Got a strange thing where my 5spd misbehaves when my car is fully loaded with people. When accelerating, down shifting or most other operations that arent simply cruising, the car has a shuddering vibration to it.

This is oddly not the case when the car is unloaded and I nail it. It is very smooth all the way up to high rpm. But even conservative driving in a heavily loaded car causes this shuddering.

I am guessing car is lowered, and you have pinion angle problems, possibly worn rear upper control arm bushes too.
All will show up when loaded up

But the thing is this has all been recently done. I had the suspension overhauled, all worn bushes replaced. camber kit in for the lowered springs (its only lowered 30mm).

This was all before the T5 was in, and it was all no probs then.

Last edited by Bug on Sun Dec 02, 2007 1:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

check universal joints

Theyre also fine

Well my guess is that the problem is in there, have a good look to see that theres nothing odd, or has been overlooked.

on one of the many trips i've done to qld in my xr6 wagon when i had it i had a similar problem. pic in gallery. was lowered more than std plus full luggage and 3 adults and child. took off from a set of lights and felt a shuddering and i instantly thought 'uni joint'.

to add a bit more to the story the bump stop above the diff was rooted and nearly every bump i went over from about midway (adel to bris) the tailshaft would hit on the floor.

thats why when i felt the shudder i thought the uni had had enough. i pulled over and had a quick look under but couldn't see anything. took it real easy the rest of the journey but it never did it again.

i've since sold it but only ever did it the one time.

i would also suggest the same as elgt and say its in the driveline after the gearbox.

Its not a worn rear gearbox mount is it?

it'll be diff pinion angle had same problem dropped mine 50mm no passengers and shudder. had to make a few adjustments the control arm mounts.

Since fitting an ELxr6 diff to the EB2 and lowering it 50mm from tow pack height, I have the same type of shudder and the pinion angle is visibly out.
With the standard arms bolted to the lower holes, no shudder, but the arms rub on the housing. With the standard arms bolted to the upper holes, no rubbing but shudders when pushed. I didn't think levelling the car at the back would require ELxr6 arms to straighten the pinion angle but it seems 50mm is too much for the standard arms to take. A quick call at the local diff specialist confirmed what we could see, incorrect pinion angle at loaded weight [tool boxes and floor jack in boot]. I suggest you do the same, get it measured then you'll know for sure. Our bloke did it for free as part of a quote for adjusting the attachment points. No easy go with that, no room to drill more holes, unless mini-matt has a better suggestion [there's a hint there mini-matt] I'll have to try XR6 arms.
AFAIK, the EF has only 1 upper attachment point and I wouldn't think 30mm would make much difference to the Pnion Angle, but I was wrong about making mine level not affecting it.
Once you have had it checked you can confirm or eliminate it as the cause of your shudder.
It's possible your pinion angle is only marginal, which allows for deceptively smooth performance when empty but goes over the edge when loaded. Any combination of faulty engine or gearbox mountings, shocks and springs can contribute to the drive train angle altering enough to give you the shudder. Check your bump stops, transmission tunnel and t/shaft for any impact/wear marks.
All I can think of now,
Paul