Intermittent Engine Shutter?

I've had this shutter/vibration-type feeling from my truck for nearly a year now. Due to its intermittent nature when it started, I decided to let it go and wait for a CEL as that would help me track it down. Fast forward to now, the issue is getting worse and I still have no CEL. I'm feeling shuttering coming from the truck when going 35-45 MPH and around 1100 RPM and it isn’t happening constantly either when doing this, and I'm also feeling it when sitting still while in drive and it is sometimes accompanied by a hesitation/rumble when taking off. The plugs have been changed twice since this has started. I recently changed them about two weeks ago so they have around 1000 miles on them currently. Truck currently has 135k miles on it.

In doing a lot of my research on here, I've seen people mention the VVT/OCV Solenoids (they seem to use these two names interchangeably on this forum) as the culprits for very similar or the same exact issues that I am facing. I pulled both OCV solenoids out today and tested them with a meter and got 7.4 ohms which to my understanding is good. I then checked the plunger by supplying 12 volts to it. I cleaned both OCVs using MAF cleaner to see if that would make a difference. I didn't pull the OCV screens yet as I'm waiting for spares as I have read quite a few people have broken them by taking them out. I've read about a few others tested their solenoids and they test "fine" but they replaced them anyway and the issues went away. One question that I have is that is there a definitive test for these solenoids that I haven't performed?

Is there something else I should be investigating given the issues I have posted here? Any help would be appreciated here!

 

You positive it isn’t a Torque Converter shudder….

 

I can’t say that I am… I will do some research and see what I come up with.

 

Drive in 4th gear and see if it goes away.
If so, it's likely the TC.

 

Like sitting at a stoplight?

Have you scanned it for codes?

 

Exactly.

No, I haven't scanned it as I don't have a scan tool/code reader. I'll include that as something to look at.

 

Does it do it in park or neutral?

 

Look for a broken vacuum line. Like the pcv hose on the drivers side that always get oily and brittle

And scan it anyway, it might have codes. Pay attention to pending and history if the scanner is capable

What kind of plugs did you use? Did you look at the coils closely for cracks or arcing?

 

Yes, it does occur in park and neutral although not as severe. If I hold 2000-2200 RPM in neutral or park the truck will begin to shake/vibrate intensely but that is it. After re-reading my initial post I have a feeling I may have muddied the waters with two separate issues. I understand there is a difference between vibrating and shuddering. I feel a shudder when going 35-45 MPH, but not all the time. There is a certain stretch on my commute home from work that I can get the truck to do it 100% of the time. I usually feel a vibration accompanying it so I had thought the two of them were connected - they may not be. This is to mention I also feel the vibration on occasion when stopped at a stop light for instance.

I'll do some searching around the vacuum lines to see if I see anything cracked or damaged.

I have always used Denso K20HRU11 that are listed in the owner's manual. I've always purchased them from Rockauto as I have come to understand that some counterfeits are floating around. I inspect the coils every change and I didn't see anything as cause for concern. I have a spare Denso coil in my truck in the event of something happening.

I was going to purchase a scan tool sometime soon that would be capable of doing that as I figured it would be good to have one on hand.

 

Following

 

I had the shutter problem on my 2015 sport, would go away if I dropped it in forth gear. I replaced both VVT solenoid in May, no problems so far.

 

This is the reoccurring story that I keep reading and I'm having a hard time understanding why replacing those fixes it. I tested them and they checked out fine.

The shutter goes away in fourth gear when it is occurring, but I don't think it is the torque converter because I noticed when I shift into fourth, the shutter disappears as soon as the Engine RPM kicks up from 1100 to 1600. I'm fairly convinced it engine related and not transmission-related. But I have no real evidence to support that other than my gut feeling since I'm constantly driving the truck.

Picked up a cheap code-reader that has pending and stored code capabilities and it shows no stored or pending codes at this time. Long term I want to get a cheap scan tool.

I really don't want to open a parts cannon and just replace solenoids that are $150 a pop in hopes that it may or may not fix it.

 

I get what you're saying, I was hesitant replacing the solenoids. I had no codes when I plugged in my scanner, there's numerous threads on here discussing this problem. Quite a few replace the solenoids and solved the problem, for me so far so good.