I installed a set of new driveshaft shop level 0 axle last weekend to cure the vibration.

While the vibration has disappeared and car feels as good as new, I now hear clunks in 1-2 and 2-3 upshifts while accelerating.

It downshifts fine in all gears and I do not get the clunk in 3-4, 4-5, 5-6 or reverse shifts.

I have 2005 manual with 67000 miles.

Does anyone else with these axles heard the same noise or any guess on what it could be?

My guesses range from worn out throw out bearing, slack in drive train to worn out transmission mount.

If anyone have any idea or similar experiences please let me know.
I'm hoping it's nothing but I don't want it to turn into something really expensive.

If it makes any difference I changed the MTF after the axle install and check the fluid level again after I heard the clunking noise.

I also have Koni and GC coilover combo and my car is lowered approximately 1.5" and my suspension has never made any noise before the axle change.

 

Go back and look all the suspension parts. It sounds like something isn't tight. Pay close attention to the ball joint bolts. Sometimes the ball will want to spin and no tighten down.

 

Agreed. Everything on the suspension has specific torque values.

 

I took the car on a longer drive this morning and made some new observations.

The clunk is more like a popping noise. Contrary to what I said earlier, it happens while accelerating in lower gears; 1-2. 2-3, 3-4 and reverse. I don't hear it in down shifts.

If I release the clutch slowly or am not accelerating fast I don't hear the noise.
If I change the gears and release the clutch with the engine off I do not hear the popping noise.

I hear the popping noise when the clutch pedal is almost at the friction point.

I don't think it's the ball joint as I never got the lower ball joint off. I unbolted the lower control arm instead. And I can hear it when I'm just trying to get my car in reverse.

I'm going to double check to see that the inboard joint is inserted all the way and maybe grease the clutch slave cylinder and clutch fork.

 

Definitely check that the shaft is in there all the way. Did you put new circlips on the shaft (or did it come with new ones already on)? I had problems with the shafts popping out on my old Legend after the transmission was replaced. It was because they didn't change the clips.

What' you're describing sounds an awful lot like a loose suspension component. I'd take the wheels off, put it up on stands and start yanking on things. Sometimes if you torque everything down while the suspension is just hanging, it will not be completely tight when you drop the car back down. I like to put a jack under something on the suspension and compress as much as I can before the car starts coming off the stands when I'm doing the final torque down.

 

Yes, they come with new circlips since I installed the same set.

 

Axle nuts tight? That would be the first thing I'd check.

 

Suspension was tightened after I jacked up the car by the lower arm and it was off of the jack stand.

I torqued the axle nut to 180 lb-ft with torque wrench from autozone.

 

You did it the right way at least. If it were me I'd still be putting the car back on the stands and poking around. You didn't leave a tool sitting somewhere under the hood by any chance?

 

This is the passenger side inner joint.

Does it look like it's not clicked in all they way?
If it is how would I go about clicking it in without taking the whole thing apart?

 

I can't tell from the picture. If you pull on it, does it have much play in it?

 

I saw another possible source of noise.

It looks like a dent on the oil filter, which might have come from when I was trying to put the shaft in or here is a scary thought, when the inner joint moves up and down.

The passenger side does feel not as solid as the driver's side inboard joint. But the movement is only like 1-2mm and I can't see how it would hit the oil filter.

 

Here is another angle. Doesn't look likely that the axle is touching the oil filter.

 

That play in the axle is fine and normal. The oil filter looks more like you dinged when you messing around with the axle.

 

Is this one of those free rental torque wrench? If so, I wouldn't trust it to be accurate as people often abuse rental tools. I would verify torque setting again with another wrench just to be sure. I've had similar experience before, and it was due to insufficient tightening.

Also, did you preload the suspension before tightening up the nuts and bolts.

 

Agreed. While the car is on the jack stands, use your jack to put load on the suspension components by jacking up via the lower suspension arm.

 

He already said he loaded the suspension when he tightened everything in the post JTso quoted.

 

Yeah, the method didn't make sense to me. How can you be off jack stands and still have all the parts in place. You can't tighten the castle nut of the lower ball joint if the car isn't on stands. Still doesn't eliminate the possibility that the shaft wasn't completely snapped in place either.

 

You just put the jack on the arm itself instead of on the end of that bolt. That's what I do too. When he said "off the stands" I assume he means that he jacked the arm up enough that it lifted the car up off the stands. You're right about the axle though it sounds like it's fully seated. Even when it's in all the way there is a little bit of wiggle left in it.

 

Just to clear up things

My car was on the jack stand when I loosely tightened the suspension bolts.
I did remove bolts off of the lower ball joint, but could not get it to separate from the lower arm, so I just unbolted the lower arm to replace the axle.

After the axle was replaced I put everything back together, loosely tightened all the bolts in order, preloaded the suspension by jacking up the car at the lower control arm and torqued everything to spec with my torque wrench.

I only used the borrowed torque wrench to tightened the axle nut, since I didn't have a torque wrench that goes up to 180ft lb.

 

Update on the problem

I had the car checked out by a Shane at Aliso Viejo Auto Service.
We couldn't find anything wrong with install.

Concluded that the noise is probably coming from passenger side inner joint where the shaft goes into the intermediate shaft. Not exactly sure what causes the noise, except that there is play in the inner joint where the drive shaft goes over the intermediate shaft. We double checked to make sure that the locking clip was still on the intermediate shaft. And to remove the driveshaft we had to hammer it out.

The clunking only happens between shifts when the car is accelerating.
Here is the sequence
1. Accelerating in 1st gear.
2. Press clutch pedal.
3. Shift into 2nd
4. Release clutch, then "CLUNK"
5. Accelerate again
6. Press Clutch pedal
7. Shift into 3rd.
8. Release clutch, then "Clunk".

Same thing happens between 3-4.

I don't hear the noise between 4-5, 5-6, probably because I'm not accelerating hard enough and there is not enough load in the drivetrain.

It might be clutch or suspension related, but I've never heard this noise until the driveshaft swap, so I have to conclude that it is related.

For now I'm going to live with it and see if it the problem worsens.

Since Driveshft shop level 0 doesn't come with any warranty I doubt they'll give me a replacement if they are defective..

I'll definitely go with a different brand when it comes time to change them again.

 

Have you looked at your engine mounts?