Thread: D3 front end shudder

Originally Posted by Mike Brown

My 2005 D3 has 125k km and has developed a shudder when accelerating up-hill. The suspension or steering bushes were replaced at 100k km and I've just had the front wheel bearings done but the shudder remains. What is the go with the front end in these D3's; it has been suggested that towing a van etc is not helpful (the bloke who owned the vehicle before me towed a caravan for 90k km around oz)

More data required if you want to narrow down the cause. Try different gears when accelerating uphill. It does sound like drivetrain. A lower gear may not induce vibration of the same severity. Has any work or change taken place on the vehicle, and is the timing of any of the changes the same as the arrival of the problem ?

"The suspension or steering bushes were replaced at 100k km and I've just had the front wheel bearings done but the shudder remains. "
What led you to think that the bushes or bearings had something to do with the "Shudder" Was there in fact anything wrong with these bushes and bearings after all ? Do you get to see these faulty parts ?
Why is this shudder front end related and not , say ,drivetrain related ?
As the Admiral said , more info please , what sort of hill you going up ? what speed does this occur at ? can you hear this shudder or is it just felt somehow ?

The suspension or steering bushes were replaced at 100k km and I've just had the front wheel bearings done but the shudder remains. "

The front end(?) bushes were replaced( by Austral land rover workshop) because they were worn - the front went "clunk" when going up any sort of step-up even as little as 50mm and so is probably unrelated to the current shudder. As you suggest , the problem may well be drivetrain. It occurs under moderate acceleration up any sort of hill, the harder I accelerate the more the shudder. It is most noticable at around 2000rpm but decreases noticably if the auto transmission changes up a gear and increasing the rpm to 2500-3000rpm. Additionally the engine has a rythmic pulse when this shuddering is going on; the rev counter pulses slowly plus and minus a couple of hundred rpm. I cannot hear the shudder, just feel it. Now that the bearings have been replaced ( they were had-it - the actual wheels could be wobbled and my local mechanic confirmed they were gone and replaced them for me), the shudder remains so the shudder is not related to the bearing issue.
PS I lived in Newman, left 2000, used to work out at Eltons. Thanks again

Well Mike , read carefully through the other "Transmission shudder" type threads and and see if your problem is similar to others , then get your Tranny double flushed . If it gets better , after the flush your in luck , but as some have mentioned sometimes changing the tranny oil will accelerate the problem , then your up for a rebuild/replacement ,