Thanks for the review sir!

 

am i the only one raising my hand?

it does seem like this is more of an issue with the long wb trucks then short.

 

Ha ha, perhaps you are Russ. I guess my point was that those who are experiencing the shudder are most likely not driving like that. I'm too cheap to drive like that, fuel economy is important to me.

But you're a great example of how driving habits matter far less than proper maintenance does on the life of components. You drive your trucks hard, but you maintain them, and you don't seem to be breaking components more than anyone else.

 

see, i'm helping the greater good!!

so, from what i understand of the shudder issue it was a non-issue with the 07-08 super crew long beds? I've never heard of it with them. but with the 09-ups this really became an issue? other then the 6" added to the cab what changed?

also this seems to be a non issue with the 5'5" box?

 

I had an '07 Super Crew long bed as well as my current Super Crew short bed. Neither have shuddered either under load or otherwise. I miss my '07 sometimes.

 

I think having the EcoBoost also plays into account, on wether the shudder is present or not.

I had a 2011, 145" with 3.55 gears and 5.0. Hauling the same loads in that truck resulted in zero shudder, but there was considerably less torque applied to the rear axle from the motor or availible through gearing .vs my EcoBoost with 3.73's and 157" wheelbase.

The '04-'08 trucks didn't have nearly the same torque distribution availible today, especially when considering the 4.6, 5.4 and 4-speed auto. I'm under the impression Ford's decision to add the 3.5 EcoBoost to the F-150 lineup wasn't originally planed when the development of the '09+ chassis was in R&D stages. Remember the trucks were originally launched with the previous generations 4.6 & 5.4 engines. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm on a few F-150 specific forums , and I swear I've only heard of the 5-15 mph shudder problem with 2011+ 157" trucks, almost always an EcoBoost, although there are a few isolated 5.0's, but mysteriously no 6.2's.

Not only that, adding 6" to the driveline on a long wheelbase is a major engendering feat, when considering noise, vibration and load ranges.

 

it seems to only be an issue on 6'5" super crews correct? i have read 5.0's with the same shudder issue although i do see more Eco's with the issue. the '09-10 5.4 put out 390TQ with the same body (that is 6" longer then the 04-08's) with the 6 speed tranny and i don't know if many of them doing it if at all? i wonder what the issue is?

i have not read of many if any short box super crew's with the shudder though?

 

But what would that have anything to do with it? The only way I can wrap my head around would be if the engine was misfiring or bucking for some reason.

 

prince valium's truck is a super crew short box. he has (his dealer) has gone through great lengths to get it resolved, with only moderate success.

anyone hear from rob? he appears to be MIA

 

Only thing I can think of why it happens on EcoBoost trucks, and less likely on others are that the torque builds at an unbelievably low point in the powerband.

It's a characteristic that is vastly different than any other gas engine I can think of (you can't argue that) I mean the 6.2 builds more torque than the EcoBoost , but it happens way deeper in the powerband.

What doesn't make sense, is that when I feel the shudder, I'm not really on the throttle at all, that's why it's hard for me to wrap my head around the idea it really is torque related.

 

Again I completely forgot his is a 145" wheelbase. For some reason I thought he had a 157" as well.

Yeah, weird he hasn't been around much. Perhaps he's on vacation or something. Hopefully he hasn't traded out of his truck yet? Hopefully he alright.

 

for some reason i thought his was a long bed also...my bad!

 

Ford lengthened the rear leafs on the 2009 gen trucks. I think they anticipated a better ride not taking into account that the axle would become a little looser under a load.

 

Hello everyone sorry I haven't been on the site for awhile...been busy. Thanks for the concern everyone...much appreciated!

Pool yes that is exactly what I was experiencing. It felt like rumble strips coming to a stop and leaving...I also had it at speed unloaded (65mph) The dealer ordered a 2" shim kit and installed it on my truck. My driveline angle was about 1.3 degrees (about in the middle of their 3 degree tolerance) so they installed the kit and it added about two inches to the angle. That completely made it WORSE. So he wanted to try it the other way so it would be closer to zero degree angle (removing angle) and it for the most part stopped the shuddering at low speed and at speed unloaded. (65 mph)

Although I do feel maybe a very slight feeling at 40 mph once in awhile it is no where near what it was and honestly now when I am driving I don't even think about it since it is about 95% gone. (I say only 95% because they have not solved the issue while towing as of yet.)

Now...I have also been experiencing sort of a slip when taking off from a stop in the mornings when my transmission is cold. I told the dealer about it and he is looking into the possibility of replacing the torque converter. From what I have been told that could also be a possibility for vibration at speed when it is trying to lock up and unlock constantly. That slipping feeling is happening more and more in the mornings these days and the temps haven't gotten lower than about 45 degree in the mornings. He is looking into that now.

I would take it back to the dealer and start documenting your issues because the dealers are only allowed to do so much and Ford only authorizes certain actions when problems fall under their "Tree" The tree of problem solving if flawed to a point where you have exhausted all your avenues and the problem still exists what happens next?? That is the problem I was facing on my whole write up...and finally my service manager talked to the Ford customer service rep and a Ford engineer and they authorized the installation of my Air Lift bags. (Ford paid for half and the dealer paid for the other half!!)

Now is there an axle wrap issue in conduction with all of this...possibly. After talking to a spring sop the guy there pretty much said he could solve the issues with a third leaf addition and he would custom make it for the truck. I didn't go that route because I wanted to give my dealer the chance to try and fix it and he has also been trying really hard to solve this issue for me. I also wanted everything documented just in case I needed to follow a different route which we are not allowed to discuss here on the forums...lol

Honestly I really had no desire to follow that last route because I really love my truck and would hate to have to do that.

Regardless you need to begin the documentation and give your dealer a chance to work on this issue for you. If you run into a road block with them send me a PM and I will give you my phone number and we can talk about everything in detail. Let me know how it all goes for you!

Rob

 

Awesome Thanks for the explanation Rob. I'm sorry to hear this has become an ongoing issue, and I hope Ford makes right on this for you. I haven't fully thought out yet what I'm going to do yet, as currently my truck drives like a dream "empty" or lightly loaded (within empty to 200-300 lbs payload) at about 450+ lbs payload, I get the shudder (rumble strip) feeling taking off from a dead stop between 0-10 mph.

The feeling is worse if I start at a light or stop sign on an incline. I really, really want a level-lift badly and some more aggressive tires. (I don't care for my 157" FX4's lowered-limousine like profile) and want to hone in the stance for aesthetics. I'm 90% sure I want to do a 2.5" Bilstein 5100 level in the front, and 5100 shocks rear, and some combination of an AAL (Add a leaf) to the rear, in hopes of achieving a leveled look ,and tame the rumble strip take off with a payload.