Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) 5-speed clunk

[travis97cummins]

my 96 makes a clunking noise in transmission when i step on the throttle in any gear. It has been doing it since i bought the truck, it has 250,000 miles on it i got it at 145,000

 

[ata]

That is normal for a manual 4x4 with that many miles. Just remember that it does it and ease into the pedal not step on it. These Dodges seem to have slack in the drivetrain even when NEW.

 

[HPetrat]

Several months ago I had the same issue with mine, and it actually ended up being 2 items.



The first was my rear transmission mount, not the actual mount, but rather the transmission mount mounting plate and the bolts that are threaded into the transfer case. These required oversizing with new threads as the originals had been stripped out.



The 2nd issue manifested in losing 5th gear, but prior to that I constantly had the feeling that under firm acceleration in any gear, that something was moving or shifting sideways.



After replacing the fifth gear and installing and correctly torquing the upgraded nut (which I stake welded as well) the truck is tight and has no issues.



One thing that I really noticed as a difference is the amount of movement that the shifter had prior to the fifth gear failure when transitioning from no (or very little) load to full load. A small amount of excess play in the mainshaft translates to a large amount of movement at the shifter knob.



After the repairs to the fifth gear, there is considerably less torque deflection of the shifter knob when transitioning between little load and heavy load (a. k. a. throttle).



HP

 

[CTD12V]

Are you sure it is the transmission? My rear driveshaft u-joints made a pretty good clunk at times when they were unloaded suddenly (i. e. -- shifting gears when accelerating hard). After I replaced them, the clunk was gone.

 

[kenny61]

On my way into work I got this horrendous clang every time I shifted. I was cringing with each shift waiting for something to grenade... until I realized that i had left the door open on my dog crate in the back seat and it was slamming shut with each shift :-laf

 

[CodySanders]

i second the motion on the mount mine was ripped right down the middle and need to be replaced. the mounts get old and fall apart i would check that on any older dodge truck for sure.

 

[SRath]

Does Energy Suspension offer a polyurethane replacement mount?

 

[CodySanders]

not sure but i got mine from napa

 

[tgordon]

I broke the adaptor, belive it is between the trans and the rubber mount. When I finally fixed it, aka welded it, the rubber in the mount had seperated from the metal with the studs and had to replace that. Like mentioned before after this the shifter moves drastically less under hard acceleration or load.