clunk

[John]

I can hear a bit of a clunk when I take my foot off the gas, any ideas? The car has just passed it's MOT and needed a shock absorber on the front and the front wheel bearing tightening up but still the clunk is there, could it be driveshafts, should I worry?

[Mat_C]

Check your engine mountings

[Mat_C]

Also check where the thermostat clamp meets the mounting - this can fracture and the top bolt can work loose.

[MaestroMatt]

Originally posted by John
I can hear a bit of a clunk when I take my foot off the gas, any ideas?

Keep your foot hard on the accelerator at all times, then. Sorry, a flippant reply to a serious question. I'll try to be more helpful. Could it be a transmission/gearbox problem? A loose something that is held tight under acceleration then goes slack when the load is taken off?

[E_T_V]

Could be driveshafts although I'd certainly take a look at the bolts that hold the inner CV joint to the gearbox. (They have worked loose on two of our cars. They can only really be accessed from below and they are a pain in the arse to get to. Get a good allen key and check they are all tight, (it'll be obvious if they aren't)

Hope this helps

[Rich]

Try, with the aid of an assistant, and with the handbrake and footbrake on, repeatedly lifting the clutch up promptly, but without stalling the engine, while an assistant looks to see if there is any movement in the engine bay.

If its a 1.3, H902 played this stunt with me, turned out to be the bolts on the mount on the left hand side of the engine near the bottom, worked lose and allowing the engine to move slightly. If you do the clutch thing and hear the clunk, even if your on your own, suspect an engien mount, but it may just be a lose bolt rather than it actually need replacing!

Rich

[Liam]

I have a simila clunk. Its been doing it since I bought the car in March. I've always thought it was the exhaust knocking somewhere and after getting used to the clunk I kinda forgot about it. Any new passengers would often mention it to me so I kept meaning to check it out. Recently, when I turn the engine off (Diesel) I often get a vary loud clunking noise which makes me think engine mount which I will check at the next available oppertunity. If it is an engine mount what kinda task is this. The diesel is a heavy lump to shift so changing a mount sounds a little tricky!

[John]

Thanks, I'll have a look over the weekend.