I was caught in the snow today needing to drive home 5 minutes with about 2 inches of packed snow on the streets (street sweepers hadn't come out yet). Anyway, when i tap the gas in any gear and i go from having traction to losing traction or let off the gas to gain traction my transmission makes a sharp calunking taping noise, about 3 fast calunks. I'm really stumped if this is a problem or just the differential switching wheels for traction really fast. Any ideas on what this can be? Please help!

Just to add in a minor detail on dry and driving hard i dont hear this sound. this is only on snow. My car has 60k miles also.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Chiller &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I was caught in the snow today needing to drive home 5 minutes with about 2 inches of packed snow on the streets (street sweepers hadn't come out yet). Anyway, when i tap the gas in any gear and i go from having traction to losing traction or let off the gas to gain traction my transmission makes a sharp calunking taping noise, about 3 fast calunks. I'm really stumped if this is a problem or just the differential switching wheels for traction really fast. Any ideas on what this can be? Please help!

Just to add in a minor detail on dry and driving hard i dont hear this sound. this is only on snow. My car has 60k miles also. </TD></TR></TABLE>

The only sound should just be tires grabbing and slipping. Weird. I don't think I've had any car do this.

Stock clutch? Stock LSD?

-Chris

 

its probably the lsd very busy at work...

 

i can feel the stickshift really jerking and moving as i tap the gas... it's a very unhappy noise. It couldnt mean the lsd be wearing down? Axels, cv joint?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Chiller &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i can feel the stickshift really jerking and moving as i tap the gas... it's a very unhappy noise. It couldnt mean the lsd be wearing down? Axels, cv joint?</TD></TR></TABLE>

That really sucks. shouldn't be any LOUD noise... but stick moving around is prolly just engine rocking back and forth. Should happen in dry weather too.

You've never heard it in the dry? I guess LSD is going then, because I never hear any sharp noises driving in the snow. It could be you're imagining things, try turning up the stereo.

Is your LSD stock?

-Chris

 

Yes it's stock, the transmission is stock...

I dont know if this might influence something but the clutch is near it's end (slipping and all).

I'm sure i'm not imagining things I had a buddy of mine listen to it and it's there with the music on i can feel a jerk thump to the stick like someone is taping it with a hammer along with these few calunk metal noise almost a crack rattle even... Very hard to describe, how do i know to tell the life on the lsd. When i change the clutch will I be able to see what's going on with the lsd?

 

I think I've heard the same noise come from my car while driving in the snow. Mine wasn't that loud, though. Maybe it's because I have studded snow tires, so it wasn't slipping as much. I don't think you should worry about it too much.

 

i've asked before about this sound and i have yet to find out what the noise is. i have accepted it as regular LSD noise. i have made it happen in the rain and in the snow. i honetly can feel the LSD working so i have been assuming everything has been great.

 

It's good to know that other people's shifters dance around too. I thought I was in trouble.

 

The snow melted and I went for a drive. The first 2 minutes every time i let off the clutch or tapped the gas I'd the same noise but only one calunk with the same movement on the stick shift. However, after it stopped doing it. I'm starting to think this is clutch related. I know my clutch is going and that when i was driving in the snow it stank of burnt clutch. Any ideas.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Chiller &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Any ideas. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Torn/loose motor mounts.



Edit, I had this happen to me on another car-- a dealer forgot to tighten down a motor mount. Engine was knocking into the side of the engine bay. I think I'd usually hear it when letting off the gas, big klunk sound, but it was my wife's old car and I can't remember the exact symptom. Ended up taking 10 minutes to figure it out, based on symptoms/visual inspection (wasn't immediately obvious).

Try free-revving the engine and looking for unusual movement? Hard to tell what "unusual" really is though. Good luck with it.

-Chris

 

Check your motor mounts definitely.

I doubt its LSD really or clutch, my ITR makes a strange sound if it spins in the wet/snow, it kinda bangs, i presume from the mix of LSD and anti-roll bar setup - suspension bang.




Modified by benmasters at 5:20 PM 12/20/2004

 

now to think of it, my sound is more of a whine than a clunk. it just sounds like gears turning.