Clunk Shift, eek?



Twice in the last two days (or so), have had a problem when shifting with heavy foot.
'87, stock, auto tranny, Dana36.
I can't say for sure which gear, I do know it was around 50mph, again heavy foot. Anyway, during the shift, big CLUNK happens, really bad this last one. My ears, which I can't trust due to hearing impairment, think it was from the rear driver side.
I lifted Her today and checked, ujoints look good on half shafts and center. Only concern is moving the rear tire does take about an inch or two each way before hitting the stopping point. I can tell it's at the tranny, not the center ujoint.
I'm thinking tranny is the issue, am I wrong? It has been a poor shifter from 1st->2nd since I bought it, not terrible, just hard. 2->3,3->4, quiet.
Yes, I've played with the TV many times.



I was a ways from home, drove it the rest of the way with no issues other than my brain racing (What was that? What was that?! Was that anything?!?!?).
Last edited by kael; Sep 9, 2021 at 10:51 PM.



Checked the tranny fluid how again, still showed fine. I didn't believe it after trying my cold method. Months ago I noted the correct level the correct way, for my Lady, and then re-checked cold and wrote it down.
Added half a quart to get it back to my cold level. Made several runs to try to repeat the clunk, including whomping on some onramps. No repeat. *sigh*
Well, will start saving pennies for when rebuild or new tranny time shows up.



And yes, first thing I did after the clunk was jack Her up and take a close look at the rear suspension, diff, center shaft and tranny coupling. Best I got was the tranny output is wearing, little extra slack.









