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1985 C4 Clunking in Drive Train

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Old Aug 8, 2019 | 08:01 PM
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Default 1985 C4 Clunking in Drive Train

So I needed to find were the clunk was coming from when you shift from Park to Reverse, Neutral or Drive, and back again to each.
I had the brakes depressed fully and C4 on jack stands. There is excessive turn in the drive shaft / propeller shaft going into the Rear Differential.
The Half Shafts of both Drivers and Passengers side don't seem to move much.
Could this be an indication of a bad Rear Diff or Universal Joints. There seems to be a lot of Movement for something that had it's brakes fully on.

Drive Shaft / Propeller Shaft

Drivers Side Half Shaft

Passenger Side Half Shaft

Any input would be very welcome

Thank you

D4D4U1
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Old Aug 9, 2019 | 09:10 AM
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most of the time, bad u joint somewhere
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Old Aug 9, 2019 | 09:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Cruisinfanatic
most of the time, bad u joint somewhere
But I see a lot of movement in the drive / propeller shaft, almost 3/4 of a rotation one way and 1/3 to 1/2 rotation in the other.
If it was a bad u-joint would I see that amount of rotation?
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Old Aug 9, 2019 | 10:04 AM
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First thing that comes to my mind is universal joint also.
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Old Aug 9, 2019 | 10:18 AM
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U-joints, be sure to get Spicer forged joints without zerk fittings. Just do them all. x1310 and x1350 I think.
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Old Aug 9, 2019 | 10:54 AM
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If you are going to pull the driveshaft to do the universals, I would highly recommend removing the tailshaft of the transmission and replacing the rear shaft (drive shaft yoke) bushing. This is like an $11 part and they wear out, allowing the driveshaft to move around. I had a clunk/chatter that I thought was universals, so I replaced those, then I thought it was the exhaust bumping as it was close to the cross brace under the car (mine is convertible), then I replaced the rear bushing in the tailshaft of the tranny and it went away.

I had 92K miles when I did it.

With the driveshaft out you are like 8-10 bolts away from having the tailshaft out, so it is pretty easy.


-Enjoy

Last edited by SLVRSHRK; Aug 9, 2019 at 10:55 AM.
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Old Aug 9, 2019 | 11:44 AM
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Originally Posted by SLVRSHRK
If you are going to pull the driveshaft to do the universals, I would highly recommend removing the tailshaft of the transmission and replacing the rear shaft (drive shaft yoke) bushing. This is like an $11 part and they wear out, allowing the driveshaft to move around. I had a clunk/chatter that I thought was universals, so I replaced those, then I thought it was the exhaust bumping as it was close to the cross brace under the car (mine is convertible), then I replaced the rear bushing in the tailshaft of the tranny and it went away.

I had 92K miles when I did it.

With the driveshaft out you are like 8-10 bolts away from having the tailshaft out, so it is pretty easy.


-Enjoy
And that would account for the large rotation of the drive /propeller shaft that I am seeing?
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Old Aug 9, 2019 | 01:48 PM
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Originally Posted by d4d4u1
And that would account for the large rotation of the drive /propeller shaft that I am seeing?
No, it would account for a leaking tail shaft seal or a clunk that can not be verified as mentioned.

My vote is on worn out U-Joints.

Last edited by Randy M; Aug 9, 2019 at 01:50 PM.
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Old Aug 9, 2019 | 08:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Randy M
No, it would account for a leaking tail shaft seal or a clunk that can not be verified as mentioned.

My vote is on worn out U-Joints.
So, the clunk is the U-Joint.
Ok, but then what can account for the 3/4 turn on the drive/propeller shaft and the 1/4 to 1/3 turn on the passenger side half shaft?

OR...
Which I would have doubts about, normal operation of switching between gears on the automatic 700r4, drive / propeller shaft and half shafts.

Last edited by d4d4u1; Aug 9, 2019 at 08:41 PM.
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Old Aug 10, 2019 | 08:01 AM
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crawl your butt under the car and turn those shafts by hand, with the radio off. You will hear where its comming from and possibly see where the slack is. There WILL BE some in there gue to spacing between teeth in the rear end, tranny, lots of tiny gaps in there. If its a u joint, you will SEE which one it is.. This is a pretty simple exercise and you should be able to do that with out tools.
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Old Aug 10, 2019 | 08:52 AM
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Originally Posted by ghoastrider1
crawl your butt under the car and turn those shafts by hand, with the radio off. You will hear where its comming from and possibly see where the slack is. There WILL BE some in there gue to spacing between teeth in the rear end, tranny, lots of tiny gaps in there. If its a u joint, you will SEE which one it is.. This is a pretty simple exercise and you should be able to do that with out tools.
That was the plan for today, Sat Morning.
It just looks like a lot of rotational slack to just be the U-Joints, but I will find out
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Old Aug 10, 2019 | 09:41 AM
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Clunk is coming from the tail end of the tranny.
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Old Aug 10, 2019 | 01:39 PM
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The early 700r4 was known to have a clunk/tink sound when putting it into gear.
Not really a problem, on my old phone i had a nice picture of it...

Only way to really "fix" it is with the trans out.
I installed the low/reverse housing with the updated assembly from a later 4l60e, and then replaced the "anti clunk" with a fresh one...

I still get a little clunk sound if i shift it into gear if the rpm is too high, or if i have my tv cable too tight.

And sorry, i don't recall the exact names of the parts.
And I'm too lazy to break out the manual.

Just remember as long as everything checks out, the transmission issue is a non issue.
Just a little embarrassing...

Last edited by Gibbles; Aug 10, 2019 at 01:41 PM.
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Old Aug 10, 2019 | 05:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Gibbles
The early 700r4 was known to have a clunk/tink sound when putting it into gear.
Not really a problem, on my old phone i had a nice picture of it...

Only way to really "fix" it is with the trans out.
I installed the low/reverse housing with the updated assembly from a later 4l60e, and then replaced the "anti clunk" with a fresh one...

I still get a little clunk sound if i shift it into gear if the rpm is too high, or if i have my tv cable too tight.

And sorry, i don't recall the exact names of the parts.
And I'm too lazy to break out the manual.

Just remember as long as everything checks out, the transmission issue is a non issue.
Just a little embarrassing...
Good to know, Thank you
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