Transmission shudder

[unclemarc]

I was wondering,anybodys thoughts on what would make my truck shudder? When I take off from a stop up to about 15 m. p. h. my truck will shudder and then things are fine. Any thoughts would be very appreciated. unclemarc :

 

[jrjuday]

Do a search on "launch shudder" on this forum. Also, if you have a Factory Service Manual, the procedure is covered there. Apparently the newer trucks have this issue too, 'cause I just made a shim for the center support bearing on my son's 03 2500. If you still have questions, ask away and I'm sure someone will have a solution.

 

[unclemarc]

Trans shudder

Thanks for the reply,I'll try the search

 

[Philip]

The trans shudder was mostly problem with the 4X4 trucks with the 6" blocks between the axle and the springs. With yours being a 2WD it should have 3" or 4" blocks.



That TSB shouldn't apply.



I would pull your drive shafts and check the U-joints to see if you have some binding or frozen.

 

[unclemarc]

Thanks for the reply Phillip I'm going to check it out this weekend,HopefullyI will find the problem.

 

[rlyons]

Is it shudder or clutch chatter? If you try to ease out on the clutch it will chatter, you have to let the clutch out fully then accelerate, kind of like a semi driver does. My clutch has always had chatter if you ease out on it even after replacing it with a new one.

 

[cerberusiam]

Like Philip says,checkthe ujoints and center hanger bearing for problems. Either one can cause shuddering at different speeds.

 

[unclemarc]

Thanks for the help guys,I'm sure that I'll find the problem sooner or later.

 

[unclemarc]

Transmission ?s

Thanks for the Info guys It will come in handy.

 

[HRDROKN]

Reading this thread got me motivated today... .



My Crew conversion has had a driveline vibration for quite some time (since previous owner) at about 70 mph. Not a big deal in my mind as I have quite a bit of experience with all this from many years of jeepin.



The thing that was getting me was that I had a intermittent vibration (it felt like I was running over those grooves cut in the shoulder of the road) and it was not predictable as to when it would happen (speed, RPM, load, day of the week ect).



So I was looking the over the situation today and decided to just go after the simplest items first. I needed to raise the carrier bearing to correct the angle of the splined shaft (the short shaft). Raised it 1/2 inch and went for a test drive... . to my surprise not only did that take care of the high speed (constant vibration), but I could not get the "other vibration" to re-occur! Oo.



So with that comes my other problem... I have a shudder at about 5-10 mph (first gear A518). I figured all this time it was the transmission (and it may be), I had not been worried about it as I'll be converting to a NV4500 this summer, but it seems to me that that particular shudder has been reduced by the adjustment of the carrier bearing?



So maybe I should go ahead and raise the bearing some more. . any thoughts?

 

[unclemarc]

What did you use to shim your carrier with,maybe I've got something laying around I can use for mine. I'm glad my inexpierience has made you think of something that helped you. unclemarc

 

[HRDROKN]

I'm just stacking washers as a temporary means of troubleshooting the problem. Once I'm satisfied I'll machine up some spacers.

 

[unclemarc]

Thats awsome,thanks for the picture. I'm going to try that tommorrow and see what happens. unclemarc.

 

[Chris and Sam]

I've got an 80 crew cab with the a similar vibration at about 12-17mph in 2nd gear under acceleration, and is more pronounced with a load. I think you may be on to something here.

 

[HRDROKN]

I just wanted to bring this subject up to the top as I have new experience to share.....



By raising the carrier bearing I was able to get rid of one of my vibrations, but I was causing the first gear shudder "launch shudder" !!!



Confirmed that the shudder is from the rear driveline by disconnecting the driveshaft and taking a test drive in front wheel drive :-laf NO SHUDDER!



So I have went back the other direction... lowering the carrier bearing and at this point I have almost completely eliminated the shudder and I will probably have to modify the cross member to lower it further at this point.



I will also look into building some traction bars as there could be some spring wrap going on here also.



I'm going to try some more tweaks today... .

 

[AndrewKing]

HI all,



This thread is right on time since my truck has recently started shuddering... . My question tho is how can you tell if the trans is not at fault?... . The last time I

had a launch shudder it turned out the trans was bad... got it rebuilt and thenno problems..... about 6 months later... I have launch shudder and shudder when the trans shifts to second... . I don;t drive hard and I ease up on the accelerator when it shudders... . One thing tho..... when I first got the truck back from the trans rebulid, the engine used to have to wind out before the trans whould shift... but now the shifts happen much earlier..... I think a frined said something about a cable that controls shift points and hence line pressure??... Is there a cable adjustment?... BTW the shudder happens mostly when stressing the trans (like going up a steep hill from a dead stop).

NOTE: Trand fluid level is fine... . never got trans above 170 degrees. Never tow in OD.



Thanks for any and all ideas... . I may look into the carrier bearing too.



Andrew

 

[AndrewKing]

OOPs I forgot to mention... I lowered the rear of the truck by using 3" spacer blocks instead of the factory 6" blocks... .

Andrew

 

[dpuckett]

I REALLY hate to rain on anyone's parade here, but my mom's 92 was doing that last winter, and she ended up needing a new transmission- it would shudder real bad under 1/2 to full throttle, and it got worse in a hurry. If the driveline doesnt fix it, get the transmission checked out.



Daniel

 

[HRDROKN]

Guys... . simply disconnect your rear driveline to diagnose whether it is the trans or the driveline. Run the truck in 4x4... when I did this there was absolutely no shudder! In my case it is definitely coming from the driveline.

 

[dpuckett]

that works for those with 4x4s. We differentially challenged folks dont have that option.



-DP