the center bearing mount and have a driveshaft that is out of phase. The combination of these changes introduced the vibration to the truck.

 

[navsnipe]

@navsnipe By removing those shims you lowered the truck and altered the driveshaft angle thus reducing the vibration.

For those who have not seen it the first part of this video really explains why we're having the issue in the first place. I know it's for the Tacoma but their driveline is very similar to the Ranger's.

When Ford brought the Ranger to the NA market they altered the rear suspension mounting setup and raised the truck by roughly 2.5". They also altered the center bearing mount and have a driveshaft that is out of phase. The combination of these changes introduced the vibration to the truck.

I left the angled shims in from the TSB that was done in 12/20. The shims I removed were the flat shims that should have been removed during the TSB. The combination of the two has given me a relatively smooth truck.

A little take off shudder remains, once I recheck the u-bolt nut torque I will check my pinion angle to see if anymore adjustment is necessary. A local suspension/driveline guy suggested I match the pinion angle to the angle of the first section driveshaft rather than the numbers on the TSB (5.2°). That is what the ideal target is. I'm still curious about a one piece driveshaft but I'm happy with my results now.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I'm still curious about a one piece driveshaft but I'm happy with my results now.

The estimated price for the driveshaft kit from Tom Woods on the Ranger will be about $600 for everything needed. Not sure if shipping is included with that. It may be worth going to a local driveshaft specialist and see what they quote you for making one. Could be a lot cheaper to get it done locally instead. That's what I'll probably do once I get mine back (waiting on back ordered parts to fix a water leak).

 

[navsnipe]

The estimated price for the driveshaft kit from Tom Woods on the Ranger will be about $600 for everything needed. Not sure if shipping is included with that. It may be worth going to a local driveshaft specialist and see what they quote you for making one. Could be a lot cheaper to get it done locally instead. That's what I'll probably do once I get mine back (waiting on back ordered parts to fix a water leak).

There is a Tom Woods dealer about 100 miles from me. I think I will wait until I hear how it works out for others first.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

There is a Tom Woods dealer about 100 miles from me. I think I will wait until I hear how it works out for others first.

Looks like initial testing is promising.

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/driveshaft-phasing.7614/page-15#post-297734

 

[VegasRanger]

There is a Tom Woods dealer about 100 miles from me. I think I will wait until I hear how it works out for others first.

I am getting my one piece driveshaft installed on the 17th by a local driveline shop. I actually helped Tom Woods find the flanges needed for the one piece driveshaft for our trucks. He was going to build an adapter but I was able to track down the part numbers for them and they got 50 of the flanges ordered and are in the final stages of getting the driveshafts made. My local driveline shop had the same issue, no flanges. So I ordered them directly from Ford and I will be providing them myself. I’ll keep you guys posted. Excited to see how it goes.

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