I have a 2014 Ram 1500 4wd hemi 8 spd trans. with 140K miles on it. About 20K miles ago I started noticing a shudder at slow acceleration and low rpm's when shifting from 1st through 3rd maybe 4th sometimes. If I am more aggressive when I accelerate there is no shudder or if I use the manual buttons and keep the transmission in gear longer before I shift there is no shudder. ot seems to do it more when I am going up a hill. I have checked the u-joints and they are tight. Some days it is worse than others and sometimes it does not do it at all. The truck is out of warranty so I would like to try a few things myself before I pay someone to troubleshoot it for days and still not find out what it is. To me it seems electrical like a sensor because there is no noise or smells and all the gauges read normal. Any ideas?

 

Others have reported similar problems, could be a motor or transmission mount, who knows. One guy put a go pro camera under the truck and recorded video to isolate the source.

 

Running into the same thing. In fact, I dropped it off at the dealer to have them evaluate it yesterday They said that all was good with the tranny, but that my driveshaft was in need of replacement. They wanted 800 bucks, installed. I'm holding off, I need more data than that before dropping that kind of coin on a solution I've never heard of before. Not saying they are wrong, I've just never had a driveshaft go bad (other than U-Joints) Research commencing...
And by the way, I'm running about the same number of miles on my 2014. So far I've had to fix/replace:

Driver side exhaust manifold gasket
Passenger side exhaust manifold gasket
EVAP solenoid
Rear rotor
Oh, and my radio is giving the dreaded 'telephone needs service' BS that I can't fix without replacing
And now a drive train problem

All of that within the last 3 months.

No real pleased right now...

 

I just had to get two right rear exhaust manifold studs drilled out due to being broke. I had to replace the fuel sensing unit that is in the tank. My lights will not turn off unless it is in the auto mode and now the shudder. I have had 5 ram trucks going back to 2000 and put close to 1 million combined miles on them and have never had the issues that I am having with this one. Spuradic electronic issues like the radio not working or Bluetooth not connecting at times. I have 9 more months with this one and will consider another manufacturer. If I break down and take it in I will let you know what they say.

 

So I just got off the phone with the dealership. They were able to get a bit more data from the mechanic. After hearing the explanation, they may be on to something. Still not sure though.

What they said is that the coupler is bad, which can cause a vibration, and shift issues. Not completely sold on the idea that a goofy driveshaft can cause a perceived shift problem, but either way, I need to look into it. I was also told that my ball joints were getting 'pretty bad'.

On a side note, I installed a leveling kit on my truck about 6 months ago. I'll get the full scoop when I pick the truck up today. But I wonder now if that could have something to do with the coupler and ball joints wearing out prematurely.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

leveling kit? how much and only front? The leveling kit has been know to cause issues with the front axles. The ball joints are usually not affected except if you add bigger tires or wheels with non-stock back spacing.

If you didn't change the height of the rear, I don't see how that could affect the driveshaft.

 

Yeah, it was only the front, and only 1 1/2". Just trying to figure out what caused the problem before I drop the cash to replace it. Looks like a new one (which comes with flanges and carrier bearings) is 576.

Still not convinced that it would cause what feels like shifting issues between 1st and 3rd...

Going to go take a look at it at the dealership here in a bit. I'll post what I find out.

 

I also have a leveling kit on the front of my truck. It was installed after only a few thousand miles. My 2008 ram also had a leveling kit and it has 270K on it with no driveline issues. It's funny how I can make it not shudder at all when I am more aggressive with takeoff. Driving today I have tried to keep my rpm's over 3000 before it shifts and no shudder. If I am in traffic and have to ease into the throttle it shudders bad. It is getting worse every week so maybe the cause will show itself.

 

Well, it looks like I'm going to have to reach out to the service manager. I went to pick the truck up, (which, coincidentally is a pain because of the dealership location), and couldn't get an answer as to why the truck would shift okay if I ran it manually, and badly if I let the truck do it. Didn't have the time to argue (had to get back to the office), so I paid my 100 bucks and left, albeit grumpily.

So I just got back to the office and looked over the ticket. It says that I was complaining of a vibration between 1st and 3rd gears!!! I NEVER even said that?!? I said that it was a shudder when it shifted, and that if I manually manipulated the gears, it was fine.

This is BS.

To be continued...

 

So, I've been looking into the driveshaft a bit. Got under the truck and 'man handled' the driveshaft at the carrier/center bearing. I can get it to move about 3/16" in any direction. Granted, it's not just flopping around, I have to put some effort into it, but not a ton. I can move it with one hand. Is this normal? I've never had a truck that had a carrier bearing before.