Clunking sounds when shifting

[simon]

First of all, hi to you all. I am excited to join this community as I have just purchased a lovely '86 tercel 4wd. I have acquired it in the okanagan valley and am currently driving it accross the US to take it home to Montréal. I assume I should be the only one driving one of these around in Québec, as rust has annihilated them long ago already.

Now, these clunking sounds... When shifting in first and second speeds you can feel a clunking when the gears engage. Also, If i was to downgrade to second gear and get these same clunking sounds repetitively. I know for a fact that the shocks are gone, and these produce similar sounds when weights shifts around the car or when I hit a small bump. However, the sounds related to shifting seem to occur regardless of the shocks being sollicited or not.

I checked the driving shafts, as some forums seem to suggest these noise would be related to it. I parked the vehicle and engaged first speed, then I laid on the ground and tried to shake them. I can feel a small play when I wiggle it hard. However, I have a hard time associating it to the sound I hear.

Could it then be the transmission mounts or engine mounts? I know the previous owner had just put a new clutch on.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[xirdneh]

front axles can make the clunk when shifting
recently had one that did it

clunk when you hit a bump could be the rubber bushings on the stabilizer bar are bad, if so fix it soon cause it could be dangerous if the bar gets beat up badly enough. (two on each side of car) Front and rear bushing http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/?siteid=840 is a good place to get them for a reasonable price. if metal sleeve on bar is bad you can get that part too

[Petros]

welcome to the forum!

As Xirdneh points out, front CV axle (check the joints for rotational play), or front suspension bushings. less common are the engine mounts and the drive shaft. Also, the rear axle trailing link bushings. the drive shaft u-joints and rear axle tend to be only noticeable when in 4wd. You might try this on a smooth road going straight: shift in first and second, let on and off the throttle to get the clunk, and than do that over again in 4wd. If it becomes less severe it is likely front axle or front suspension. If it gets worse it might be drive shaft mounts or u-joints or rear axle mounts. If it does not change it might be engine mounts.

Inspect them all, use a pry bar to verify they are all in good conditon.

good luck.

[Jonymoto]

I had clunking noise on my T4 mostly when I changed from first to second gear. I found that the inner steering rack bush on the passenger side was worn. I took the whole rack out a couple of weeks ago and replaced it. To get the bush out I has to borrow a slide hammer from a friend as it isn't easy to get it out, especially with the car in the car. I also replaced the inner, outer rod ends and ball joints even though they were ok. The clunking noise is gone now.

[Jonymoto]

Sorry, I meant the rack in the car.

[dlb]

that's interesting, jony. where'd you get the bushing from? some members here have said that bushing is NLA from toyota while others have managed to find them. i started a thread on this last year:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10991&p=81450

[Jonymoto]

Toyota, in Australia, still have them.

[Jonymoto]

But it's not cheap though, around Aust $90 + 10% tax. They have a rubber ring between two steel rings. The inner ring has a coating (teflon I would say, like DU bushes).