I saw a few others talk about this issue but their solution(s) did not apply to me. When the car is cold and I go to back it out of my garage, I put it in reverse, let the clutch out and the sound is almost as if something in the driveline is loose. Does anybody remember the 700R4 days where the tranny was tougher than the mount? The mount would go quite often and when it did, you could feel it. Well, that's what this noise is kinda like but not as extreme as the tranny analogy. After you have gone down the road for a minute or so, it never does it again untill the car is cool and has sat for a while. I looked at all of the accessory panels, and they are all fine. I jacked the rear end up and grabbed the wheels and they were tight with no hub bolt loose. I put a wrench on every nut and bolt I could get to and they were all tight and secure. I did feel like when I grabbed the wheel and tried to spin it forward and backward that the differential felt and sounded a little looser than I would like but I don't have a brand new one to compare it to. It is quiet going down the road though other than the clunk when cold. It just feels like the drivetrain is loose. I know if I take it to the dealer it is going to be one of those "Unable to reproduce the problem" deals. The window to hear the clunk is quite small but if it is leading to a bigger problem down the road, I want it addressed while it is under warranty. Anyone have a similar problem? Better yet, a solution or idea?

How exactly is the trans connected between the engine and rear end? The trans looked like it was in the middle of the car with some kind of shaft between the engine and the trans, and then the trans is direct to the differential. Is that right?

Thanks for all the help.

 

Thats correct, the engine is connected to the transmission via a torque tube and the differential is bolted directly to the back of the transmission, if you want this taken care of while your car is under warranty you might want to consider leaving your car overnight with the dealer.

BTW - when I spin my rear tires there is very little slop if any at all

 

Well when I had the rear end in the air, I just did one side at a time so I had one wheel up and the other still on the ground. I felt like it was a little noisy.

 

Well, got the infamous clunk again this morning as i always do. But, it dawned on me that I remember this clunk from a Ram Air Trans Am that I had. I think this has something to do with the brake calipers. Makes sense too. Only does it when the car is cold because that is about the same amount of time it would take for the residual pressure to bleed of in the caliper thus allowing the piston to tuck back in a bit. Once you have driven it, the pressure from regular driving keeps the piston out farther and keeps the caliper from being 'loose'. That is what I think this noise is. The caliper flexing or something like that. Any one agree or disagree or want to add any other thoughts?

 

I took the car to the dealer today and explained to the service manager what the sound was like. He said (and it kinda made sense) the reason it only does it in the morning is overnight it has had enough time for the synthetic fluid to have washed off of the posi unit clutches. Then when you drive it, the fluid gets swished around and coats everything which is why it goes away after that. Well, new ones don't do this do they? It does make perfect sense but I want to make sure I get this addresses while it is under warranty. Hate to mark it off as normal and find out later it wasn't. The differential has a small leak so I am going to have them fix that anyway. Based on the amount of noise when I had one of the tires in the air and spun it back and forth, I still feel like the rear end is a little loose and I want to try to get them to warrant a new one. Does the clutch plate thing make sense? Does anyone else have this same sound and or situation?

 

I would think the warranty would still be good even if it is expired. As long as you have a record of thaking the car for that problem before the warranty expired.

Scott