ok.. the 93 rwd i just got clunks when shifting from park to reverse.. reverse to drive and vise versa. there is a slight spilt second delay then it engages. nothing seems to be slipping or anything.. it drives and shifts good.. just has this clunk. when initially engaging the gear.
my best guess: u-joints ?
my best guesses haven't won me the lottery.. so I'm looking for input on this one.. LOL
Another sign of bad u-joints will be brown dust all around the u-joint and the yoke. Most of the time they should look clean unless they have grease on them.
It's always been my experience that a driveline clunk is caused by the pinion backlash being excessive due to a worn out rear axle. Sometimes it's caused by a worn out cross shaft inside the differential and sometimes it's the pinion bearings.
95 Astro 4.3 4L60E 3.42 Bilsteins/Timbrens
410,000 miles and counting
65 Chevy van 90" WB 305 700R4 3.36
garage queen rescued from the crusher many years ago
well i'll be dropping the driveshaft this week to change the rear trans seal. are the pinion bearings something that i can change easliy enough with the shaft dropped.. or ?
i guess i'm asking where are the pinon bearings.. ? lol
I wouldn't think you would have to change the pinion bearings. You would only need to do that if they were making a lot of noise. In any event, the carrier must be removed to change pinion bearings. Like I suggested above, you might be able to slowly tighten the pinion nut until the backlash is gone. Pull the cover off first and look inside the differential case as you turn the pinion back and forth by hand. If you see movement between the differential case and the differential spider gears, pull the cross shaft and check it for wear. The shaft is made out of a slightly softer material than the spider gears themselves, so it wears first. New cross shafts are available.
95 Astro 4.3 4L60E 3.42 Bilsteins/Timbrens
410,000 miles and counting
65 Chevy van 90" WB 305 700R4 3.36
garage queen rescued from the crusher many years ago