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Vibration on takeoff when towing

191K views 464 replies 143 participants last post by  James-Bob 
#1 · (Edited)
My buddy has a 2011 6.7 that he uses to pull his horse trailer which weighs 13,000#. On take off it has a very noticeable vibration in the drive train. He has had it to the dealership about 4 times along with his horse trailer so they can pull it and see whats happening. They have shimed the carriage bearing, replaces u joints, shimed the rear end but it still has the problem. Could this be a trannie problem?
Is there anyone else out there that is having any vibration issues?
Ford told him that the trailer weighs to much and it is overloaded but his old 2000 7.3 dully didn't have any problems.

Thanks
 
#2 ·
....
Ford told him that the trailer weighs to much and it is overloaded but his old 2000 7.3 dully didn't have any problems.....

If the trailer is on the bumper -then maybe if it is on a goose neck- not likely..


So does you "buddy" have an account here?? or are you speaking for him
 
#4 ·
I am away from home right now on my first camping trip pulling a 11000 lb 5th wheel. I have the same vibration. It is a litte anoying. It doesn't seem to matter how fast or slow you take off... it does it all the time. And my trailer is a little more than half my capacity.... so the dealer is wrong about saying he is overloaded.
 
#5 ·
Yea thoes trucks are suppose to be the BEST TOWING trucks around. Which it does pull the load with no problem its just the take off that has the vibration. He said he can throttle back and it quits but it still shouldn't do it at all. The Ford hot line is suppose to call him today with the next "fix" to see if it helps.
 
#6 ·
the 2011 have a longer leaf spring in the back that the other years. I am wondering if it is axle wrap? Might have to get some traction bars lol.
 
#7 ·
This is a very common problem with lifted trucks. not so much with stock height. My new truck(stock dually) does this as well. not too bad, but I can feel it. The solution for lifted trucks was a new driveshaft that has a cv type joint in it. High angle driveline will make one for him if ford cant fix it. Anyway, it feels the same as all my lifted trucks before the driveshaft switch, just not nearly as bad. Hopefully ford will fix it.
 
#8 ·
Yea it seems like Ford is thinking all about the angle of the drive line on their adjustments. I forgot they also changed out the carriage bearing mounting bracket to a heavy duty one.
He said it wasn't to bad of a vibration but he is concerned as to what might be the long term damage to the truck, maybe wear out some joints prematurely.
 
#10 ·
Mine does it too. 12K fifth wheel. F350 SRW.
yes...very annoying from a 60K truck. Search this forum, you'll see other comments.

Try this- pop it in 4X4. Vibration gone!
This is definitely a rear driveline issue and NOT transmission.
 
#12 ·
I've got this vibration in my SRW 350 too from dead stop when the 5'er or camper are on the truck.
 
#13 ·
I am curious, only 900+ miles on mine so I have not pulled our 5th wheel yet but does this only happen on take off? from say 0-10 mph, 0-20 mph etc? Does it go away after first gear, second gear etc?
 
#14 ·
I had this same problem on my 2011 F-350 DRW. Ford Engineers had a the dealer change the carrier bearing and the drive shaft to much heavier units. Problem solved. I pull a 17000 lb. fifth wheel and no longer have this shudder on take off.
 
#16 ·
Mine does the same thing, Appears to be first gear only from a dead stop and only when pulling a 11,000# GN trailer. The more weight I put over the axle the worse it gets. Truck is a 2011 6.7 F-450. The trailer is a 2 car wedge GN that we move our racecars with so I can move the weight around on the trailer easily. Dealer says I need to bring the trailer with both racecars to verify or they won't do a thing. They also said that if they fix it so it won't vibrate when loaded, then it could vibrate with no load. They say I can pick one or the other. I don't think so, that's completely unacceptable. This is a brand new $60,000 truck. I still have my 1999 F-350 7.3 dually crew cab with 400K on the clock and it doesn't vibrate ever, under any conditions pulling the same trailer. Sadly, I'm already expecting this to be battle royal.

Brett
 
#18 ·
I'm beginning to think that this is caused by the amount of squat we're getting when we throw our loads on. If so, a set of air bags sufficiently inflated should reduce/eliminate the shudder we're getting on take-off.
Anyone out there with air bags already installed who can test this theory?
 
#28 ·
I'm beginning to think that this is caused by the amount of squat we're getting when we throw our loads on.
Agreed. As I said in a previous post, if I move the weight around it gets better or worse depending on how much weight is over the axle. The more weight, the more rear end sag which causes the pinion angle to change resulting in more shudder/vibration. I can't say that with 100% certainty but that appears to be the way it works.

Brett
 
#22 ·
Follow up on Original post

Well my friend finally got his truck fixed at the second delearship he took it to. The first dealer was shimming the rear end with the driveline as straight as possible with the load on the truck which helped but didnt fix it. they told him that was all they could do and sent him home with it. Well he took it to another dealer (Keith Hawthrone in Mt Holly) and they actually custom built the shims for the rear end but didnt try to line it up perfectly. The tech said it needed a slight angle so when it torqued up it made it all straight in line. What ever he did it fixed it and my friend is finally enjoying his new truck like it should be.
Thanks for all the help and advice on this issue
 
#24 ·
Air Bags do wonders on HD Pickups, all of them. The ride is unaffected when the truck is empty, just deflate them, your rear won't sag when towing, or loaded heavy, your steering will feel better, the weight transfer won't be there, front to rear, the guy coming the other direction won't have headlights in his face, and the cost is very low. I tow a 14,000 5th wheel, I have always had them, it's nice to see the truck level, and it tows much better, just my 2 cents.
 
#25 ·
Any idea how much they run and do they affect warranties?
Thank you
 
#30 ·
I guess having IFS isn't so bad after all. Rock solid at all speeds. I used to own an 2003 F250 with V10. It was also very stable never had this wobble.
Go somewhere else troll. We're not talking about a front end wobble. Read the thread and get your head out. :bangin:
Brett
 
#33 ·
Mine does the same with a 13000 lbs. gooseneck.:ford:
 
#34 ·
Mine does it with either my cabover camper (about 3500 lbs) or my 5'er which is about 14K.
 
#35 ·
SAME HERE!!!! Ive been watchn this topic and I took my truck and camper to dealer and they agree its not right but seem reluctant to try. They want to shim rear end to move pinion angle but they say may cause vibration unloaded. Im totally confused why ford built a truck that vibrates when towing. I had a 99 f350 srw 11 years never had this issue. I really hope a answer to this issue is found soon. Great truck but this has put a bad taste in my mouth
 
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