Occasional clunk when taking foot off accelerator

Just had my car serviced - a problem I pointed out was an occasional slight "clunk" when taking my foot off the accelerator to change gear, usually first to second or second to third. It seemed to be coming from the right side of the car just behind the driver.

They noticed the CV boot was split on the nearside - they replaced this and everything seemed fine for a few days, so I assumed this was the problem despite the noise appearing to come from the other side. But now it's back again. It's very inconsistent, but when it does happen it's always when taking foot off accelerator at low speeds.

Another problem, possibly totally unrelated, is an occasional shudder when setting off from stationary when the engine is cold - I presumed this was the clutch on the way out, but I first noticed it about 6 months ago and it seems to have become *less* frequent since then (possibly because of the warmer weather?).

The car is a 96 Corolla, approx 100,000 miles.

Any ideas?

TIA

-- Andy

Reply to
Andy Pandy
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"Andy Pandy" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:

Possibly a worn engine mount.

Reply to
Stuart G Gray

But there's never any noise when going over speed humps, rough road etc. I only hear it when taking my foot off the accelerator, and very occasionally when reapplying the accelerator after changing gear.

-- Andy

Reply to
Andy Pandy

Almost certainly a rear engine support. The drive pushes the engine forward on the release of the throttle and there's your clunk.

Reply to
PB

Deep ends on the way the wear manifests. With acceleration/decelleration you're rocking the engine whereas with bumps it's more of a vertical movement. I thought the symptoms sounded like classic engine mount problems.

Reply to
Malc

Or a rear diff, depending on the car. My rear diff cushion knocks like an engine mount when it fails.

Reply to
CoyoteBoy

acceleration/decelleration

vertical

Thanks everyone - testing it today it seems the problem only occurs after setting off sharpish... I'll keep my eye on it but as it doesn't seem to be getting any worse (better if anything) I'll wait and see.

-- Andy

Reply to
Andy Pandy

"Andy Pandy" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:

As a previous poster said it's most likely to be the rear engine mount, usually on the gearbox. They are usually cheap to buy and easy to replace. The car will feel quieter, the engine won't move about as much, which may stop other parts wearing quicker. In general the car will feel quicker too.

Reply to
Tunku

the way the wear manifests. With

What car is it? A friend sheared his gearbox mount on his megane after ignoring it - could have done some nasty damage if he was unlucky.

Reply to
CoyoteBoy

knocks

occurs

It's a Corolla (96).

Thing I don't understand is why the clunk (a bit like 2 snooker balls hitting each other) appears to come from behind me and on my right, surely an engine mount problem would cause a clunk in front of me?

From googling I see that the way to check the engine mounts is to get someone to apply the handbrake, put it in gear and apply the throttle slightly, and see if the engine moves. I'll give this a try tomorrow....

-- Andy

Reply to
Andy Pandy

Early corollas were RWD - im not entirely sure when they switched - is yours? Other than that you might consider a brake pad that is loose in the caliper - this may knock on the first change of direction after braking, or regularly if it is binding on the disc too? Just throwing up thoughts now, its very hard to diagnose a knock without hearing it!

Reply to
CoyoteBoy

unlucky.

right,

throttle

throwing

It's FWD. Engine mounts seem OK (got a friend who knows a bit about cars to have a look). The knock seems to have changed though - it's a lot quieter and I probably wouldn't even notice it now with the radio on.

-- Andy

Reply to
Andy Pandy

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