2012 F 350 with shudder. need help.
 

I have a 2012 F 350 crew cab eight foot bed with FX4 package. The truck has a shudder when you accelerate from 0 to about 5 mph when I'm towing my 8,000 pound 5th wheel. Once you hit 5 to 10 mph it goes away and everything is smooth. When the truck is empty there's no problem either. I took it to the dealer and they said we have to shim the rear suspension. Does anyone have any suggestions or fixes ?

The carrier bearing needs to be shimmed. I know this TSB does not list your year of truck, but it is the same cause and effect.

TSB
06-23-4
DRIVE-AWAY SHUDDER OR VIBRATION
Publication Date: November 3, 2006

FORD:
1999-2007 F-Super Duty
This article supersedes TSB 05-17-6 to update the vehicle model years.

ISSUE:

Some 1999-2007 F-Super Duty vehicles may exhibit excessive drive-away shudder or vibration, under moderate to heavy acceleration from a stop. This may be due to driveline angle.

ACTION:

Shim the center carrier bracket downward to correct the condition. Refer to the following Service Procedure.

SERVICE PROCEDURE

When shimming the center carrier bracket, a maximum of three (3) 1/4" shims may be used (EOTZ-4A209-A). When refastening the carrier bracket use bolt (56564-S2). A 7/16 x 14 grade 5 bolt may be substituted providing that it extends at least three (3) threads past the nut. Use Motorcraft® Threadlock 262, and torque bolts to 46 lb-ft (62 N-m).

NOTE: IF THE VEHICLE IS NORMALLY LOADED, ROAD TESTS WILL NEED TO BE PERFORMED WITH THE VEHICLE LOADED.
Before beginning the repair, road test the vehicle to gain a feel for the harshness of the shudder/vibration.
Install one (1) shim, (DO NOT use threadlock on the bolts at this point), re-road test vehicle.
If condition is corrected, apply threadlock and torque bolts as directed above.
If condition is not corrected, re-perform step 2 (to a maximum of three (3) shims) and reevaluate vehicle.
NOTE: IF THE CONDITION IS STILL NOT CORRECTED AFTER INSTALLING A MAXIMUM OF THREE (3) SHIMS, REFER TO WORKSHOP MANUAL SECTION 205-00 FOR FURTHER DIAGNOSTICS.

PART NUMBER PART NAME
EOTZ-4A209-A Shim
56564-S2 Bolt
TA-26 Motorcraft® Threadlock 262
WARRANTY STATUS:

Eligible Under Provisions Of New Vehicle Limited Warranty Coverage

OPERATION DESCRIPTION TIME
062304A 1999-2007 F-Super Duty: Road Test To Verify Concern, Install One Shim, And Road Test To Verify Repair (Includes Time To Raise Vehicle And Install Threadlock) (Do Not Use With 4602A, 4602A4F) 1.2 Hrs.
062304B 1999-2007 F-Super Duty: Road Test To Verify Concern, Install One Shim, And Road Test To Verify Repair Condition Still Exists, Install A Second Shim And Road Test (Includes Time To Raise Vehicle And Install Threadlock) (Do Not Use With 4602A, 4602A4F) 1.7 Hrs.
062304C 1999-2007 F-Super Duty: Road Test To Verify Concern, Install One Shim, And Road Test To Verify Repair Condition Still Exists, Install A Second Shim And Road Test Condition Still Exists Install A Third Shim And Road Test (Includes Time To Raise Vehicle And Install Threadlock) (Do Not Use With 4602A, 4602A4F) 2.2 Hrs.

Thank you so much !!! I will let you know what happens.

A cautionary note on this 'fix'...

This problem occurred with Dodges, too - and it seems that sometimes you can get it shimmed to work nicely in one setting (with trailer) and it will still shudder in another (unloaded). You may find limited success with this, but I wish you the best.

What is causing the shudder is with the weight if the trailer, the rear of your truck is sagging enough to cause the shudder. Yes, you can correct it so it won't shudder when you are hooked up but you now you now run the risk of having the shudder return when you don't have the trailer hooked up.

I had the same problem but eliminated it with air bags. When I hook up I am at the same level as when I'm not. No more shudder.

S

I bought and installed the Ford kit and it did fix the shudder with just one shim. Now that I know what the Ford kit is, I would just go and buy a piece of 1/4 by 1.5" flat bar, cut a 4 or 5 piece off and drill the holes yourself. Also, the new bolts that the TSB recomments are actually shorter that the original bolts. My truck is a 2007, so that may not be the case with yours.

Good luck.

In the case of the TSB, it is the opposite. The drive shaft to pinion angle is what causes the shudder. Lowering the rear suspension would decrease the angle and the shudder. Lowering (shimming) the carrier bearing also decreases the angle and reduces the shudder.

Go see the dealer. A member on Dieselstop said they just released a completely new driveshaft to fix the problem. By looking at the pictures he posted, the slip yoke has been moved to the rear of the shaft, putting the U-joint further forward and the support bushing has been made of what appears to be a much stiffer rubber compound. He said it fixed the problem.

Thank you, I appreciate your help.

Thank you.

Thanks for the good advice

Great advice

Thank you for the great news

To those who are interested, I can tell you from firsthand experience that shimming the center support bearing down on my '11 made the problem WORSE. I solved a vast majority of the shudder by removing the support bearing bracket and sectioning about 5/8" out of it (made it SHORTER) and welded it back together. This reduced the loaded launch shudder by well over 50% and did not induce any unloaded high speed vibrations. Of course now that I've done all my farmer engineering, Ford comes out and addresses the problem.