Help!! Do all 05's have a shudder/vibration problem

[Matt400]

I'm curious. Now that you know how to fix it, do you want the one you ordered originally that has exactly what you want?

:-laf :-laf you would have to rub that one in!

 

[RedSled]

actually I like the one I have now better, but thanks for asking. This one has more options than the other, skid plates, front protection sheild, OWL AT tires and it is a one tone white not two, and it has the lighter interior. After seeing the two tone and the dark interior I am happy with this one.



Btw, I told the salesman that this one also had the shudder and his jaw hit the floor. He thought I was going to tell him I didn't want it. When I told him I fixed it he asked me if I would be willing to talk to the service manager and explain what I did. He said they are still working on the first one I bought and have not fixed it yet. I don't know what they have tried. Maybe i got lucky



For those with the high speed vibes, I dont know what to tell you other than trying what I did and/or the various fixed I referenced from the TDR volumes (engine mounts, trans mounts etc. )

 

[67guzzler]

:-laf :-laf you would have to rub that one in!

No -- I was serious Matt! Did it sound that way? I didn't mean to be negative. I was just thinking what I'd ponder if I were in Sled's position.

 

[Matt400]

No, I didn't think you were being negative... it just made me laugh when I read it because you were right, he could have had both but looks like he ended up ok anyway.

 

[NDanecker]

finally found an 05 truck located 2 hours from the dealer, and had it brought in to check it out.



Here is the deal. I picked it up yesterday a noon, and immediately felt a slight launch shudder. Less than the other one I tested, but still evident. I was ******. I almost drove back and said keep it, but I figured I could take it home and mess with the drive alignment as see what happens. I tested for the 70mph vibe and found nothing, smooth as silk.



I got home an fasted a string to the center of the U-joint cap, where it exits the rear, and streched it to the center of the cap where it exits the trans. The center bearing and center u joint were off about 3/8 inch. Actually the U-joint was off about 1/4 and the center bearing about 3/8. I loosened the center bearing and moved it all the way over toward the side it needed to go. That brought the u-ujoint in alignment with the other two joints, and the center joint appears to be about 1/8th off. I test drove it and about 60-70% of the shudder was gone.



Not good enough for a $47K vehicle. Next I added 2 washers as spacers between the center bearing and were it mounts. 2 bolts with 2 washers about 1/8 to a 1/4 inch lower I guess. I went for a test drive and really couldn't feel much. If I did it exactly right I could feel the slighest pulse.



I added 1 more washer for a total of 3 to each bolt. Now the bolts were too short, only just grabbing the nut. I found 2 longer bolts and used those. On test drive I couldn't feel anything.



I then filled 6 trash cans full of water and went for a drive and feel nothing!!!!! Oo. Oo. Oo.



I tested it again at 70, with no vibes!



I have driven the truck about 100 miles since my little test and it appears the shudder is gone. A few times I thought I might feel it, but it also could be the road surface. I think its good enough for me!! I am going to sign the papers today.



Hopefully this helps someone else!



Essentially I performed the shadetree version of the 03-003-04 without the fancy tool. The TSB mentions 8 bracket sizes that can be used to either lower, or raise the center bearing. The sizes range from 14MM to 133. 9MM



Does anyone know what the original bracket measurement is? I am curious to know what equivelent bracket I could use, I'm not sure if 3 washers shimming my center bearing is the strongest design. any comments?

Excellent work there! Glad to hear you got the truck you wanted and fixed the vibe problem yourself, even though 'we' shouldn't have to do this kind of fine tuning paying the money we do for our trucks. I guess this also proves that these trucks are NOT coming setup properly from the factory. My theory is if most people don't complain about it, and if they only have to fix a small percent of these trucks under warranty (which they attempt to deny the 1st or 2nd complaint from the customer anyway), their bottom line comes out better then tooling up for an extra alignment step during assembly. Besides, what is the ratio of LWB (2 piece shafts) to SWB (1 piece shafts) trucks out there anyway?



My 2 to 1 piece shaft mod is running perfect to date. If things change, or if I experience any u-joint problems/vibes I'll post.



Again, excellent work!!!!!

 

[JCleary]

I have read about the big V. My truck starts to buzz a little bit at 70-80 mph. I feel it in the steering wheel. I noticed that it will do it at all speeds as long as the tach is in the 2000-2300 range. Is this just a little buzz I should deal with being a straight six cummins? It is only noticeable because the truck sounds like a smooth gasser other than the 2000-2300 rpm buzz. Any suggestions?

I had the same issue with my truck. I know there's a fix on the older trucks (2003-2004) where they have a new power steering hose with a weight on it to dampen the vibration.



I solved mine by going to 35" tires



Seriously though, there are other fixes. There's a member on this site who goes by "betterthanstock" (I think) that makes a kit to kill vibration in your truck. Grommets, rubber weights, etc.