transmission clunks and bangs

lindros said:

Hey guys
I bought my mustang last august and love the car except for some noises. Its a 2004..all stock...37,000 miles..bought with 28,000. I've had clunks coming from the trans since I bought it plus banging sounds, both happen when shifting or letting off the gas. I've read alot of posts on here about this..seems to be very common and "normal" haha?... I was just wondering if a one piece driveshaft would help with any of these issues since I have read that the two piece driveshaft is the cause of some of the drivetrain noises?

Thanks in advance for your time!

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Your car already has a one-piece driveshaft. Starting in 2005 Ford went with a 2-piece unit in the S197.

I think a loose-feeling and generally unrefined-sounding drivetrain is pretty much standard fare for Fox-based Mustangs. Let's face it: they're cheap, they're built to last and they're stone-age. I think if you were to add up all the tolerances in the drivetrain from the clutch disc back to the wheel hubs, you'd probably find a pretty significant degree of freedom, all told. Add in the size of the hardware involved and you can see that it's going to make some pretty, er, "gauche" sounds once in a while.

Now, if you're really worried, take it to a meet and have someone else listen to it. Or, failing that, get the opinion of a transmission shop. The car may have had work done to it and it wasn't done right or maybe a U-joint is bad making the "native" sounds even worse... But just be aware that you shouldn't be expecting BMW-level refinement from these things.

lindros said:

Thanks...i misread about the two piece driveshaft part. The clunking sound can be pretty loud sometimes...I can usually drive it and keep it quiet but if i let of the gas hard in 1st or 2nd gear is when its the worst, can feel it in the shifter too...guess its nothing to really worry about..shifts good and all...i already changed the trans fluid to royal purple syncromax. Thanks for the info guys.

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Don't assume there's nothing wrong. If you really think there is, get it looked at. For instance, a bad engine mount or trans mount could cause reaction-based clunking...

My point was that these things are pretty rough and tumble. Mine sounds like a dump-truck once in a while as a feather the clutch backing into the garage, loading and unloading the driveshaft. I think the clearances combined with rubbery mounts and control arm bushings results in "wind up" that can "snap back", making the sound even worse.

+1 get it checked out (or look into it your self) to make sure there is nothing broken, then just deal with the fact that there is a lot of play. Before I could convince my self that it was normal, I rebuilt my rear end, switch to an aluminum drive shaft, replaced my clutch and changed tranni fluids 3 times!! Sometime when I am at a stop and shift back into first, it feels like somebody hitting the bottom of my car with a bat!! yes if your in the gas and you let out and unload the drive train it will bang!!