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Transmission shudder help

29K views 17 replies 8 participants last post by  Lr1500 
#1 ·
So I started experiencing a transmission shudder back in December and it has been occurring about once or twice a month since then. It only presents itself after really driving "aggressively" or long drives on the highway >2 hours. In January, I had the trans fluid/pan/filter changed with no alleviation. I brought it to my local LR dealer which "couldn't reproduce symptoms" (of course) but said that the fluid was fine (note I did NOT tell them I had it changed recently) and reflashed/reset the trans ECU. Fast forward to present, and the shudder is still there on occasion. I had it at LR this past month for other issues and had them re-visit the transmission problem; they again could not find anything wrong and said that the ext. warranty won't replace the transmission until there is a) an evident fault in the computers or b) shudder is happening all the time.

At this point, would it be worth re-flushing the tranny fluid and replacing the filter again? Would replacing just the torque converter solve the issue or should I expect to be paying for an entire new/rebuilt tranny eventually? My truck has 70k miles on it now.

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
The obvious issue would be a failing torque converter but could be clutch packs in the gearbox though less likely. Try changing the fluid and adding a dose of Dr Trannies may help in the short term but I think that in the longer term you will need to account for some required rebuilding but Dr Trannies may help for quite a while.

Garry
 
#3 ·
It only presents itself after really driving "aggressively" or long drives on the highway >2 hours.
They couldn't reproduce it, because they didn't heat up the tranny fluid enough for the torque converter to start giving symptoms. Time to change the TC.

The viscosity of the fluid varies with temperature, the higher temperature, the less viscous the fluid gets. If your TC is failing, this tiny difference will cause unpleasant gearbox behavior. I had exactly the same symptoms with my TC, up to the point where driving at very high speed - 90-110 mph on my Germany leg of an Europewide trip - caused a gearbox fault that couldn't be reset with a diagnostic tool until the fluid temperature was close to ambient.
 
#4 ·
Ugh, good to know. I still think it's weird that I'm having this issue with only 70k miles on the clock.

I just called my LR indy and he basically said that changing out the fluid again won't do anything and he doesn't recommend adding a friction modifier. BUT, he did say that the issue could actually from the transfer case. If the shudder was only happening in top gear or if I was getting a hard 2-1 downshift, than it could be the transmission itself, but since the shudder also occurs in gears 2-5 when accelerating slowly, it might be the transfer case.

He's going to try to reprogram the transfer case tomorrow and see if that helps. Has anyone else on the forums had a failing transfer case on a '10 RRSS?
 
#6 ·
Dan...not sure 100% what your "shudder" is, but see my very recent post about the TSB (heavy weighted donut and bolt) related to vibration at certain RPM's which does originate with the Transfer case. If that's your issue as well, there is a solution...but you'd need to compare your experience with the description of the TSB. Given that you are experiencing it in every gear, it sounds very similar to what I found as well on my 2013. Take a look...
 
#5 ·
Might be, but I'm not that sure. Anyway. there is a TSB for the transfer case - an additional bolt should be installed to fix it properly to the frame (there is even a lined up hole provided IIRC). Seen this just a couple of days ago here on the forums.
 
#7 ·
Yup, read through that thread. I have a mechanical shudder that inconsistently appears after long drives or aggressive driving, when the tranny fluid gets a chance to warm up. It's not constant and not present at an exact RPM. Basically, when it does happen, there's a shudder with slow in gear acceleration or when going on to off throttle.

Thanks for bringing up the tsb though, I'll mention that to my tech tomorrow and see what he thinks.
 
#8 ·
Sounds like your dealer has not got a clue and is wanting to do the usual LR thing of go searching and replace as your go and charge the customer accordingly. Dr Trannies often works, it is safe in these gearboxes and is cheap and easy to instal. If it doesnt do anything then nothing is lost only the small cost of Dr Trannies.

Your symptoms definitely sound like a slipping/gripping TC - look for the easy things first then move up to the more complex.
 
#10 ·
Wow, thanks for asking! This RR community is a reason why I want to stay in the brand!

So my indy reset the transfer case calibrations and we'll go from there. He also agreed that if the shudder were to continue, I would only need to replace the torque converter.

As much as I would like the ext. warranty to cover it, I HIGHLY doubt they would since the issue is not consistent. I'm sure the adjuster and LR mechanic won't have the patience to drive for 2+ hours and get the fluid warm enough for the issue to occur. And honestly, I'm ok with spending a few thousand on a torque converter and keeping the RRS for many more years. I've been replacing the worn out trim and plastics as they occur so the truck looks really clean.
 
#11 ·
I had an odd transmission feeling for the first three years. The transmission would "bump" after coming to a stop, such as a stoplight. I brought this up to my dealer on numerous occasions over the years only to be told that nothing was wrong. A few months ago, I had the transmission fluid flushed and replaced. I have not had a single incident since. To me, I wonder if the fluid levels were off before, and now they are fine. Perhaps the fluid level is not at the optimal level on your vehicle.
 
#14 ·
Just wanted to follow up on the transmission shudder issue that I was having.

After my Indy reset the transfer case computer, all seemed well for about a month. I even towed a 5000# trailer over 6 hours (total) in that time period and didn't experience any symptoms, then it began happening a few weeks ago. It even occurred while driving 15-30 mph in a parking lot.

I just finished moving to West Palm and found a good indy shop in the area. I told him what was going on and he was hesitant that the issue was the transmission. He took it for a day and found a vacuum hose that was disconnected and a stored code for a bad MAF sensor. He cleaned the sensor, reset codes, updated engine ecu, and so far, I have not experienced the shudder (knock on wood).
 
#15 ·
Just wanted to follow up on the transmission shudder issue that I was having.

After my Indy reset the transfer case computer, all seemed well for about a month. I even towed a 5000# trailer over 6 hours (total) in that time period and didn't experience any symptoms, then it began happening a few weeks ago. It even occurred while driving 15-30 mph in a parking lot.

I just finished moving to West Palm and found a good indy shop in the area. I told him what was going on and he was hesitant that the issue was the transmission. He took it for a day and found a vacuum hose that was disconnected and a stored code for a bad MAF sensor. He cleaned the sensor, reset codes, updated engine ecu, and so far, I have not experienced the shudder (knock on wood).
Just wanted to follow up on the transmission shudder issue that I was having.

After my Indy reset the transfer case computer, all seemed well for about a month. I even towed a 5000# trailer over 6 hours (total) in that time period and didn't experience any symptoms, then it began happening a few weeks ago. It even occurred while driving 15-30 mph in a parking lot.

I just finished moving to West Palm and found a good indy shop in the area. I told him what was going on and he was hesitant that the issue was the transmission. He took it for a day and found a vacuum hose that was disconnected and a stored code for a bad MAF sensor. He cleaned the sensor, reset codes, updated engine ecu, and so far, I have not experienced the shudder (knock on wood).
Hi All,
My 2008 RR Sport HSE with 126K shudders at 32-35 mph and again at 42-25 mph under light acceleration. Feels like driving over small ribs in the pavement. This behavior started coincidentally right after the RF half shaft was replaced along with a PS pump and Alternator. On another note, when the work was finished and it was sent to my detail shop, it threw a "Lean" code that could not be tracked down or duplicated. Is it possible there is something else going on like the vacuum leak mentioned?
 
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