2014 F250 Diesel Shuddering (solved)

trueweb · 01-23-2015, 08:01 PM

Hello everyone, just thought I would post a little issue I'm having with my F250 here and what is being done. I should preclude all this with the fact that I am entirely happy with my truck and my dealer who has treated me respectfully and been very helpful throughout the process.

My truck is pretty much new, I've only put about 5,000 miles on it in the last 7 months and I bought it new. Just over a month ago while going skiing I was climbing a decent grade at about 45-50mph and the truck was pulling it no problem in 6th gear, around 1k-1.2k rpm. The truck started to shudder or shake similar to the way a car with a manual transmission feels when it's about to stall and you can still save it by pushing in the clutch. There was no chance of it stalling, but the feeling was disconcerting to say the least. It happened a few more times on that climb and I discovered I could stop it by sticking my foot in the throttle and getting the truck to downshift and run a higher rev.

Didn't experience the problem all week and then it happened again going skiing the next weekend, same grade, same spot, same speed. It happened during the week while taking the dirt bikes out with some friends on a road much closer to home. After the 3rd ski strip and wondering what was going on I took it to the shop, no engine codes, just my description. They could not reproduce it, did a software update, gave it back and said see if it does it again.

Well, went skiing again... didn't do it, but it did surge/jerk once right at the top of a steep hill. yay?... sort of... Told the dealer, he closed the ticket, all was back to normal.

I should mention when this event would happen there would be a rubbing and squeaking noise from the car. I figured maybe bushings squeaking when the engine was shaking/shuddering.

Not so fast! Next ski trip it did it again, just like before the update. oh poop. Now I have to take it to the dealer again. This time I did my homework though. I found a grade much closer to the dealer where I could put in in cruise right around 50 mph and reproduce it consistently.

Took the truck the dealer, told him what to do. He did it and it did it. Perfect! They were off to work figuring out what was wrong. It did take them two days, but they determined the turbo vanes were sticking at low rpms causing the waste gate to kick open making the engine surge (that was the rubbing/squeaking sound apparently).

Resolution: new turbo is being installed Monday and we'll get to see if that fixes it. I have 30k more miles on the warranty to see if they did me right with the repair.

I figured this might help someone searching the interwebs for a similar problem.

notanlines · 01-24-2015, 04:46 AM

The truck is just telling you that you ski too much and work too little!

Now on a more serious note, have you skied Snowshoe in WV? We have been there a number of times and love it. Of course, being from Memphis, what do we know.....I certainly hope this puts an end to your trouble. We have the same engine and love it so far.

trueweb · 01-24-2015, 11:40 AM

Let's hope not... skiing is my winter workout! Snowshoe is great if you can get there without the crowds. Timberline is close by, much more rustic, but usually has less crowds. It also has some really nice woods/glades skiing when they have the natural snow. We are closer to Massanutten and Wintergreen. I prefer Massanutten for their weekend skiing. It's a lot less crowded and there is plenty of vertical for a small Virginia resort. In fact, we just got home from skiing!

I'll post an update in a few weeks once I have a better feel for the result.

Quote:

Originally Posted by notanlines

The truck is just telling you that you ski too much and work too little!

Now on a more serious note, have you skied Snowshoe in WV? We have been there a number of times and love it. Of course, being from Memphis, what do we know.....I certainly hope this puts an end to your trouble. We have the same engine and love it so far.

LittleJoe · 01-30-2015, 05:16 AM

You are lugging the engine at 1000-1200 and it is telling you so. Keep rpm up to at least 1500-1600 as a min while climbing.
Make sure you use exh brake function ALL the time loaded or not or the sticking vane problem will repeat itself especially on a truck that sits a lot.

Desert185 · 01-30-2015, 06:55 AM

Wouldn't it downshift by itself to a proper gear for the engine load?

jsmith948 · 01-30-2015, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Desert185

Wouldn't it downshift by itself to a proper gear for the engine load?

Yes! That is why they are called 'automatic'

Desert185 · 01-30-2015, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsmith948

Yes! That is why they are called 'automatic'

I don't get the "shudder" and why the RPM was so low.

Doesn't "D" normally stand for Disregard?

trueweb · 01-30-2015, 11:56 AM

Problem appears gone with the new turbo.

I bought a truck with a 6 speed auto transmission and cruise control for a reason. I want to pay attention to the road and scenery, not my speedometer or tachometer. I've owned plenty of automatic cars and none of them has ever NOT shifted when it needed to unless it was broken.

The F250 6.7L has 800 lbft of torque at 1,500rpm and plenty of power at 1,000 RPM to do anything required, particularly cruising. When it needs to it downshifts. The problem with the turbo was that it was freaking out and the transmission was not handling the fluctuation of power well. Now it's smooth and all is fine again.

Keep in mind this vehicle idles at 750 rpm and cruises at 65mph at 1,500 RPM. Rarely does it go higher than 1,500 unless I'm towing or trying to get away from grizzly bears.

gearhead · 01-31-2015, 07:10 PM

Hmmmm....mine has fallen on its face 3 times so far. Always at low RPM and low speed. Called the dealer about it last week. Service writer hadn't heard of it. He was going to ask the diesel techs. I need to call back Monday.

trueweb · 02-01-2015, 06:40 AM

I ran across that problem in my searches. It is a different problem than what I experienced, mine was highway speeds, slight incline, low rpm. I think I saw things ranging from fuel pump to transmission to alternator being the cause for your situation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gearhead

Hmmmm....mine has fallen on its face 3 times so far. Always at low RPM and low speed. Called the dealer about it last week. Service writer hadn't heard of it. He was going to ask the diesel techs. I need to call back Monday.

Jim & DJ · 02-02-2015, 10:43 AM

Lack of RPM. When traveling, you might want to keep rpm IN THE 1600 to 1900 range. Imagine a big rig pulling under 1500...LOOK OUT

gearhead, I said when traveling, as in moving down the road...........Nothing in regard to "turning a corner"

carwheel_09 · 02-02-2015, 04:22 PM

Got my recall notice in the mail today. Reprogram power train control module. Recall # 14EO3, hope it makes my cold start whine go away.

gearhead · 02-02-2015, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim & DJ

Lack of RPM. When traveling, you might want to keep rpm IN THE 1600 to 1900 range. Imagine a big rig pulling under 1500...LOOK OUT

That's kinda hard to do turning a corner on a city street at 4 MPH.

gearhead · 02-02-2015, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carwheel_09

Got my recall notice in the mail today. Reprogram power train control module. Recall # 14EO3, hope it makes my cold start whine go away.

I cut & pasted that recall# in Google and got a cop car recall.
Cold start whine indeed! Jeez I never heard such noise.

carwheel_09 · 02-02-2015, 05:59 PM

Probably typed the wrong number in. Yeah unless I plug the block heater in when it's going to be in the mid 40's the turbo howls. Had it to the stealership 3 times. They said its normal, no way. You know it doesn't really get cold in south Louisiana.

gearhead · 02-02-2015, 06:59 PM

I'm on about the same latitude in Texas. I got all distracted today making roux with the wife for a charity gumbo sale. I'll call my dealer back tomorrow.

gearhead · 02-03-2015, 08:58 AM

The service manager says I am due a drivetrain computer update. Getting that done this afternoon. We'll see if that helps.

carwheel_09 · 02-03-2015, 11:37 AM

This will make my 4th reflash on my 2011. I'm with you gh hope this is an improvement.

gearhead · 02-03-2015, 03:09 PM

Dealer reflashed it, said it was the 14****whatever . I mentioned the turbo replacements and they said yes, they were replacing turbos because the symptoms were the same. But it is the drivetrain reflash issue. We'll see. I don't need that thing falling on its face with the 5th behind it.

gearhead · 02-03-2015, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim & DJ

Lack of RPM. When traveling, you might want to keep rpm IN THE 1600 to 1900 range. Imagine a big rig pulling under 1500...LOOK OUT

gearhead, I said when traveling, as in moving down the road...........Nothing in regard to "turning a corner"

Oh OK. Only time mine has burped was less than 30mph. No issues travelling down the road.

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