sometime i hear this clunking noise getting into first. when i stop in neutral and then wait a minute or two and then go into first i hear a clunk. it happens from time to time. i was just wondering if this is normal? i have avoided the problem just by engine braking and keeping the car in gear coming to a stop.

 

Do you feel a bit of a surge of power moving you forward when it clunks? is this while the clutch is still pushed in?

 

no surge of power. yeah the clutch is pushed in. like when i get out of gear. and then stop in neutral, then get back into gear when im ready to go.

 

This is normal, and it's your fault. When you're idle with the tranny out of gear and the clutch engaged, the front half of the tranny is spinning. When you disengage the clutch and toss it into first, you are causing the front end of the tranny to abruptly be forced to stop, which causes the clunk. To avoid this, wait a second or two after you disengage the clutch before putting the tranny into gear.

 

oh okay. but sometimes it still happens even waiting in neutral for the whole length of the red light?

 

he means, when your about to go, instead of pushing the clutch in and putting the shifter into 1st right away, try it like this.

1. Push clutch pedal (disengage clutch)
2. wait 2 seconds
3. Put it into 1st.

I've experienced this same "phenomena" and the above method works fine. I sometimes even like to wait the 2 seconds, and then shift it into 2nd gear first and then back up to 1st gear

PS. Even if your waiting in neutral, if the clutch is engaged (pedal not depressed) liek the other poster mentioned, the tranny is still spinning.

 

That is the whole point. When in neutral, the front half of the tranny is spinning because the engine is driving it through the clutch. When you disengage the clutch, the front end of the tranny still spins for a few seconds. You then put it in gear the tranny is forced to abruptly come to a halt, and that causes the clunk.

So if you do whats mentioned above:

1. Push clutch pedal (disengage clutch)
2. wait 2 seconds
3. Put it into 1st.

the tranny is given time to come to a stop on it's own, and you won't get the clunk.

 

okay thanks alot.