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

[Samsquanch]

Hi Sam,

You have a different problem than this start up shudder. Yours might be tire related but is very narrow banded. I suspect a out of round tire... JMO.

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

after some more driving it definitely happens at take off it’s just more noticeable when I get up above 10mph and drops off after that. So to ask again, is this an actual problem or just a nuisance? Will this cause a mechanical failure or just a characteristic of the truck.

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[P. A. Schilke]

after some more driving it definitely happens at take off it’s just more noticeable when I get up above 10mph and drops off after that. So to ask again, is this an actual problem or just a nuisance? Will this cause a mechanical failure or just a characteristic of the truck.

Hi Sam,

It is a characteristic of a two piece driveline. Some trucks exhibit this while most do not. Not likely to affect durability of the truck.

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

 

[20lariat4x4]

Hi Sam,

It is a characteristic of a two piece driveline. Some trucks exhibit this while most do not. Not likely to affect durability of the truck.

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

Phil, surely the out of balance shaft/s shaking about at the system’s critical speed range of 8-15 mph will cause premature wear to U-joints, if not seals, clutch packs, rear differential, etc. I respect your level of expertise as former engineer, but mechanical failures and wear have been documented as a result of out of balance two piece driveshafts.

It is not necessarily inherent to the two piece design; vibration should not occur if the working angles are within spec and proper balance achieved.

-Cameron

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Phil, surely the out of balance shaft/s shaking about at the system’s critical speed range of 8-15 mph will cause premature wear to U-joints, if not seals, clutch packs, rear differential, etc. I respect your level of expertise as former engineer, but mechanical failures and wear have been documented as a result of out of balance two piece driveshafts.

It is not necessarily inherent to the two piece design; vibration should not occur if the working angles are within spec and proper balance achieved.

-Cameron

Hi Cameron,

Start up shudder occurs briefly. it is not present at 8 -15mph in a steady state fashion. I agree an imbalance in the a driveshaft is determental. Sam revised this evaluation to exhibit start up shudder, which I took meant not a steady state vibration. Like I told Sam....8 to 15mph steady state is a different problem than a brief pass through event.

As far as two piece driveshafts, you are correct if you can get operating angles exact, which is why most Ranger's do not exhibit any vibration and why the TSB was finally written as some Rangers did not have operating angles "within spec" for some reason. I do not know what the root cause of the angle misalignment is as I have no inside Ford contacts in that arena. Likely tolerance stack related, but just a guess. That said, my experience with durability trucks with two piece drivelines exhibited no difference in durability performance to this brief shudder event. JMO....

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

 

[20lariat4x4]

Update:

Ford customer service reached out yesterday and told me my truck is ready for pickup. They say the TSB is not meant to rid the truck of ALL vibration, just to make it better. They instructed the dealer tech to compare the vibration to that of other Rangers on the lot. The dealer tech reported that mine was slightly better than the others. Ford states this is a normal characteristic of the truck and that no further repair is needed.

To be continued...

-Cameron

 

[Ogden Dan]

Update:

Ford customer service reached out yesterday and told me my truck is ready for pickup. They say the TSB is not meant to rid the truck of ALL vibration, just to make it better. They instructed the dealer tech to compare the vibration to that of other Rangers on the lot. The dealer tech reported that mine was slightly better than the others. Ford states this is a normal characteristic of the truck and that no further repair is needed.

To be continued...

-Cameron

Normal characteristic of the truck is to vibrate........ Nice one Ford.

 

[20lariat4x4]

The Ford representative said “if your truck is behaving the same as the other Rangers then there is nothing further we can do.” There are 2 other Rangers on the lot the dealership could have tested. A sample size of 2 is apparently sufficient for them to declare no issue is present.

-Cameron

 

[Ogden Dan]

The Ford repThatresentative said “if your truck is behaving the same as the other Rangers then there is nothing further we can do.” There are 2 other Rangers on the lot the dealership could have tested. A sample size of 2 is apparently sufficient for them to declare no issue is present.

-Cameron

That is crazy logic.

So if your truck is behaving the same as the other defective Rangers on the lot, "there is nothing further we can do"

 

[kieefer]

My dealer told me that it’s a truck, it’s not going to be smooth.

 

[Rangerguy]

My dealer told me that it’s a truck, it’s not going to be smooth.

Such nonsense. The deuce and a half I drove in the army 50 years ago wasn’t smooth, but these Rangers should be tight - “Ford tough”

 

[P. A. Schilke]

My dealer told me that it’s a truck, it’s not going to be smooth.

Hi Keith,

Smooth with respect to what.... A Rolls Royce? ... just kidding. Most Rangers are pretty silky smooth from a driveability point. Not so much ride as they are a truck that has to run around unladen and carry a half ton laden without adjustment... so This start up shudder affects some Rangers more than others...my 2019 does not exhibit the problem. It is a fleeting less than a second or so vibration. The TSB addresses a process to check and correct, but it does not always work.... Most times the dealer did not perform the TSB correctly and results with no change or worsening if they put a shim in backwards which occurs. I view the TSB as non Robust solution due to dealer incompetence or uncaring.

What I can only recommend is try another dealer if the one you used did not resolve the concern. Also remember that there is a loose seat TSB that exacerbates this condition and this needs to be addressed as well....

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

 

[kieefer]

Hi Keith,

Smooth with respect to what.... A Rolls Royce? ... just kidding. Most Rangers are pretty silky smooth from a driveability point. Not so much ride as they are a truck that has to run around unladen and carry a half ton laden without adjustment... so This start up shudder affects some Rangers more than others...my 2019 does not exhibit the problem. It is a fleeting less than a second or so vibration. The TSB addresses a process to check and correct, but it does not always work.... Most times the dealer did not perform the TSB correctly and results with no change or worsening if they put a shim in backwards which occurs. I view the TSB as non Robust solution due to dealer incompetence or uncaring.

What I can only recommend is try another dealer if the one you used did not resolve the concern. Also remember that there is a loose seat TSB that exacerbates this condition and this needs to be addressed as well....

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

My vibs have always been around 2000-2500 rpm. Occasionally an off idle stall as if gasping for air, or injection issue.
What baffles me is that it’s erratic.

Presently running a tune and most of the time it’s pretty smooth and unnoticeable. Then for whatever reason it will show back up, be it fuel temp, programming I don’t know but trying to duplicate it for a dealer or leave it with them to find it is unreasonable imo.

I’ve personally added shims to the carrier bearing and found good results only for the vibs to show back up.
I’m running no shims now and don’t believe 1 or 2 degrees of shaft angle can make that much difference and then still have a vib show back up, but not I’m no engineer. I throw my hands up in frustration.

I’ve got 23k miles now and most of the time it runs much better than when new.

 

[ChiefQM]

Come on FORD this shouldn't be so hard to correct. A Ford dealer in Green Valley AZ says this concern is considered a normal characteristic. Sorry I don't buy that excuse.

I had two dealers tell me that in FL. Both had me drive vehicles that also had that problem to try to prove their point. If I hadn't driven one that didn't have the problem, I might have believed them. Ford is telling the dealers to tell the owners it is "operating as designed" or something similar. BS.

 

[rdgallo]

That is crazy logic.

So if your truck is behaving the same as the other defective Rangers on the lot, "there is nothing further we can do"

I wonder if they would say the same thing if you had an oil leak and all of the trucks on the lot also leaked? That's a B.S. answer which indicates to me they either don't know the cause or it is too expensive to fix.

 

[CompDude]

Just finished some experimentation, I had the TSB done which made the vibration better but it was still there.. So over the past couple days I have been shimming the center bearing to see if that helps. Yesterday after installing several different shims its gone. I had to drop the center bearing 3/4 of an inch. I will drive it a couple more test drives before installing more permanent shims as I am using body shims for testing. My rear pinion angle is 6.2 I may try to get that in the 5.2 sweet spot at a latter time and readjust the shim spacing if needed.

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