Familiar vibration in F-150 fixed

[Steve M]

I just read through my latest issue of Trailer Life (Get a Life) and found this interesting.

A reader with an F-150 writes to the RV Clinic and Performance...

"I first noticed a rough shifting even before I pulled the trailer very far. I deverloped a small vibration at 67-69mph at 38,000 miles. I took it to my dealer, and the service manager told me the 4. 5-inch diameter driveline was not standing up to the job.

My transmission had started to seep fluid from the seal of the extension housing. The dealer replaced the housing extention with a longer one and replaced the driveline with a 5-inch-diameter one that was shorter. The vibration went away and the shifting was very smooth.

The problem has not been listed as a recall and may never be... "



The writer has a 2001 F-150 super-crew with 5. 4L engine. Not the same animal as ours but a long wheelbased truck with a vibration at 67-69mph that the dealer fixed. The speed of his vibration and the cure is what grabbed my attention. It sounded way too familiar. Maybe I'll start fretting about this again...

 

[crabjoe]

It's not the thicker driveshaft that fixed the problem. It was the housing. With the new larger housing, it cause a change in driveline angle. All that dealer had to do was to make sure that the driveshaft was balanced properly then make sure the driveline angle was good by shimming the rear.