Snaggletooth
New member
Thought I put this out here and share some experiences.
I've bought a dirt cheap 02 sprinter 3 years back and had it as kind of a rolling project.
The list of small and slightly larger issues was several pages when I got it. Now its just one thing left bothering me;
The clunking in the rear axle (probably)
At first it was there everytime I was a bit sudden when releasing the clutch when changing gears, from stand still to moving and from decelerating to accelerating.
So i checked the gearbox mount. (cheap part so I replaced it anyway)
I've checked to driveshaft, no slack.
Replaced the differential oil and removed the cover to check the gears. No problems as far as I can see.
Then i discovered a problem: When hitting the rear axle with a sledge hammer it moved back and forth on the leaf spring.
There is a tap on the leafspring that goes into a hole on the leafspring-seat of the axle housing. Over the years this hole had gotten worn oval and it allowed the axle to move 4-5mm back and forth. So I welded op the edges of the hole and grinded it perfect size and MOST of the clunk was gone.
Now it only clunks when i suddenly go from deceleration to acceleration in 4th and 5th gear.
So you would think there would be something in the gearbox only concerning the last two gears?
Well I stuck a go pro camera (which has a mic on it) on several places and you can't really hear the clunk when its mounted on the gearbox housing. When mounted on the axle housing however you can hear it.
On the film its seems that the axle is changing angle compared to the body at the exact same time as the clunk appears. But it does not seem to be any slack in the leaf joint bushings or hangers.
I took the driveshaft off at the differential end and checked that universal joint more thorough. There's no slack when twisting the shafts but when i change the angle of the joint I feel a slight "bump" everytime a move past a certain angle. Can this be the noise? The universal joint does not really change angle to much on a car like this but I'm getting hard pressed to think of anything else.
Any ideas out there?
I've bought a dirt cheap 02 sprinter 3 years back and had it as kind of a rolling project.
The list of small and slightly larger issues was several pages when I got it. Now its just one thing left bothering me;
The clunking in the rear axle (probably)
At first it was there everytime I was a bit sudden when releasing the clutch when changing gears, from stand still to moving and from decelerating to accelerating.
So i checked the gearbox mount. (cheap part so I replaced it anyway)
I've checked to driveshaft, no slack.
Replaced the differential oil and removed the cover to check the gears. No problems as far as I can see.
Then i discovered a problem: When hitting the rear axle with a sledge hammer it moved back and forth on the leaf spring.
There is a tap on the leafspring that goes into a hole on the leafspring-seat of the axle housing. Over the years this hole had gotten worn oval and it allowed the axle to move 4-5mm back and forth. So I welded op the edges of the hole and grinded it perfect size and MOST of the clunk was gone.
Now it only clunks when i suddenly go from deceleration to acceleration in 4th and 5th gear.
So you would think there would be something in the gearbox only concerning the last two gears?
Well I stuck a go pro camera (which has a mic on it) on several places and you can't really hear the clunk when its mounted on the gearbox housing. When mounted on the axle housing however you can hear it.
On the film its seems that the axle is changing angle compared to the body at the exact same time as the clunk appears. But it does not seem to be any slack in the leaf joint bushings or hangers.
I took the driveshaft off at the differential end and checked that universal joint more thorough. There's no slack when twisting the shafts but when i change the angle of the joint I feel a slight "bump" everytime a move past a certain angle. Can this be the noise? The universal joint does not really change angle to much on a car like this but I'm getting hard pressed to think of anything else.
Any ideas out there?