Hello everyone,

I have been experiencing a noise with my '95 Civic DX 4 door MT. The noise is sort of a clunk when accelerating, decelerating or when I shift. I found a website that said, "This kind of noise can come from excessive play in the inner joint on FWD applications" (which mine is). It also said, "Be warned, though, that the same kind of noise can also be produced by excessive backlash in the differential gears." I am a bit confused as to whether my car has a differential. I do not see it mentioned in my Haynes manual or as an available part for my car anywhere that I checked online. If I do not have one, what allows my wheels to turn at different rates in the front when cornering, etc. So, I'm looking for general feedback on the noise that I described (primarily) as well as whether I have a differential or what substitutes for it in my car. Thanks guys, I appreciate the help while I'm in my learning curve,

Andy

 

sounds more like a bad motor/trans mount maybe......

 

Thanks for the reply 94. I was actually thinking about that before reading the description from the website that I posted. How would I check for something like that? I would hate for my engine to fall off on the highway!

 

The differential is built into the transmission. Technically this makes the unit a "transaxle" but most people just call it a transmission. The differential is rarely a problem. Bad CV joints are much more common. You can check the CV jonts by putting the car in neutral (engine off and brake set) and trying to rotate the inner part where it enters the transaxle. Any play at all is bad. Bad CV joints will almost always have the boot torn, as CV joints last basically forever unless the boot fails and lets the grease out and dirt in.

 

to check if mounts are bad (easy way) have somebody start car have e-brake on and put car in rev.. slowly ease the clutch out and watch the motor to see if it moves alot and then do this in 1st and look.....

 

Thanks for your replies guys. I will try those diagnostic steps. If it turns out to be a CV joint, is it safe to continue to drive until a certain level of malfunction occurs (what would that look like). Thanks again,

Andy

 

check your rubber boots and see if they have any holes or grease around them
if they are bad tthen they will eventually start making clacking noises when your driving and make a sharp turn

 

Will the inner joints (near the transaxle) make a clacking noise when going around corners when bad, or is that only the outer joints (near the wheels) that will do that? Also, I'm wondering if the self-contained differentials are more prone to failure than those contained within a transaxle housing. Someone said earlier that differentials rarely fail. I have experienced them failing, but that was with the self-contained type that were not in with the transmission. Thanks,

Andy