James:
My TR6 does the same thing. I drive it every day, and I drive it to my
favorite fishin' hole every weekend (well, ALMOST every weekend!) and
although I generally try to baby it, I do occasionally "rod" on it a
little. The point being that I think it can hold up for a while in this
state, as long as you don't try to drag race it! Anyway, in my case the
diff mounts are in good shape (I should note that right after I replaced
mine (with OEM rubber mountings) I discovered that the polyurethane mounts
were available. That figures. Anyway, I also changed all the U-joints,
and even immediately after all that work it still clunks. I have put it
down to just a generally worn-out diff, and so I try to take it easy on it.
Also, as I understand it, the splines on the inner ends of the axle shafts
become worn. These are parts that aren't typically replaced in your
average diff rebuild (as I understand it... someone plese correct me)
So, I guess my advice is to not worry about it too much, but go easy on it!
Lately I've been surprised to see rebuilt diffs being sold for around
$600+. That seems pretty reasonable, and although I did manage to rebuild
my own engine and gearbox successfully, I don't think I can tackle the
diff, so perhaps before too long I can buy a rebuilt unit.
Obviously, check out all the cheap things first. Make sure that the
U-joints are in good shape, make sure that the bolts that hold the drive
flanges together are tight. I don't personally see how the hubs could be
the culprit, at least not in my case. If it were the hubs then you'd feel
the clunking quite frequently as the suspension moves up and down, not just
when you engage/disengage the clutch.
Go easy on it!!
Pete Chadwell
1973 TR6
>It seems like this question was raised somewhat recently, but I don't
>recall what was said, if anything. The differential in my TR6 has always
>clunked when I let off the accelerator. The only ways to prevent this are
>to release the accelerator very slowly or disengage the clutch at the same
>time. It seems that the problem must be in the differential, not in the
>mounts, because when the mounts broke, the differential itself bounced,
>and the effect was a rattling in the drivetrain. What is most likely
>causing this clunking, and what would be the solution to the problem? I
>don't care if the answer is a rebuild, because the problem isn't terribly
>severe, so I can hold off on it, if the repairs will be expensive.
>Thanks in advance,
>Jim Ruwaldt
>'72 TR6 CC79338U
>Bloomington, IN
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