There is too much play in the driveline of this '04 with manual transmission. The symptom is a clunk if you are not silky smooth when releasing the clutch. The play ( but not nearly as much clunk ) is also noticeable if you quickly release accelerator.

I was under the vehicle today with a stethascope. The differential seems to exhibit the most noise of the driveline components.

I intend to replace the fluid tomorrow and inspect the ring and pinion ( open differential ). Can anybody offer suggestions on what to look in the differential or elsewhere that could be causing the play ?

Sven

 

I would check pinion depth and backlash first, if you suspect the differential is causing the problem.

 

My 03 has a bit of slack in the driveline, but not much more than other manual transmission vehicles i've owned. I just attribute the clunking to the larger driveshafts, gears, u-joints, etc.

 

I wish we could speak quantitively about these things. Many feel that "some" play is ok, but some is too vague for me to translate into acceptable.

What if I created a poll for degrees of play or "float". Do you guys think it is a good idea. Suggestions on how to phrase, how to measure, etc ?

Thanks for the responses.

Sven

 

The idea of using degrees makes sense to me, as long as you provide 2 different amounts for the 3.73's and 4.10's. The reason is, (assuming you're measuring at the driveshaft) any play in components after the ring gear (as the torque travels) will give different amounts of driveshaft play depending on which gears it travels through.

Measurements at the driveshaft won't address play in the transmission though, and I don't know off the top of my head how to address that.

 

My auto has about a 1/4" of play in the driveshaft. I just attribute it to clearances inside the tranny and rear gears.

 

I measured 5/32" by sighting a laser on driveshaft and marking the lit point at the ends of play on a piece of paper which was tie-wrapped (curved) to driveshaft. The length between marked points was measured flat after the paper was removed.

BigBlue, I assume with an auto that you have a limited slip differential ? Having an open differential in my truck perhaps accounts for the difference in our measurements. I measured 4/32" with the transmission in gear.

I think that accuracy of measurement is going to very difficult and lead to an erroneous poll unless some elegant and simple solution could be found. I'm not even sure if one could deduce excessive differential play based on degrees of rotation at the driveshaft? For example, does a backlash of .010" ( .003" over maximum acceptable of .007" ) translate to any measureable difference at the driveshaft.

I intend to measure ring gear backlash and change fluid early next week. I'll report my findings to this thread.

Sven

 

Having an open differential should not matter at all, as long as the rear wheels are on the ground. That way, neither one can turn and mess up any measurements. If you're trying to check play in the rearend, you should have the transmission in neutral so it won't artificially limit driveshaft rotation when the rearend might otherwise allow it. Likewise, if checking play in the transmission, the rear wheels should be off the ground and the parking brake should not be on.