Shudder at take off

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ronheater70

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my truck (6.4 Crew Cab long Bed) Shudders a bit taking off in first gear around at slow speeds.Seems a bit worse under load like up hill or something.. Starts arounf 1600 rpm, and is gone by 2000 or so rpm, very brief..
I have researched it a bit and it seems some some of these long bed crew cabs do it, others dont.. The genral consensus is that its not tranny related (with 1000 miles on the truck of easy driving I would hope not) but that its Axle swap, ujoints, carrier, etc.. Most dealers say it is normal. Several owners have said they have had it since new and simply live with it? Its something I can live with if its normal..
 

theviking

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It's a very common problem. I can tell you from personal experience that it's not the torque converter as I had originally suspected. Really doesn't feel like axle wrap based upon the timing. Some have mentioned an EGR problem, which is where I was going to look next. FYI, mine is not a long bed.
 
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ronheater70

ronheater70

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It's a very common problem. I can tell you from personal experience that it's not the torque converter as I had originally suspected. Really doesn't feel like axle wrap based upon the timing. Some have mentioned an EGR problem, which is where I was going to look next. FYI, mine is not a long bed.

O.k, so I read where two people had their ujoint swapped and it completely alleviated the issue..

FOund this OLD tech bulletin, not for our year trucks but it sounds EXACTLY the same..

Models: 2003 - 2004 (DR) Ram Truck

NOTE: This bulletin applies to vehicles equipped with a two piece rear driveshaft.

Overview:
This bulletin involves adjusting the propeller shaft working angles.

Symptom/Condition:
A vehicle may exhibit a drive line shudder or vibrations while accelerating from a stop. The
condition is most noticeable under heavy throttle acceleration and is usually only present a low
speeds (below 25 m.p.h.).

Diagnosis:
Vehicles equipped with a two piece driveshaft are designed to minimize reaction forces which
result from the universal joint transmitting torque at an angle. These forces can not be
eliminated entirely because of the necessity to compromise joint angle selection between curb
and design loading conditions. When subjected to this vibration, the vehicle experiences a
shudder type disturbance, generally occurring less than 25 mph. This disturbance will increase
as the suspension moves further from its design load (typically two front passengers). The
forces are also torque sensitive, which means the disturbance, will be highest under wide open
throttle.

U-joint angles change depending upon the amount of weight applied to the vehicle bed,
therefore u-joint angle readings may need to be taken with different vehicle loads in order to
obtain a satisfactory compromise. The vehicle should be evaluated under the loaded condition
that produces the objectionable disturbance.
 

mtofell

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Mine does it an it gets a lot more noticeable when towing my 5th wheel (11,000#) and even worse with the 5th wheel and uphill. I remember looking into it and found its common and somewhat normal. My old 2500 Chevy did something similar as well.
 

theviking

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My truck has a one piece driveshaft last I looked.
 

MN-Ram

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My truck is a CCSB and it does it from time to time. It's almost like it wants to hold second gear, when it should be in 1st.
 
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ronheater70

ronheater70

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My truck has a one piece driveshaft last I looked.

Mine is a two piece and it fits that TB I posted to perfection. But seems its not the determining factor for others obviously.. :) ehh, if its normal, its not that big of a deal to live with i reckon.. I mean if I stomp on it hard I don't feel it, if I pullout easy I don't feel it, its just that light medium acceleration from a standstill that it pops up..It's not horrible, but I can feel it.
 

Will Ram 2500

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My short bed does it sometimes. I've always noticed it when turning a sharp right when pulling into traffic from a stop and trying to do hard acceleration to get into the traffic.
 

RoadDog66

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My short bed does it sometimes. I've always noticed it when turning a sharp right when pulling into traffic from a stop and trying to do hard acceleration to get into the traffic.

Mine occasionally does the same but only on rolling right turns. I was attributing it to either the LSD slipping or the trans getting confused because it's right where 3rd could go to 2nd or stay in 3rd.
 
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ronheater70

ronheater70

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That does sound more like a typical LSD in the turns Roaddog, however mine ONLY does it from a dead stop accelerating in 1st hear in the 1500-1900 rpm range or so under medium throttle, feels like rumble strips. Seems it could be somewhat normal, Im pretty confident it;s not the tranny so Ill just pay attention to it and see if it bothers me enough to risk seeking a dealership visit over it.. If i just pull out and gently roll on the gas until im past that point then I never notice it.
 

RoadDog66

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I have only experienced the wheel hop phenomenon on a straightaway on hard acceleration once...exactly like rumble strips as you described. I'm guessing that's why the 6.4's get the extra spring dampener in the center of the rear axle to mitigate it (unlike the CTD).
 

DS 18/2500

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This is a normal condition of a 2500 crew cab long bed. I have 2 2018, one with air suspension and one with coil spring rear. they were purchased 11 months apart and both do the same thing. the dealer spent several months including sending an engineer and cant find how to eliminate it.
 

JaredHerzog

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Every two piece drive shaft truck i have ever owned did this. On my 05 i swapped to a one piece and the shudder was gone. My 12 duramax and 14 and 15 Cummins do this. The issue is the amount of power these trucks make and their weight. The force going through the drive shaft causes the drive shaft carrier to wobble in the support housing. There is a heavy rubber housing around the carrier bearing that will allow it to move. If you take off faster and especially faster towing heavy the wobble is worse. If you hammer through this wobble zone you will eventually tear the heavy rubber surrounding the carrier bearing. I actually tore the one completely out on my 05 which is why i went to a one piece. When you take off slowly without applying a lot of power you can sort of accelerate past the problematic wobble zone which disappears as the rpms increase on the drive shaft. For most trucks it has nothing to do with the transmission. If the transmission was slipping you would likely get a code.
 

Ratket

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Might be worth another looksy. Every now and again they have a tendency to swap themselves out with a two-piece unit...

Ya cause Viking hasn’t spent enough time under his truck lol,

There have been a few post of rear end issues from the factory, if the OP has a two piece shaft, I would likely chalk it up to that. If he has a one piece then something else is going on.
 

theviking

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The only way my driveshaft will ever be two-piece is if I bolt a blower to the motor and it twists the shaft in half. Until then it's just a one-piece, big-ass aluminum tube.
 
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cafyrman

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The fix in my '07 QCLB was switching from a 2 piece to 1 piece driveshaft. Now I have a brand new '18 CCLB and it has a slight vibration upon startup. Made worse when a heavy camper was added.
 

DS 18/2500

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Exactly my situation, just not fair needing to swap out a drive shaft on a brand new vehicle. I have the 2 piece shaft as well
 
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