Clunk sound from rear- Anyone ever had a bad half shaft?

supraguy@aol

Well-Known Member
Dec 30, 2005
4,236
37
48
Atlanta
Backlash2032;1623802 said:
Wow. Same thing. Except when i shift reaaaaaaly smoothly, then it doesnt clunk.

Same here- I CAN shift without getting the clunk, but but the norm is to get some clunk. SO, All us guys on here that have a clunk, and we can't figure it out...
 

metaphysico

Mad Scientist
Jan 2, 2008
428
0
0
44
Gainesville, Georgia
Poodles;1623198 said:
Did you check the spherical joints in the hubs?

This is one thing I had go wrong with mine that gave me the clunk I was talking about, they are very strange as as Poodles said are not like normal bushings but more like a pivot joint. They were not fun to replace even with a press. That is what was giving me the clunking sound while taking off and braking.
 

1986.5supra_kid

Rice? No its Corn (E85)
i started a thread on this as well under 7mge, my supra has the same prob, and im thinking bout just dropping the tranny and getting new clutch and checking out all my u joints. my supra has 130xxx and it maybe the original clutch. my clunk comes when i accelerate and let off acceleratior. acts like the rear end is wore out but done what meta- said and it checks out okay. sounds like clutch or driveshaft for me.
 

IwantMKIII

WVU MAEngineering
Jun 12, 2007
2,477
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Perkasie, PA
Ive had this clunk on three different chassis now (mint condition with 168K, crappy one with 85K and current cherry at 80K) and 3 different rear ends and 2 different transmission and 2 different driveshafts. I've always figured it to be the diffs as they are not very tight in any supra i've been in, they have a lot of lash in my experience.
 

speedmaster

New Member
May 23, 2010
7
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Vancouver
Hey bro,
I have the same symptoms you describe here, but I am almost sure mine is the differential. My car has about 171 000 miles on it.

This are the symptoms I have experienced:

- When I engage the clutch from a stop i get a clunk and a sound like two metal plates are slapped against each other.
- When I let off the gas or get back on the gas at low speeds, I feel the clunk from behind quite strongly with the same sound described above.
- When slowing to a red light from a high gear (gear 3 or 4 for example) and then letting off the brakes to coast (car is at about 1000 to 1300 rpm)
the car kinda feels like its hopping from the rear end with the same sound as I am coasting, until I push the clutch in and put it in neutral.
-At very high speeds (in 5th gear) when I let off or get on the gas I feel only a slight tug with no noise.

I spent half a day trying to diagnose this problem one day. I jacked up the car from the rear wheels with the front wheels stopped from rolling. My friend drove the car (at low speeds of course) while I was underneath listening for the noises and it was most definitely resonating from the differential casing.

People have always told me that its normal but I've never felt this on any other rear wheel drive car (open or LSD). After extensive research I believe that clutch type LSDs like the mk3's require a lot of fluid changes to prevent these clunking problems. I'm going to try replacing my differential with a JDM torsen unit and see if I have the same problem.
 

Poodles

I play with fire
Jul 22, 2006
16,757
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Fort Worth, TX
I'ts not the LSD...

Toyota (as well as most other OEM's) use a crush sleeve to se the preload on the pinion bearings. Crush sleeves suck, and wear out losing preload on the bearing and allowing the pinion to move around. The only thing at that point keeping the pinion nut on is the staked in part. Put enough force through it (oh, like 4 wheel drive low on 4.11 gears and 31" tires) and it shears the teeth off.
 

speedmaster

New Member
May 23, 2010
7
0
0
Vancouver
Thanks for the insight poodles. Is it costly to overhaul my existing differential and replace this crush sleeve? or do you think I should just swap out the lsd (the whole case) with a cheap lower milage one?

Poodles;1630064 said:
I'ts not the LSD...

Toyota (as well as most other OEM's) use a crush sleeve to se the preload on the pinion bearings. Crush sleeves suck, and wear out losing preload on the bearing and allowing the pinion to move around. The only thing at that point keeping the pinion nut on is the staked in part. Put enough force through it (oh, like 4 wheel drive low on 4.11 gears and 31" tires) and it shears the teeth off.
 

Poodles

I play with fire
Jul 22, 2006
16,757
0
0
43
Fort Worth, TX
Depends if damage has been done or not. Bearings, or worst case gearset damage would make it expensive.

Replacing the crush sleeve with a fixed spacers with shims is the best way to remedy the issue (and has been done for years on trucks where loads are high).
 

northwestsupra

New Member
Sep 19, 2006
1,166
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Washington, Marysville
speedmaster;1630082 said:
Thanks for the insight poodles. Is it costly to overhaul my existing differential and replace this crush sleeve? or do you think I should just swap out the lsd (the whole case) with a cheap lower milage one?


Beech performance has solid crush sleeve for like $25
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