Thread: '13 Puma 90 Gearshifting/"clunking"/backlash?

Originally Posted by Pickles2

I can relate to that, but how much do you "slow down" your change, from say 5th into 6th,...ie what is the total time that your clutch would be depressed?
Pickles

As soon as the clutch is fully out I press the accelerator.


The Puma's six-speed is a different gearbox to the five speeds in the earlier models, so I wonder if that makes a difference to clunking.

Originally Posted by Pickles2

I can relate to that, but how much do you "slow down" your change, from say 5th into 6th,...ie what is the total time that your clutch would be depressed?
Pickles

I aim to wait for the motor to be revving at the same or just under where I expect it to be before reengaging the clutch.
It can be done by tacho but I tend to drive by ear as I do at work.


My biggest problem is getting used to it in low range.
I lead a trip and had my first serious play last Saturday.
The anti stall 1,000rpm when descending technical ruts or rocky tracks is hard to get used to when I used to all but idle under brakes previously.
Overall I'm very impressed with the Puma's ability.

Originally Posted by alien

I aim to wait for the motor to be revving at the same or just under where I expect it to be before reengaging the clutch.
It can be done by tacho but I tend to drive by ear as I do at work.


My biggest problem is getting used to it in low range.
I lead a trip and had my first serious play last Saturday.
The anti stall 1,000rpm when descending technical ruts or rocky tracks is hard to get used to when I used to all but idle under brakes previously.
Overall I'm very impressed with the Puma's ability.

I had a similar experience recently. I found low range first was so slow the brakes were unnecessary. In fact, braking caused it to lose traction, so it was better not to brake and to just steer. I've decided the traction control and low gearing are so good that a locker would be unnecessary for my purposes.

Originally Posted by Samblers

It's a 2013 vehicle so under warranty - get LR to look at it.

I did.

LR told me it was 'normal', twice, then replaced my rear drive flanges and the adaptor shaft... clunks went away. Funny that...

Funny that ehh,,, I complained for 2.5 years untill I'd finally had enough and told them what my job was. Suddenly they realised "I" had some idea of what was going on. Clutch changed, rear axle and drive flange changed, and now, mostly all good.
Being mostly driven in the city at peak hour, I find I race to go with the trafic,, or keep out of the ******* way,, but I dont seem to have too much clunking going on, however, being a bit slower, gentle and smooth gives the best results.

At a quick look does not seem to have been mentioned, but a frequent cause of clunking, although not the actual backlash, is a dragging handbrake. Easy to test - go for a short drive, and hop under and see how hot it is - should be the same or cooler than the transfer case. Careful - it may be very hot!

John

Originally Posted by Pickles2

I can relate to that, but how much do you "slow down" your change, from say 5th into 6th,...ie what is the total time that your clutch would be depressed?
Pickles

I can't really say as I didn't pay much attention but in normal manual cars I tend to treat them like sports cars and do quick gear changes whereas I've found by driving steady and listening to the car more I get smoother changes. On the other hand Pocket Rocket has a completely different driving style to me and gets hardly any backlash ever.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

At a quick look does not seem to have been mentioned, but a frequent cause of clunking, although not the actual backlash, is a dragging handbrake. Easy to test - go for a short drive, and hop under and see how hot it is - should be the same or cooler than the transfer case. Careful - it may be very hot!

John

Thanks for the idea, but my handbrake was checked during a recent service and is fine.
Slow and steady, with the clutch out before the accelerator is pressed, does it smoothly for me.

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Hi All,

I say this has nothing to do with how anyone is driving their car but rather it's an inherent fault with some Puma Defenders transmission set up. I have a 2012 110 and right from the off gear changes were 'clunky' no matter what I tried. Took it back to the dealer on two occasions only to be told it was 'normal operation'. Yeah, right. Then recently and at 35,000 ks only and thankfully still under warranty the car refused to engage any gear one day. And yes, this was at the traffic lights in peak hour. Of course. Traybacked to the dealer it went, I was fearing the worst. 2 working days later I had the car back. Very good service from the Melbourne dealer I have to say. But here's where the story gets interesting. It now has a silky smooth gearbox operation. There's no clunking even if you are careless. No backlash. No noises that just shouldn't be there. The invoice for the fully under warranty repair reads: 'Found to have faulty transfer case. Supplied and fitted new drive flange and extension shaft. Replaced transfer case input seal and re-fitted transfer case. Filled with oil, road, tested, all ok'. One would have to assume that the issue was there all along. I certainly do.