Driveline slop, clunk, hard shifting and transfer case noise

[YouPutz]

2022 F-150 Lariat 502A 3.5 Max Tow SuperCrew

Truck only has 5000 miles and in the last month it has suddenly picked up this embarrassing trait. It feels like an old sloppy jalopy with bad U-joints.

Driving around town in the 10-50 mph ranges, it feels like there is significant play in the driveline. Letting off the gas and then lightly re-applying results in a clunk, jerk and sometimes a harsh shift too. Perhaps the transmission is trying to compensate for the play in the system. I had a similar experience in the past with an F-150 where the differential had an issue.

There is also a loud clunk/jerk when moving from park to drive or reverse. Sometimes the truck jumps a little. Yesterday out of curiosity I nudged the truck forward and back a little and was surprised how much the truck moved and there was a loud clang coming from the transfer case.

I grabbed a couple of videos yesterday. Just placing my hand on a tire and pushing I can get the vehicle to roll forward and back 6 inches, and hear the transfer case noise.

Truck has never been abused, mostly a grocery getter and has towed a 2500lb boat a few times.

Looking for any advice before I contact the dealer. Their service appointments are always at least a month out and they are an hour away. Any chance they would try to tell me its normal?

Couldn't get the video to upload direct




Thanks for the help!

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[SumGuy]

Hard to say, but my transmission wa shifting odd, whine at idle, and did lurch when shifting from park to reverse, like you mentioned.
Dealer replaced the transmission and it is sort of better, but in my opinion the trans is junk and the TCU is programmed like crap.

 

[Blueshound]

Pretty normal for trucks in my experience. The drivetrain is almost 20 ft long, and there's play at each ujoint and other moving part. I set the parking brake every time for what it's worth.

 

[YouPutz]

Understood about mechanical stack up and a little play to be expected, but this seems grossly abnormal. In the past when hitching a trailer I could see maybe a little bit of play, maybe an inch or 2. Now all of a sudden the truck can be rocked back and forth half a foot with a loud clang coming from the transfer case/trans area. This anyways is an observation and not the original complaint. The original complaint is that a $75K truck went from driving smooth to all of a sudden driving like an old farm truck.

I'll get a call into the dealer and see when I can get scheduled. Just looking to get more educated on these 10 speed transmissions. The last one I had was trouble free.

 

[powerboatr]

its under warranty? take it in and have ti documented at least
might try a transmission relearn

my truck had started doing what i thought or felt like was a tq bog or shudder like it was stuck in high gear going slow.
and weird downshifts HARD at low speeds under 25 mph,
last OTA seemed to have stopped it. maybe your truck is needing a software update at a minimum?

 

[Hawk75]

My transmission has been junk since I got it. 8 months old and 7500 miles now, going into dealer for second time tomorrow. Hard downshifts, hard upshifts, sometimes won't downshift until I hammer the pedal then it takes off. Almost caused a couple accidents. Always feels tight on every shift, like it's binding then releases. Will see what else the dealer can do, otherwise I'll go with a different brand after having 5 straight F150s. So disappointed

 

[YouPutz]

As expected regular dealer backed up. I was able to get it to another local dealer and have them take a look. They didn't seem overly concerned with the excessive play in the system at this point. They suggested following the procedures recommended by Ford (see below). They did this today, and there has been a distinct change. It seems about 80% better so far, with a few hiccups still noticed on decel. I'll give it a little time and see if relearning improves a little more before going back. When the weather improves I'll stop by the dealer and check a few trucks on the lot too, I still cant believe rolling this thing this far back and forth would be normal!

 

[YouPutz]

After driving for a few days, I would revise my answer down to 60% better. There was some odd shifting that has been resolved, but the sloppy feeling is still there.

Paying attention to it, I see it manifest in 2 ways. Coasting at a steady speed, say 30mph in 6th gear, let off the gas and then reapply and there is a bit of a jerk/lag....and I do not see any change in gear at all.

Second way is applying the brakes and coming to a stop, sometimes there is a little bit of a kick or jump intermittently.

Perhaps the transmission had been learning to compensate for something else in the system, and it could be slowly re-learning it. I can't see the transmission being the root cause of anything, if it is not shifting during the clunk.

 

[Sking]

I have a 2022 F-150 that I experienced loss of power while the truck shifted. Mostly when cold out. I had the truck to the dealer 7 times, total of 9 weeks. I was told they couldn't find any thing wrong. I ended up taking it to another dealer after calling Ford. The other dealer kept it for a week and the mechanic was able to find an issue. They state that they rebuilt and reprogramed the transmission. A month later they replaced the transmission with 35,000 miles. I now have 47,000 and its doing the exact same thing. Except it won't show any codes. The dealer will not warranty until a code shows. This is my 6th F-150 since 2010. Now they are saying my rear axle is causing the sloppy feel and bump I'm having all of a sudden

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