Drivetrain Issue

[Larry Rivelli]

Hello,

My 1994 SHO with auto transmission has some "slop" in the drivetrain when taking off from a dead stop. It's like a clunk and then it goes. I have been thinking axle shaft, motor mount, ????? Anyone else experience this issue and what was the fix? The car has 166,000 miles on it. Thank you. Larry

 

[zoomlater]

Does the car **** (slams into gear) when it clunks or is it just a sound (car is still shifting smoothly)
You can check to see if your motor mount is bad, open your hood and keep your foot on the brake while pressing on the gas. Watch and see if the engine pivots upward more than an inch. If it does, your front mount could be bad. You can do the same in reverse to see if the engines moves in the other direction more than an inch.

Are you still on the original tranny, no rebuilds? My first tranny (on my early 94 ATX build) failed at 90K. My second rebuild came at 120K, but I found out some things were not done properly on the first rebuild.

 

[Larry Rivelli]

Hi, Thanks for the response. It does not slam into gear, just when taking off from a stop. My first tranny went at approximately 90,000 too. The rebuild is still shifting good at 160,000 +. I will check the motor mounts. It's not so much a sound as what you feel, like a slight hesitation when taking off. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[sperold]

You can check for the shiny spot on the intake for the motor mount issue, but my guess would be the transmission mount. They can look OK and still be a problem. The best thing would be to give the transmission assembly a few pumps on a hydraulic jack with the drivers wheel removed, and see if you get any lift,

 

[Izanetti]

My 1993 3.2 had the same issue. Problem was the 1st gear cracked cylinder in the trani

 

[rubydist]

a cracked piston for the 1st gear can certainly cause that symptom.
also, the over-running clutch (also called a sprague clutch or a power diode) that is starting to fail can slip as it locks up, causing that symptom.
also, the eps solenoid could be not modulating pressure correctly and cause that symptom.
all of those are fairly common things to happen to a Ford trans with some miles on it.

 

[Larry Rivelli]

a cracked piston for the 1st gear can certainly cause that symptom.
also, the over-running clutch (also called a sprague clutch or a power diode) that is starting to fail can slip as it locks up, causing that symptom.
also, the eps solenoid could be not modulating pressure correctly and cause that symptom.
all of those are fairly common things to happen to a Ford trans with some miles on it.

 

[Larry Rivelli]

Thanks for all the advice. Turns out it was the motor AND transmission mounts. They have been replaced and no more clunk. Thanks again.