'thunk' when shifting into reverse - only when cold

[svxfiles]

Originally Posted by oregondave

I'm confused. All you guys thought that me asking a question had something to do with 'girlz'? Your humor is going right over my head here bro.

No, no one thought that your question was about girls.
I was just being silly!

Now, did you look at your rear diff bushings and transmission mount yet?
The transmission mount might look perfect, but with the car securely jacked up, and the engine off (not running) push up on the tail shaft of the transmission to see if the rubber is seporated on one or both sides.

[oregondave]

Originally Posted by svxfiles

No, no one thought that your question was about girls.
I was just being silly!

Now, did you look at your rear diff bushings and transmission mount yet?
The transmission mount might look perfect, but with the car securely jacked up, and the engine off (not running) push up on the tail shaft of the transmission to see if the rubber is seporated on one or both sides.

I need a jack! LOL wouldn't it be nice to have a lift?

Thanks man, at the least I'll pass this along to whomever looks at it. I sincerely appreciate it.

[LarryIII]

Hi Oregon Dave

Check the resistor on the fender well behind the battery.
When I changed mine the 'reverse thunk when cold' went away.

This is an old fix from the Kinetics Concepts & early Yahoo SVX sites.

Good Luck.

[svxfiles]

Originally Posted by LarryIII

Hi Oregon Dave

Check the resistor on the fender well behind the battery.
When I changed mine the 'reverse thunk when cold' went away.

This is an old fix from the Kinetics Concepts & early Yahoo SVX sites.

Good Luck.

Good point Larry,
but if the resistor were blown the Power light would be flashing 16 times at start up as well.

[oab_au]

Originally Posted by svxfiles

Good point Larry,
but if the resistor were blown the Power light would be flashing 16 times at start up as well.

,,,,,,and it would clunk into D as well.

Harvey.

[svxfiles]

Originally Posted by oab_au

,,,,,,and it would clunk into D as well.

Harvey.

But perhaps not with the same force, or sound.

[Cam]

Originally Posted by svxfiles

Good point Larry,
but if the resistor were blown the Power light would be flashing 16 times at start up as well.

I USED TO GET THE 16 FLASHES AT STARTUP BEFORE MY ENGINE REBUILD. . So, out of curiosity, I would like to replace this and see if my transmission behaves a little better, as it does sometimes clunk into D and R. Info, please?

[svxfiles]

As a warning the Power light will flash 16 times at start up if any electrical/electronic codes are detected in the transmission circuit.
In my experience the most common reason for the flashing, is a failure in the dropping resistor, but it could be any failed/failing circuit in the transmission.
As far as the dropping resistor is concerned just check the resistance of the unit, (located on the inner fender behind the stock battery location).
If it HAS resistance, between 12-15 ohms, (usually) it is stock and OK.
If the light blings and the resistor is fine, the problem is something else.

[LarryIII]

Tom,

My power light never flashed at all when the car was cold thunking.
Back then, it was cheap and easy to change out the resistor, so I did. (do the easy things first). The hardest part was geting the battery hold down rods to line up while putting the battery back in because my garage is unheated and my fingers were frozen.

[oregondave]

Broken Trans mount was the diagnosis

trans mount replace & steering rack boot replace = $500

thoughts? They said 2-3 hours labor to replace the mount.

[svxfiles]

Do you have two pair of jackstands?
Jack up the car as high as is safe.
Put a 2 X 8 on your floor jack, and put under the transmission pan, not to lift it, but just to support it.
Remove the three 14mm nuts that hold the transmission crossmember to the transmission mount.
Remove the two 12 mm head bolts that hold the heat shield to the crossmember.
Remove the six 14 mm head bolts that hold the crossmember to the body.
Remove the four 12 mm head bolts that hold the transmission mount to the transmission.
Installation is the reverse.
On your own, in a driveway, two hours tops if you have never done it before.

The boot is another story and could take an hour on a proper lift.
I hope that helps.

[oregondave]

Originally Posted by svxfiles

Do you have two pair of jackstands?
Jack up the car as high as is safe.
Put a 2 X 8 on your floor jack, and put under the transmission pan, not to lift it, but just to support it.
Remove the three 14mm nuts that hold the transmission crossmember to the transmission mount.
Remove the two 12 mm head bolts that hold the heat shield to the crossmember.
Remove the six 14 mm head bolts that hold the crossmember to the body.
Remove the four 12 mm head bolts that hold the transmission mount to the transmission.
Installation is the reverse.
On your own, in a driveway, two hours tops if you have never done it before.

The boot is another story and could take an hour on a proper lift.
I hope that helps.

Thanks so much Tom, I appreciate it and I also appreciate your optimism regarding my mechanical ability. I don't have stands and I'm not the best at it having misadjusted some valves on a buddy's VW bus back in the day...

What exact part do you need to replace the boot on the rack? Is there a kit? $200 seems kinda stiff to me...I'm getting uneasy about the costs these guys are wanting to charge.

[svxfiles]

Originally Posted by oregondave

Thanks so much Tom, I appreciate it and I also appreciate your optimism regarding my mechanical ability. I don't have stands and I'm not the best at it having misadjusted some valves on a buddy's VW bus back in the day...

What exact part do you need to replace the boot on the rack? Is there a kit? $200 seems kinda stiff to me...I'm getting uneasy about the costs these guys are wanting to charge.

Everyone can make a misstake!
But this (the transmission mount) is a pretty strait forward job.
To do the rack and pinion boot swap, you must
undo an outer tie rod end from the steering knuckle,
Unscrew the outer tie rod end, WHILE couning how many turns it takes,
cut and then replace the boot,
reinstall the inner tie rod end,
reassemble.