<-KJP->

Yes I feel it starts at or below 1500rpm 6th gear uphill 50-60mph

I bet its more pronunced on 3.55 and 3.31 and 3.15

I would imagine the 3.73 gearing would probably be around 1600-1650 (or higher) at those speeds and may not even feel the shudder. Perhaps different owners could chime in here.

HunterSmitty

You know any others around NS with the shutter? I was at the dealer today for a service, and I could hear one of the service guys talking and they were mentioning about the shaking at hwy speeds. I didnt want to interrupt them as I think the customer was in the middle talking to them. There was a platinum eco sitting outside with a PEI license plate, so I figured it may have been his.

Including you and I, I know of 2 other people with the shutter in NS. One guy i know with an eco hasnt felt it, and I drove his and didnt feel it. But he does mostly town driving and very little hwy.

Also, when I traded my truck in the owner of the dealership told me he did know of 4 other guys with similar issues. At that time, people were just saying "turbo issues".

I think this issue is very dependent on where the truck is, and what kind of driving the truck faces. Most of my drives were from Halifax, to Northern, NB. So lots of hwy, lots of rain, and long stretches on cruise. Basically the perfect disaster for the intercooler issue imo.

dcfluid

OK. FX4 Ecoscrew 157"wb.
How the hell can anyone get these trucks to go up a grade of any kind in 6th gear at 1200 rpm? That is seriously lugging a little V6 way below a smooth power band area. Of coarse it will feel rough with a load at that rpm. My truck will disengage the torque convertor anything that low with the slightest throttle jumping RPMs up well over 1500.
I can understand upset with rough or shaky pulling along at 1300+ but a 6 cylinder barely above idle is going to feel rough compared to a V8.
When I tease mine to operate that low with a load it does have rougher power pulses and V6 rumbling, that smooths out as I gain a couple hundred rpm.
If peoples transmissions are forcing the engine to run that low under load I would think transmission reprogramming to unlock the torque convertor or shift down to 5th a little sooner would be in order.
I wonder how many people have now confused an engine miss firing with V6 vs V8 smoothness, and now convinced themselves that they have an engine problem....

<-KJP->

The only place I can get it to do it daily is going up the hill by Bedford rifle range(on the 102) coming from Lower Sackville. That hill is much steeper not just a slight grade. Lots of trucks go up that hill and slow traffic down it even does it on cruise control.

I dont really know any other Eco owners around here.

HunterSmitty

Yup thats a good one. Some are too steep around there and cause a downshift, or the torque converter to lock and rpm's to go up a bit. The worst ones when I had my eco were between fall river and the airport North bound.

<-KJP->

This is what I don't understand. Sometimes the converter will unlock on much smaller grades and rpms will jump up 200-300 rpms which is perfect and what I would expect. (the Eco loves to stay in 6th)

But majority of the time converter does not unlock and causes the shudder unless there is a significant throttle input, which in turn causes it to downshift to 5th. That essentially has been my way around it or setting cruise at 70 works too until. I get stuck behind slower traffic again.

My former 2010 V8 would always downshift to 5th on the same trip.

HunterSmitty

Ya, thats why Im almost positive its something to do with the intercooler. Under load, it wants to use boost, which is when the issue shows up. On the Ford Diagnostics computer, it would show the misfires on the 2nd bank of cylinders under this load, as well as when you spool them up from a start. You dont necessarily feel any issues when taking off, but if there is water present in the intercooler, misfires will appear on the laptop.

dcfluid

I think there are two issues combined here. One is the water condensation in the intercooler that can cause crappy running under certain conditions.
Two is the low rpm vibration/shudder of the truck under a light load, regardless of conditions.
The second condition I believe to be V8 tuning for a transmission but having a high torque at low rpm V6 powering it.
I explain this as such:
Transmissions have always been trained to shift when the engine torque is too low to hold or accelerate the given load for the throttle input. A V8 has a smoother power impulse and a little less torque than the boosted V6. So it feels smooth and trends to run a slightly higher rpm as the transmission will shift to higher rpm sooner to maintain the needed torque.

Enter Ecoboost: It has enough torque to pull at lower RPMs without shifting or unlocking the transmission. Rougher engine firing pattern, boosted high compression, and running lower rpm means feeling some stronger, rough feeling engine pulses that cause some owners alarm.
This is somewhat like comparing engine pulses of a Harley V-twin vs a Honda V4.

This may also explain why some owners of the shudder in this thread who get the transmission re-flashed experience a cure for a short time. The tranny has to relearn the lower shift points again and that is why it feels sporty after a flash, at least until the fuel economy loving learning program sets it back again.

Make any sense or do I bow out?

<-KJP->

Makes sense.
I believe I have read something to that affect a few weeks back. I also ride and race motorcycles so that comparison I also understand and agree with.

HunterSmitty

dcfluid, I absolutely agree there are 2 conditions here. But the shutter under light load is related to running crappy under certain conditions. Like I said, engine misfires are present under this scenario, so they are one in the same to me. The way youre describing why it would be more noticeable on the ecoboost would be accurate if the cylinders on the 2nd bank weren't showing these misfires clear as day. Which means something is happening in the cylinders themselves.

But I do think many people are mistaking the slight shutter from the transmission when close to shift points under load. This is nowhere near as intense as when the Ecoboost is really shuttering.