I just noticed today a slight clunk when I go to change gears on my roo. It’s a ‘98 Legacy L, 2.2, standard transmission with approximately 180k.

 

There’s no noise when I push in the clutch pedal, but when I shift the gears there is a slight clunk when it goes into the new gear and when I take my foot off the clutch pedal. His only happens under load. If I hold the clutch in and shift between gears there is nothing.

 

 

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Urban Coyote

How new is the clutch?......theres a possibility it may not be engaging and disengaging all the way....is it adjusted properly? I would also check the condition and level of the Gear Oil....just my experience...... I would also get it in the air if you can and check the trans. mount and make sure there is nothing else bent/broken/worn.

The clutch plates were done around 74k, but the adjustment has not been checked in a looong time....a.k.a, not since 74k. How do you checkt he adjustment and can I do this myself?

 

Same with the gear oil. Is this something that is hard to check/change myself, or should I leave to someone more exoerienced?

 

Thanks!

Urban Coyote

if it happens right when the load is put on that gear it could be bushings. the transmission mount or the rear differential mounts. if the bushings are worn out the trans or diff will torque under load and hit metal on metal. i've seen this a number of times. i wouldn't expect this on a 98 though (kind of new), but it's something to look into. you might be able to crawl under the car and torque the rear diff by hand to see.

A clunking rear diff is fairly common. Stiffer aftermarket diff outrigger and mount bushings are available from places like turninconcepts.com. They do add some noise and vibration though.

Sounds like mounts/bushings to me. How hard do you drive it? Harder shifting and accelerating/stopping will wear out bushing and mounts faster.

The sounds really just started today, so it's not very prominent yet, but what I found when I was driving home was that it's most noticable when shifting up to second gear, and still present in other gears but not quite as prominent (this could be from other road noice masking it). No clunk when going from stop into first and then starting out though.

 

It's almost like the whole gear shift mechanism has gotten a bit louder. When driving in first I press in the clutch, just when the clutch pedal gets to the floor, clunk. I then change gears (which seems to be a slightly noisier transfer) and proceed in second.

 

Oddly enough I've also noticed that when driving at low rpm's there is a slight rumble that goes away when I push the clutch in again. I don't hear it at higher rpms.

 

It also got very cold very quickly, could this have an effect on things?

 

Urban Coyote