Drivetrain Vibration Solution (sort of)
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Drivetrain Vibration Solution (sort of)
Hey Guys,
New to the forum, but not new to forums.
I bought a 2010 f150 fx4 supercab back in late dec. and noticed a vibration that some have also noted in some posts here. After doing the tranny reflash (which I think is useless cause it relearns your driving habits anyways) they came out with a tsb about shimming the rear axle. So they ordered the parts and I brought it back for the install and picked it up after work. Needless to say it still vibrated, just not as bad. So I went back after 500km and talked to the mechanic who did the job and got some pretty useful info from him.
Basically, they (ford) give two different shims in the kit, a 1 degree and a 2 degree. these fit between the blocks and the springs on top of the axle (for those who don't know) He installed the 2 degree first and drove it, which cleared up the vibration prob. on acceleration but gave some vib. on deceleration. He then installed the 1 degree shims and found it was a happier medium with less vib on accel. and little to none on decel. What he did for me today was install the 2 degree shims and let me drive it for a while to see which I preferred, and I'll tell you the lack of vib on accel. was a godsend (I do alot of city driving) the decel. vibe was noticeable, and I don't like it, however I will most likely keep the 2 deg. shims for now.
Together the tech and I figured the "happy medium" would be a 1.5 deg. shim if there is such a thing. I said a "happy medium" would be to figure this **** out before sending a vehicle to production- we both had a chuckle and he showed me the design flaw in the set-up:
The blocks are too high on the axle, which causes the axle to twist too much on accel and decel. so by overcompensating the pinion angle you get a solution to one or the other. The only real solution is to install a stabilizer bar that minimizes axle movement. Good luck with ford coming out with that, but perhaps the aftermarket? Until then we will be replacing u-joints later down the line. If you have this issue, make sure you document it with your dealers service dept.
Sorry for the long post.
Dan
New to the forum, but not new to forums.
I bought a 2010 f150 fx4 supercab back in late dec. and noticed a vibration that some have also noted in some posts here. After doing the tranny reflash (which I think is useless cause it relearns your driving habits anyways) they came out with a tsb about shimming the rear axle. So they ordered the parts and I brought it back for the install and picked it up after work. Needless to say it still vibrated, just not as bad. So I went back after 500km and talked to the mechanic who did the job and got some pretty useful info from him.
Basically, they (ford) give two different shims in the kit, a 1 degree and a 2 degree. these fit between the blocks and the springs on top of the axle (for those who don't know) He installed the 2 degree first and drove it, which cleared up the vibration prob. on acceleration but gave some vib. on deceleration. He then installed the 1 degree shims and found it was a happier medium with less vib on accel. and little to none on decel. What he did for me today was install the 2 degree shims and let me drive it for a while to see which I preferred, and I'll tell you the lack of vib on accel. was a godsend (I do alot of city driving) the decel. vibe was noticeable, and I don't like it, however I will most likely keep the 2 deg. shims for now.
Together the tech and I figured the "happy medium" would be a 1.5 deg. shim if there is such a thing. I said a "happy medium" would be to figure this **** out before sending a vehicle to production- we both had a chuckle and he showed me the design flaw in the set-up:
The blocks are too high on the axle, which causes the axle to twist too much on accel and decel. so by overcompensating the pinion angle you get a solution to one or the other. The only real solution is to install a stabilizer bar that minimizes axle movement. Good luck with ford coming out with that, but perhaps the aftermarket? Until then we will be replacing u-joints later down the line. If you have this issue, make sure you document it with your dealers service dept.
Sorry for the long post.
Dan
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