Loud clunk when i put it in drive???
 

I have a 1990 c4 automatic when i put it in gear in makes a pretty heavy clunk...Maybe U joints, but i went under the car and checked and everything was tight so i have no idea:willy:

You should also take a look at your transmission mount.

Both my camaro and corvette do this, if you mean the loud clunk is like a jerk when putting it into gear. I thought this was just normal for older chevrolets or at least the 700r4s?

mine does/did this too.

my tranny leaks a bit, and when i fill it up with fluid it is less noticable..but still there.

I don't know what its from. i've learned to ignore it. once it blows up, i'll replace it.

if you wait till the idle goes back down to 600 rpm after the computer goes through it's self check, it will be less noticeable.
If you stick it in drive or reverse when it's about 900-1000 rpm, remember, at 900 RPM, that's 45 mph, with TPI, that's a lot of torque.
I think they fixed that problem in 1988 with a valve body bleed-off orifice.

My 91 do the same and it s pretty normal .
Vette 700R4 are viril.
Drove a 89 same. Drove a 93 same.

Some are louder than others but nothing s gonna brake.

Nice to here that. My 87 does the same.

If
 

the vehicle has high miles (over 100K) the Ujoints are probably worn. I'd replace them as preventive maintenance before they fall out on the highway

Ya i dont want anything to happen when im going like 130mph that would be bad...lol
Why is every one saying that it is normal???

because we have already been through the panic factor, and we know what to expect.
at 100K, I changed u joints (all 6) bead blasted the parking brake shoe backing plate, resanding the parking brakes, sanded the rear brake pads, had the rear discs turned, changed front brakes, new front rotors, new master cylinder, new brake booster, bled the brake system, changed the tie rods, steering rack, had it aligned, replaced the plastic window tracks, had the seats and steering wheel redyed, new wipers, new heads, new radiator, new radiator and heater hoses, new mufflers, installed polyeurethane shock absorber biscuits, new air conditioning compressor, new fuel hoses, replaced the injectors, fuel filter, I figure I could get another 100,000 miles out of it if I did it right.
It's still going strong, it has 144,000 now.

I don't know
 

but a LOUD clunk is NOT normal; some noise, yes.

how hard is it to change the u-joints?

mine does this too. it doesn't do it in reverse though, whats up with that?

Dam you could have bought another vette for the money you spent on parts bro!! But ya you should get another 100 thousand out of that easily.....

Not bad but deffinetly get a tool from harbor freight, makes it so much easier.

Im tellin ya i went under the car and i checked the U joints and they were all tight no play in the shafts so that clung might be trans related maybe any idea's???

It's
 

a possibility, really need a tranny shop to check that out, one other possibility is worn ring and pinion gears...

I was never really a big fan of the 700r4 i think there crap for example mine slips from time to time that might have something to do with that clung?

josephf31 had the right idea. gears loose or the output shaft on the trany may be worn, it takes a lot to break it but the teeth can wear and get loose on the yolk to the drive shaft or also check from the drive shaft to the rear end. if you do the drive shaft u-joints, do one at a time and take the rear off first and then try to spin it when still hooked to trany and feel for play then do the same to the rear. just have one side still hooked up each time so you dont fight the rear and the trany at the same time.

I've had mine checked at AAA Transmission and they said there wasn't anything wrong.. My 84 has 79,xxx miles now and its done it since I rolled 65,000... Trans and car runs fine I learned to ignore it

I think im just gona deal with it since everyone else seems to be having similar issues..If anything im gona have the trans rebuilt in a bit when i get some money saved up.thanks

Check your rear hubs. Mine clunked and clanged as you are describing. I first replaced all ujoints still clunked and clanged. I then ended up replacing both rear hubs now no more clanging or clunking. They both had some play in the bearings but seems the better of the two hubs was the one that was causing the most problem. Go figure?

A loud clunk is normal if your just putting it in gear, if it does it at any other time, say shifting between gears then you've got a transmission problem. First thing you can do is check the TV cable and make sure that its properly adjusted. Also check the ATF fluid to make sure its full and not burned.

I have a newer trans in mine and it has always done it and the U-joints are still good. Just another reason why i'd prefer a stick.

I've learned that if you shift from Park into Reverse then Drive, the clunk/jerk is less noticable. When I didn't do this, the jerk was so hard it would throw me forward out of a parking space if not prepared.

:iagree: that is true, maybe going from a gear with a ratio closer to first means less torque "shock".

"clunk" on my 85, no "clunk" on my 90...

Just a thought as you learn to live with the clunking, I would make a close inspection of some of the rear axle crossmember attaching points along with the hub bearing related issues mentioned earlier. See if any of the struts, shock mounts or anything else has loose bolts or deformed bushing. If your car wants to move left and right at driving speeds besides having the clunk when first starting, something might just be loose. If it is not your trans and drive axles, loading up a really worn suspension while backing, unloading it going to nuetral, and then loading it back up in "Drive" in the opposite direction could be a sympton--a clunk. I AM NOT SUGGESTING THAT EVERYONE HAS BAD SUSPENSIONS! Just look at all the attachment points when inspecting.

When the car goes into gear, all the slack anywhere in the driveline will be taken up so all the suggestions above are suspect. A key to checking ujoints I dont see mentioned is having the driveline slack when checking. If you are checking it with it in park, any incline will put enough tension on it to mask problems.

When you are checking driveline, it helps to have a buddy around for the extra set of eyes and hands. Have it off the ground and in neutral to hand spin wheels back and forth and keep an eye on the drive shafts. If the ujoints have slack, it will be alot easier to see it at this point, shake them and see if there is any play. You could also drop the rear of the main driveshaft and rotate the dif yoke to check for excessive ring and pinion slack. Check each wheel back and forth seperately, also lift them up and down to check the bearings. Hopefully, you will see where the slack is and go from there.

Most auto vehicles I have owned clunk to one degree or another when you drop em in gear. Unless its really loud or has a distinctive gear teeth metallic clack, its probly nothing serious. 'Course ya could put some slicks on the back, take it to the track and jump on it.........!! Instead of clunk, you should get a KAAPOWWWW and then the problem will be obvious. Might be a little more expensive to fix but there is always a down side, lol.

Seriously, hope ya find it before it screws up anything else. I know how it is wondering about the new noise and fretting til ya find it. Good Luck to ya!

I had the same problem with my '93. As with yours, I first checked the u-joints, and found nothing out of order. I looked for something rattling, and found nothing. I pulled the wheel, just to look again, and discovered the axle u-joint was bad. All the little bearings had disappeared, and the piece that fits into the bearings was clanging against the bearing holder (for lack of a better way to put it). It can be detected by jacking the car up, with the wheel still on, and trying to turn the wheel backward and forward. Mine would move about a quarter inch in both directions. Even after I did this, I had a tough time seeing the u-joint closest to the wheel. Turned out to be my problem. I replaced the inner and outer u-joints on the axle, and the "clank" was gone. In looking back, when cruising at 55 or 60, there was a slight vibration. After replacement, the vibration was also gone.

hmmm that's interesting mine has a vibration at 68 to 72 mph il have to take the wheels off and take a closer look at those U joints, but like i said when i checked under the car everything was tight and in order so will see...

my car vibrates like a mofo above 70 mph..do you think its drivetrain related?

don't mean to thread jack

No problem bro i know how ya feel, at 70 mph mine shakes like crazy tryin to figure it out what it is without spending a ton of money on other problems that are not the cause of it ya know?

Good luck, Wicksta. BTW, nice avatar.

clunk noise
 

my 1975 has had a body off resteration rear end checked at paragon corvette............no trouble up to now, clunk going in drive and now will not shift into d1 or d2

This thread is fourteen years old. Please consider starting a new thread.