Posts: 6
Joined: 4/1/2003 From: United States Status: offline
I hear a clunking noise when I shift from park to drive or to reverse. Does this mean I need to replace the universal joints? Is this something I can do myself?
I have a 67 and I had the same problem and thought it might have been the U-joints, but it turned out that the U BOLTS were loose and the rubber spacers on shackles needed to be replaced. I've tightened the U BOLTS and that has decreased the "thumping" a lot and am going to go back to stock shackles this weekend. Hopefully, the clunking will go away totally.
Check everything under the car, including the motor mounts. There shouldnt be any free movement side to side on the driveshaft. Place the car on jackstands, then the shifter in Neutral and see if the driveshaft does anything besides rotate. You can see the trans mount while under there, if you can lift it by hand off the crossmember, the mount is broken.
Look around the suspension parts and see if there are any shiny spots, ie witness marks from things moving around.
Look at the motor mounts and see if one has separated or crushed, if you can lift the engine off a mount its broken. You can also check the mounts by having someone watch the engine as you shift into reverse or Drive. If you apply a small amount of throttle while holding the brakes and the engine lifts up on one side, then you need new mounts.
I have had that clunking noise on my Ford F-150 automatic for several years now. I just figure it is part of the wearing out process, but hasn't affected the performance yet, so I just let it be until something breaks. My philosophy is the old tried and true....."If it ain't broke, don't fix it. "
Sounds like the backlash on the diff is kinda big on that F-150... It could be that, but better to look and see than lose the driveshaft somewhere, dont ya think? :)
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Clunking when shifting into ge - 
