a shudder when shift into reverse or drive

Hello,

a 2004 SR5 Tundra - after starting and shifting into reverse, there is a shudder (vehicle will move but w/ difficulty) same when placing into drive (only movement of 3 or 4 feet). Vehicle is operated by my 21 yoa son.

past history - one week ago he replaced a coil pack #7 - check engine light was on after a 250+ mile trip and immediately vanished after install.

two months ago - in order to pass inspection we replaced rack & pinion, CV axles, rotors, calipers, struts, wheel bearings.

vehicle is well maintained with 170k mileage and operated from Fredericksburg, Va. weather is in low 30*s for past 3 weeks. He has owned truck for 4 years.

thanks
Tim

 

Questions:

1. Is the truck 2WD or 4WD? Double cab, access cab, or regular cab? That's potentially very important details to include.
2. Did it happen before the work, or start after the work?
3. Does it only happen at slow speed, and is most aggressively rearing its ugly head while turning?
4. Does the truck has LSD (limited slip) rear?
5. Have you recently checked or changed the rear diff fluid?

 

Shifty

Q1. it is a 4wd double cab
Q2. it was discovered last night just before he left for work - he did not even back out of drive way.
Q3. vehicle has not been driven
Q4. He is not sure
Q5. No

my initial thought is to change the 4WD transfer case oil? also, there are no codes showing on dash..

thanks

 

If he wasn’t in 4WD, then the transfer case has nothing to do with it. I would look at the transmission fluid level to start. Also potentially a frozen brake caliper or drums if it goes into gear but doesn’t want to move.

 

problem solved - yes, he had about a pint low of transmission fluid. we rechecked the coil pack install (his first), some way-how-who knows -. Pulling the coil out it had a light coating of fuel on it & the plug came out w/ the coil pack {????}. we put a new plug in and reinstalled the coil pack - runs like a champ. thanks again for the quick reply and recommendations! Vr Tim

 

I don’t have it in front of me, but about 1 million pages into the FSM, page DI-384(?) iirc, there starts a diagnostic chart for trans symptoms and fixes. I’m glad you figured it out. I’m leaving this here for future searches.