Far from acceptable. No vehicle in stock trim, towing within it's rated capacity should require bags or helper springs.

 

Exactly! These trucks should be correct from the factory and not cost us a single cent to fix. Best, CB

 

So, you don't want to know what the problem is? OK, you get your wish, won't comment here again!

 

Relax. Wasn't accusing you. Finger pointed at Ford and its engineers.

 

Vince didn't say that it was required, just that this will fix the issue. The reason is because of the pinion angle changing; the fix is to shim the axle to correct the pinion angle. And they will do this under warranty. Nowhere did anyone say that the hapless owner had to go spend the bucks on airbags. You've seen how heavily loaded my truck has been, and mine has never shuddered even a little bit. This isn't "functioning as designed".

No need to point fingers at all.

 

Understood.

So, they know they have a problem. Now it is up to ford to figure out a fix. Rob had mentioned that they can change the driveline angle for towing or empty, not both. That's crazy, who tows 100% of the time or is empty 100% of the time? Sorry but that is unacceptable for a brand new truck to have this issue.

 

Vloney...I sure welcome your comments. I do understand what you are saying, and the sevice manager said he could try to change the pinion angle for either while it is loaded or unloaded. Other than thhat what alternative is there besides buying an aftermarket part like the RAS?

 

While i agree, understand that not every truck with this combination exhibits this problem. Rob and Tom's truck are functionally much the same (both max tow) but one exhibits the problem, one does not.

how do you account for this by way of design?

that being said, i think they were asking for trouble from day one. give the customer a boat load of low end torque, 4.17:1 first gear and 3.73:1 rear gears and anchor them with the longest leaf springs i have ever seen, and you have the recipe for axle wrap.

changing the pinion angle is a crutch. adding air bags or helper springs keeps the pinion angle such that the tendency of the springs to wrap up is reduced. additional leaves, or RAS is actually addressing the problem, which is insufficient spring rate from the axle forward to stop the spring from wrapping up.

cheapie slapper bars would probably work to, but you'd have to grow a mullet.

 

Well thee service manager called today. He said he talked with three people at Ford and non of them would allow him to think out of the box and install a counter balance for what he calls a harmonic problem with the rear end. He thinks the problem is in the gearing of the 3.73's. They had this issue with the mustangs and he said Ford would not let him experiment.

I said fine...I am bringing it in for the PCM reflash recall...and you can check the pinion angle and make sure it is at 3 degrees. I don't know exactly what they did to the mustangs...I will find out more specifics when I bring it in on Thursday.

 

Sounds to me like he doesn't know what he's talking about. If he was correct my truck as well as every other 3.73 equipped truck would all exhibit the same shudder because of the gearing. But that's not what's been happening. Beyond that I had a 2011 Mustang GT after I sold my F350 that had 3.73s and never shuddered. Ever.

I guess it's possible that there is some harmonic resonance going on between your trailer and truck frame, but if so it has absolutely nothing to do with your rear end, gears, or pinion angle. Our boat has always made my wife's Sienna shudder between 45-50 MPH, but I've never let it bother me.

 

Thanks for keeping us in the loop, PrinceValium. I sent a message to your regional customer service manager and asked her to follow-up with you.

Feel free to reach out to me if you have any additional questions or concerns.

Crystal

 

Prince, I feel for ye man! Just a few days ago you were so happy about ye new truck, I followed your trip report, etc., and was also happy for ye. Now, you're having this issue. Ain't good publicity for Ford. I'll keep holding on to me '02 and me lucres a bit longer. I know I'll never have a perfect truck, not looking for perfection, but I cain't stand nary shuddering, shaking wheels, drive line, etc. Hope ye get'er fixed soon!

 

I was telling the service manager that he needs to make sure the pinion angle is correct. He also stated that Ford is basically saying there is nothing they can do. There is no way I will settle for that...if I had my way they would be trying to figure out the problem systematically by using harmonic resonance monitors and also putting a data logger on the motor to be sure it is not a engine problem as well.

 

Hi, I have a 2012 F150, max tow with the same issue when towing. Hardly noticeable when unloaded, but it's still there. Ford has tried shimming the axle, shimming the hanger bearing, change the drive shaft, etc... Here are some videos I took of the driveline. http://sdrv.ms/17xmNUC

 

Zija 150, your video of the drive shaft looking at the transfer case clearly shows the drive shaft is not running true.
This out of axis or radial run-out plus centrifugal force makes the trans move in it's mounts.
The weight of the trans and motor moving in the mounts transfers to the whole chassis and really become amplified to the driver.
Look at it again and think about it.
The transmission and motor mounts are all so soft it does not take much to set the 'whole' system into motion trying to find a stable point until the system rotation is fast enough to 'gyroscope' into smooth operation.
Even then the issue is still there but being smoothed out by fast rotation once the rotation speed becomes high enough to be cancelled out by the same combination that makes it begin.
All the persuedo fixes only change the point of smoothness or in some cases stiffen it up to the point it does not begin until a higher load is put on then only needs 'more' torque to get it started.
Any road roughness is sometimes enough to make things worst if it causes the motor and trans to move at the same time.
The issue is a combination of factors such that if anything falls outside design tolerances due to mfg or assembly there is a good chance this will happen.
The torque control program 'could' get into the act trying to compensate for the issue it was never meant to deal with and make it worse.
This is my observation from you video.
First thing if I had to clear it is to get the drive shaft to run true then stiffen the trans and motor mounting.
A long time ago now from as far back as the 70s the front of the driveshaft on some cars had a rubber mounted damper just like the front of the motor crank to eliminate some of these tendencies.
Weights were put on exhaust systems to eliminate resonance etc.
Just can't have a truck designed to be used as a truck and expect to have a baby carriage ride with mountings that are letting everything flop around that much.
I can see why after all this time there is no simple single fix without a lot of rebuilding at the dealership.
I imagine Ford is wringing some hands over this it's got so complicated.
Reminds me of buying some product at a store and on the instructions or the box it says if the product is faulty do not return it to the store but contact the mfger. What's the store going to do but give you another with the same issue over again or refund your money.. The store can't fix anything!
I know this is no help but the insight might be worth something.
I will be following these threads to see what happens.
Sorry for your situation.
Good luck.