My 93 Legacy wagon has been making a noise lately. every time it shifts it will make a kind of clunking sound and you can feel it sort of do a little jolt or jerk. now it has even been making sounds when i stop and take off from a stop. My first thought was that it has something to do with the U joints. However it has the locking auto transmission that makes it so that you have to press the button above the shifter at the same time as on the shift to shift and i have had to use it ever since i bought the car so i am a little worried that the sounds might indicate a transmission problem. Any help on this would be great. thanks

Jeremy

Jeremy,

 

The shifter not moving out of park without pushing the button at the top is a result of shift lock system not functioning correctly. Typically, the solenoid below the shifter assembly may be bad and not releasing the shifter. The other possibility is that brake switch is bad.

 

I'd suggest testing the solenoid. It should click when you depress the brake pedal. You can apply 12v to one lead of the solenoid and a ground wire to the other lead going to the solenoid, and it will engage the solenoid. If the solenoid doesn't engage, then you know it's bad and needs to be replaced.

 

As for the clunking, it's kind of hard to diagnose without a little more information. Can you tell where the noise is coming from?

Clunking could be loose engine/transmission mounts, or pitch mount. Might also be axles, ball joints, worn suspension bushings, things of that nature. A general location of where the sound is coming from would help narrow it down.