TheSamba.com :: View topic - ** CLUNK ** sound when Automatic shifts into reverse??

Sat Jul 16, 2005 8:33 am

CLUNK! That's what sound my Vanagon makes when I shift into reverse. It's an '85 Automatic, and in good shape. Trans always shifts fine, no other problems. Except for that CULNK sound! What could it be? I checked the axle allen bolts, on the trans side, all tight. I could not reach the ones on the wheel side, because they are burried back in that support bracket. Does anyone have an idea what I should do to fix it?

I found my Vanagon on The Samba last October. 1985 1.9, with the BIG sunroof. I talked the guy down from 1,000 to 675 - and drove it home from Sacramento. It's pretty fun to work on and drive. I really dig the forums on TS - - - you wouldn't believe all the things you guys have helped me to understand and fix!

Sun Jul 17, 2005 5:08 am

have you done any maintainance to the trans. like change the filter, change the transmission fluid?

Tue Jul 19, 2005 10:44 am

to tighten those inner allen bolts it's a big help, and i mean huge help if you can get a hold of a long stemed allen socket,3/8 drive of course. the long stem will "reach" around c.v. boot better. actually it's just easier to push alittle piece of the boot out of the way with that thin allen part than it is to push it out of the way with the socket/extension(6"). jack up both wheels, support van with jack stands, this way you can rotate wheel making access easier. anyway if those bolts are loose it will clunk or you could have a c.v. joint that is bad and yes they can go bad without the boots being torn. on mine i had loose bolts that when tightened lessened the clunk but didn't get rid of it so i checked some more and found a c.v. joint that i felt was bad,replaced it and viola! no more clunk. if that's what it is don't bother taking it to a shop it's an easy repair you can do in your drive way. remove axle, on the ends there is a clip going around the end of the the axle shaft, remove that and with a hammer tap off the bad joint. some liquid wrench and convincing may be needed although i've never had one that was that tough. clean everything, instal new joint w/new clip, pack real good with the grease it came with and reinstal in the van. for added assurance i use blue locktight on allen bolts. once again that's BLUE as in medium locktight. if you use red then good luck getting those bolts back off!

Wed Jul 20, 2005 3:37 pm

Hey Sean thanks for your reply - - I'll climb under there next weekend with the RIGHT tool and see if those allen bolts are tight enough. I really appreciate your reply. The Samba rules!

Wed Jul 20, 2005 4:00 pm

Half the time those allen bolts are really "triplesquares" a 12 sided bolt that is designed to not strip out. They just require a tool like this http://busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=5796 that you can probably get locally. Clean them out good with Gum Out so that you get a good bite on themI think they get torqued to about 25 foot pounds and re-torqued after about 100 miles or so.

Here is a good rap from Bartnik on how to do it. Go to technical articles and scroll down. http://type2.com/bartnik/

Repacking those joints is good for you, although it is pretty greasy.

Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:15 pm

Faster than you can say..

You can still get them IN STOCK at most VW dealers... as all the VWs still take them. The parts guys call-em axle screws. Old style were allens, new styles are triple squares.

Make SURE you clean them out with some brake-clean and a paperclip end before tapping the allen or trip-square in with a hammer to seat them.

Also, make sure you don't pound a tripple square into an allen!!!! :oops: Been there, done that.... :x

Also a small block of 2X4 jambed under the rear wheels makes a nice adjsutable "stop" you can lock (tighten/loosen) the wheel and then pull out the wood, rotate to the next screw, then jamb the wood back under the tire to lock it again...

I did my CVs two summer ago, got entire rebuilt axles from VolksCafe. The sent me one bum CV - kudos to them the next day'd me an entire new axle and paid for shipping of the old one back!!

Thu Jul 21, 2005 9:44 am

Professor Dan's experience is why I say not to buy those "rebuilt" axles. They don't care what shape the CV is in as long is it is not broken. Once you have the axle out, it is not that much more work to do the CVs. Alot of the time the CVs are so worn you want new ones abyways. You can put in new CVs and boots for $200-$250 and it (including the bolts) are all new again and should last another decade or more. DONE.

Thu Jul 21, 2005 11:51 am

Huh?

How do they rebuild them? They were new! The axles were used, but the joints were new. There is no way to replace lost metal from the cages...

The bum axle looked like it had been whacked in shipping.

Not picking a fight, but...

"Availability: In Stock
Description:
NEW-Axle comes assembled with new boots and new joints. These are made in the USA and far superior to the worn out remanufactured ones out there. This is quicker and cleaner job than replacing the boots and joints, but do note that the axle comes with grease that you can squeeze in the boots following installation to get it into the joints. We do recommend getting one additional tube (14 oz.) of grease per pair of axles to add to the joints during installation. Making sure that they are well lubricated insures that they will last longer.

Price:$135.00"

At that price, just swap-em.

Fri Jul 22, 2005 9:48 am

You should have "toothed" washers under each screw head so retorquing is unecessary (look like wavy washers but with ridges on them like little files).

It is completely unnecessary to either jack up or rotate the wheel to undo the axles.

Unless part of the CV is fractured, the splines are loose, the pits are horrendous or you are a racer, there is little reason to replace a CV. Repack, swap to a different running position if you like, and go.

Always use more grease in the boot than you think is necessary and then put in another glob.

Either do not run clamps on the axle-end of the boots or clamp them after all is assembled to prevent twisting. Most of the time the boot fits plenty snug between the bosses on the axle to render a clamp unecessary unless you do a lot of fording or they are getting a bit "tired" and you don't want to replace them just yet.

Don't forget the three load-spreaders on each boot for the screws!

Appropriate screws are available at most any decent parts shop. I tend to ditch the 12pt and install allen so I can always find the correct wrench!

I've explained how to get the axle out without jacking or turning in a previous post (dunno which thread, sorry).

Mike!