I would really appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction on this: My friend's 99 Camry (4 cyl., auto. trans) is making a "kick in the pants" clunking noise at the left front wheel. I drove it at approx. 5mph and on about every 4th or 5th rotation of the wheel it clunks like crazy, especially when turning. It also clunks like crazy when you hold your foot on the brake and shift between neutral and reverse. Now, this is not the usual clicking noise you hear when the cv axle is going bad; As a matter of fact, a reman. cv axle had just been installed because of this and the clunking noise didn't go away. So I installed another reman. cv axle to be sure and it still clunked. I also replaced the rotor and the caliper slide pins to make sure things were tight but no success. I then checked the wheel bearing by grabbing the roadwheel at the 6 and 12, then 3 and 9 o'clock positions to see if there was any play but I could not detect any (I even put a prybar against the tire to wedge it back and forth but still, no noticeable play). I got under the car between the wheel hub assembly and the transmission and I hear the clunking best at the wheel hub. Now, I did notice that the balljoint was screwed in like it's supposed to be but is really loose compared to a new one. By loose I mean I can move it up and down and spin it all the way around with little effort. The way this car is doing I'm thinking these possibilities:

1) The caliper bracket may still have some play in it

2) The wheel bearing may be bad in one spot but not likely

3) The ABS sensor may be malfunctioning causing the wheel to lock up momentarily

4) The balljoint-however with this degree of clunking and how it's
clunking this is a longshot

5) The differential gear inside the transmission may be defective

Please Help!!!!
Thank you,

Tyke

 

A shift clunk when going from N to R (or D) is not normal when new (a sign of trans wear) but not uncommon. One can have this type of clunk issue and not have any other issues.

You can turn off the ABS by unplugging a wheel sensor or removing the fuse, then check for the noise with system off.

There is a test for the ball joint, flip it left and right 5 times then rotate. Rotational torque should be 8.7-30 in lbs.

Use a pry bar to check for movement between the knuckle and lower control arm at the ball joint. There should be zero play.

Might also check the lower control arm bushings where the arm bolts to the chassis. The rubber material can start to break down. Use a pry bar to check for play here.

And the sway bar connection joints at bar and strut.

A bad bearing can make a hammer noise noise but this would be on every revaluation. The test of the bearing is free play measured with an indicator. 0.0020 inch. Compare on side with the other. This is a is double row ball bearing.

If a diff gear is bad you may be able to recreate the problem by rotating the tire by hand off the ground 4-5 revolutions and feeling for bad tooth.

Did you lube the slider pins on the caliper?

What happens when you drive the car a low MPH with the brake slightly on to take up any play in the drive train and brake system, same clunk every 4-5 revs?

 

Thanks for the reply. I talked with a toyota service rep. today and told her about this and she said it was the transmission mount(s) or the transmission, even when turning the wheels she said I would still get a clunk. But I just can't believe that a bad transmission mount could cause such a heavy metal clunk like the one i'm having. I do see the engine shifting a lot when it is put in gear and if anyone can tell me the best way to test these mounts, I want to try that and eliminate them as a possibility.

 

Did you try turning the tires by hand to check for noise?

Have you tried putting the trans into 1st then checking for the clunk noise? Is the trans shifting at 5 mph, the shift causing the clunk?

You can remove and inspect the upper mount donut insert for damage, it tends to break down with age.

Front mount is hydraulic, check for leaking of fluid. Rear mount is a solid rubber type, the trans mount is also solid rubber, tends not to fail.

Start with the upper mount, this is typically the to first fail.

Bad mounts can cause the clunk when the trans is engaged.

 

If want to add some more info. that may be helpful in determining what's going on. First, I want to clarify that the clunk was occuring when shifting to D or R. Also, I put the front of the car on jackstands and shifted to D and R and had no clunk while the front wheels were off the ground, but when I apply the brakes I get the clunk at the left front wheel. Next I put both wheels on the ground, shifted to D and R and the clunks came back. Raised the left front wheel off the ground, shifted to D an R, CLUNK. Removed the CV axle hub nut to see if there was any spline slippage but none, still clunked, but not as bad as before. Also, it seemed that when I loosened the hub nut it was almost as thought the CV axle was being sucked into the differential...Hmm.I gotta say that I have not checked my mounts yet because of the nature of how the clunk occurs-that is to say that it also happens about every 4th or 5th turn of the roadwheel and a lot when turning and it is so pronounced that I am afraid to go over 10mph. I mean, the sensor is ok, the wheel bearing is ok, the balljoint is ok, the caliper bolts are greased with no noticeable play. This I think is leaning towards a differential gear issue and what I want to try now is check the fluid in the diff. and the drainbolt itself to see if it has caught any hunks of metal. That way, I'll know for sure but I want to do it without screwing up the transmission if it isn't screwed up already. Can someone tell me the best way to do that?

Let me tell you what this clunk feels like-it feels like the snap ring off the end of a previously installed CV axle (not one I installed) is still in there somewhere and after a few revolutions it gets lodged somwhere in the diff. gears and causes the clunk...Maybe?

 

Have you tried lifting the wheels off the ground, putting the trans in neutral and rotating left front tire 5 complete times. If you think it is the diff gears they will rotate when the tire is rotated.

The diff is built into the trans housing however it has a separate fluid chamber. There is a drain plug under the diff housing where the axles plug into. The filler plug is either in back of the housing facing the firewall or on the drivers side of housing.

Make sure you can remove the fill plug before you drain the fluid as sometimes the fill plug is frozen.

Drain the fluid out and inspect. Refill with the same fluid used in the trans. Fill until the fluid flows back out the filler port.

 

OK, here's what I did:

I jacked up the front wheels off the ground, started the engine, foot on brake, shifted from R to D, D to R a number of times and I can now hear the clunking coming from both wheels and seems to be more jolting with the roadwheels on the vehicle than off. I also put the transmission in neutral while the engine was running and spun the left tire 5 or more revolutions by hand. I felt some binding, not a clunking binding but rather a soft binding and the passenger wheel was not turning while I did this. Now, I can see that the way the engine is moving when I shift the transmission, I'm gonna need mounts and may tone down the clunking while shifting from R to D, but I know it won' t stop the clunking on every
4th or 5th revolution of the roadwheel. So, next I drained the differential fluid and looked at the drain plug and noticed like 2-3 flakes of metal along with the usual residue that sholuld be there. They were almost as thin as a razor and about as long as the diameter of the drain plug. So I went and showed it to a toyta tech. and he said he has not seen one that bad in a while.
Now, what I want to do is open up the differential and inspect it while the transmission is still in the car. I noticed that the differential housing has bolts in the back of it and looks like you can open it up and look inside with a mirror or something, but actually replacing something inside it may be impossible-I don't know. Can you replace the differential assembly on a 99 toyota camry 4 cyl. auto. with the transmission still in the car? Also, I think that the gears inside the differential would give me chips of metal while the bearing would likely give me flakes. What do you think? Lastly, I need to download a free manual for this 99 toyota camry 4cyl. auto.; Does anyone know where I can do this?

Thank you,

Tyke

 

Not sure if the cover can be removed with the trans in the car due to access.

Removing the cover allows access to the gears however doubt if the gears can removed with trans in the car as there may not be enough space between the trans and firewall.

Either way, the axles need to be removed before the diff ring gear can come out.

The diff and trans share the same large case, the cover allows the diff ring gear and bearings to be accessed. But they are not separate cases.

There are trans manuals on the internet if you search.

The trans model is a A140E.

 

Thanks so much for the info. I have been searching all over the web trying to locate a site which would let me download a service manual free. If you know of any please let me know, or there may be something available in the DIY section that I'm not aware of.

Another thing I wanted to ask is that is it possible to remove the transmission from the bottom of the 99 toyota camry 4cyl., auto. while leaving the engine in place so long as I support the engine from above or underneath? I really don't want to take everything out like the Haynes manual I was reading said I had to do.

Also, from looking outside the transmission I see that they are not separate units, but are they separate units on the inside?...i.e. If I just wanted to replace the differential assembly could I do so without disturbing the other part of the transmission with the exception of the seal inside which prevents the differential fluid from mixing with the transmission fluid? I would change the seal while I'm in there as well

Thanks again, you have been such a great help!!!

Tyke

 

For a manual.

http://www.turboninjas.com/camry/ax1.pdf

For removing the trans.

https://www.camryforums.com/forum/ge...-advice-18211/

If you decide to repair the trans post a private message with email address, will send info on taking the trans apart.

The diff and trans have the same case but have separate fluid chambers. There is a pinion gear coming from the trans section of the case and into the diff section of the case.

The axle carrier is inside the diff part of the case.

A few issues are obtaining diff parts, a new carrier would require a shim adjustment. Most people opt for a used trans.

You can remove the diff parts but depending on the part finding it may be expensive as Toyota only part.

Review the manual.