Pulled our GD 303RLS home on Wednesday with our '05 Chevy 2500HD (D/A, CC, LB, 4X4)... smooth sailing the whole way... couldn't be happier...Got to the house and loaded about 300# of 'stuff' in the basement and as soon as we departed, I noticed we had developed a shudder from the driveline... I'm not 100% sure, but it feels like a driveshaft issue... Plan right now is to add an Air Lift product to the truck (LoadLifter 5000 Ultimate)... seemed to squat quite a bit as we loaded the 'empty' trailer onto the bed anyway... more forward weight just exacerbated the squat...Anyone else's truck exhibit this behavior as the 'tipping point' was crossed? Some of the Duramax sites point me in the direction of the pinion-gear angle becoming too great as 'excess' weight is added to the bed... a somewhat common issue... some went as far as replacing the two-piece driveshaft with a one-piece from a late model truck...

This is somewhat common with 2 piece driveshafts in pickups. Some get it when truck is empty, others loaded. As the driveline angles change so can the harmonics when spinning. Assuming you have a 2 piece ds. Could try shimming the carrier bearing. Usually it's shimmed down for empty or lifted trucks. Maybe there's a washer or spacer you could remove to raise the carrier bearing slightly?Just a suggestion if you're pretty certain it's the driveline and all the components, ujonnts and carrier don't have slop in them.

The truck is smooth while empty/lightly loaded... which is where I spend the majority of my miles..If I shim the carrier so as to pull the FW shudder-free, will I just transfer the shudder from the loaded to the unloaded state?

KnowNuthin wrote:If I shim the carrier so as to pull the FW shudder-free, will I just transfer the shudder from the loaded to the unloaded state?Most likely

You may be close to a U-Joint failure or a dry U-Joint. The change in angle aggravated the failing U-Joint and you get the shudder. This happened on one of our trips. Quick change of the U-Joint and the shudder went away.

Since it's only when loaded down I'd be looking at the carrier bearing as well. My old Ram did the same thing. Shimming can cause reaction you may not want ( driving unloaded) launch shudder. I went with the one piece shaft and problem went away. I'd give you a link but the company is no longer in business.

CrewCab Long bed shudder | Good Sam Community

15 Replies

45Ricochet
Explorer
Dec 16, 2015
Since it's only when loaded down I'd be looking at the carrier bearing as well. My old Ram did the same thing. Shimming can cause reaction you may not want ( driving unloaded) launch shudder.
I went with the one piece shaft and problem went away. I'd give you a link but the company is no longer in business.
the_bear_II
Explorer
Dec 16, 2015
You may be close to a U-Joint failure or a dry U-Joint. The change in angle aggravated the failing U-Joint and you get the shudder. This happened on one of our trips. Quick change of the U-Joint and the shudder went away.
JustLabs
Explorer
Dec 16, 2015
KnowNuthin wrote:

If I shim the carrier so as to pull the FW shudder-free, will I just transfer the shudder from the loaded to the unloaded state?

Most likely
KnowNuthin
Explorer
Dec 16, 2015
The truck is smooth while empty/lightly loaded... which is where I spend the majority of my miles..

If I shim the carrier so as to pull the FW shudder-free, will I just transfer the shudder from the loaded to the unloaded state?
Grit_dog
Navigator
Dec 16, 2015
This is somewhat common with 2 piece driveshafts in pickups. Some get it when truck is empty, others loaded.
As the driveline angles change so can the harmonics when spinning.
Assuming you have a 2 piece ds.
Could try shimming the carrier bearing. Usually it's shimmed down for empty or lifted trucks. Maybe there's a washer or spacer you could remove to raise the carrier bearing slightly?
Just a suggestion if you're pretty certain it's the driveline and all the components, ujonnts and carrier don't have slop in them.

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CrewCab Long bed shudder

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