"They all clunk" True or False?

[daj]

"They all clunk" according to my local LR dealer each time I asked him about the drive line backlash clunk in my "new" 2nd hand '08 D3. (55,000klm)

I had the control arm bushes and ball joints replaced under warranty at the dealer's suggestion but the clunk remains.

This annoying feature usually manifests itself after I slow down for a tight turn, under brakes or coasting, and then apply power. The only way to avoid the clunk is to let the vehicle slow to a crawl and then apply power very gently.

I am interested to hear from other D3 owners if it's true. Do they all clunk?

[Redback]

False!!

Baz.

[WhiteD3]

A lot do. My 07 SE did until they applied software upgrade which greatly reduced the problem. My new '11 D4 does it too sometimes albeit no where near as harshly. The trick is to learn to feed the accelerator back in slowly so the car can work out whether it wants 1st or 2nd.

[101RRS]

Clunk no - my car has the same km as yours.

What it does in your situation is when you floor it there is a pregnant pause and then full power comes on in a rush with a little shock (mainly to the driver who is a little too close to the car in front) but not a clunk.

Garry

[Neil P]

"They all clunk" according to my local LR dealer each time I asked him about the drive line backlash clunk in my "new" 2nd hand '08 D3. (55,000klm)

This annoying feature usually manifests itself after I slow down for a tight turn, under brakes or coasting, and then apply power. The only way to avoid the clunk is to let the vehicle slow to a crawl and then apply power very gently.



They all clunk ; new , old , unused , well worn . I've driven many
and that's what they do . There's alot of slack in them and it's very noticeable in the manual boxes .
There used to be some smoke-and-mirrors about software patches , that's Dealer BS
when they don't want to know , or there's a fix available aka ; we're doin' nothin' and saying even less.

[400HPONGAS]

Definately False
Daj has a clunk in the "Drivetrain" , then proceeds to change balljoints /bushes . WTF ?
Since when are balljoints/bushes part of the Drivetrain ?
(Watch out for the center bearing on the rear tailshaft )
Well my 2005 TDV6 auto , which has done 160K's doesnt clunk , never has since I had it . I think Neil P is referring to all Disco;s , 1's 2's and manual 3's in the drive train , (there is NOT a lot of slack in a standard auto D3) as manual D3's are pretty rare in Australia ,. I suppose one mans clunk is another mans shudder LOL? However , got a mate who had a clunk , ended up being his Bulls balls (IYKWIM) getting jammed up with sticks and rocks .

[stig0000]

If you think your driving it that soft and it still cunks get it looked at... but i can make brand new cars clunk... all it is . Is the chane in the transfer taking up slack ...

[Neil P]

... . It's the chain in the transfer taking up slack ... You'd think they could have rectified that by now
Stig ....

[daj]

400HPONGAS said


Daj has a clunk in the "Drivetrain" , then proceeds to change balljoints /bushes . WTF ?

That's pretty much how I responded to their suggestion too but they are the "experts" and they were paying for it, and my 3 yr warranty was almost up so...........do your best fellas.

Thanks for your feed back everyone. Please keep it coming.

To those who have the clunk, did it develop over time or was it there since new?

[Neil P]

..To those who have the clunk, did it develop over time or was it there since new? There since new.
It's very more noticeable on petrol . The D3 is quite different
to the old D's . It was not much on a 3.5V8 D1. There's alot
of slack in a D3 drivetrain. I doubt ( if the diesel software BS
hasn't had any effect ) there's anything that'll change it.
Shortly , you'll be driving something else ( it's a consumable ;) )
and all will be forgotten in the mists-of-time :p
Everyone's got their own experience , so asking isn't going to
make any difference to you really ..................

[Discophil]

My 05 TDV6 has clunked for as long as i remember. When i asked the dealer he said it was normal, i have since just learned to live with it.

[brad72]

My 2.7 D4 clunks when accelerating after the engine revs drop back, particularly when braking to go around a round-a-bout then accelerating before I come to a stop. The engine management does a pretty good job of holding the revs up after your foot is off the throttle but not all the time. If i feather the throttle on however there is no noticable clunk.

My dealer looked into just after I got the car and at the last service. They were going to put some microphones on the diffs and transfer case to isolate the noise but the unit was broken when I last had the car serviced.

If you hop under the car and rotate the drive shafts there is backlash either side of the transfer case, but this seems the same whether the car is new or not, since I got under one of the show room cars and it was the same. This explains why sometimes I can hear the clunk up the front and others up the back.

So I'll see what the dealer decides when the listening device is fixed. The D4 still drives like a dream but the clunk just gets a bit anoying at times as my engineers ears hear everthing. Once I go deaf I'll be fine, but at 39 I've got a few years to wait. My wife never notices the clunk. What's up with that?

[daj]

..... so asking isn't going to
make any difference to you really ..................

Well actually it will. :) I like a challenge. If everyone else has the problem, I can live with it too - because the D3 is otherwise a brilliant 4wd. However, the inconsistency of reports is already apparent and I would like to find the reason for that - and so should Landrover. They should all leave the factory with identical characteristics, wouldn't you agree?

[daj]

Once I go deaf I'll be fine, but at 39 I've got a few years to wait. My wife never notices the clunk. What's up with that?

Well, after driving my '95 Deafener for 15 years I can barely hear a gunshot but I can hear the clunk. My wife, on the other hand, has 20/20 hearing and she reckons I am imagining it.:D

[Neil P]

They should all leave the factory with identical characteristics, wouldn't you agree? LR don't give a toss.
Apple Corp don't give a toss . NO ONE gives a toss ; that's the
new standard in industry and service.

[SuperMono]

2005 D3 with pushing 200K on it, yes you might get a clunk under some conditions but not during normal on-road driving. In 12 months I have probably heard 'clunk' 5 or 6 times.

[juddo]

D3 MY08 model. I can get the very occasional clunk in the right condition. Ie. Braking to a very slow speed, and then accelerating heavily without feeding in the throttle.

Nothing like the backlash in my (ex) Range Rover 86 model. Either way I very quickly adapted my driving style to cater for it so that it almost never happens. Not done as a conscious thing, but an unconscious adaption of driving style.

Matt.

[TerryO]

LR don't give a toss.
Apple Corp don't give a toss . NO ONE gives a toss ; that's the
new standard in industry and service.



Bugger ...Bugger! ... I have missed out on this and that stinks!

I have no clunk that I can hear! ...I think I'll complain to LR why should I miss out on a clunk when everyone else has one?

Maybe Neil you could assist me get LR to fix my D3 so it has a clunk.

cheers,
Terry ;)

[connock]

I have a clunk in my 06 TDV6 and was wondering if the clunk frequency can be changed to the same as my wifes voice then it will be fixed :D

connock

[400HPONGAS]

There since new.
It's very more noticeable on petrol . The D3 is quite different
to the old D's . It was not much on a 3.5V8 D1. There's alot
of slack in a D3 drivetrain. I doubt ( if the diesel software BS
hasn't had any effect ) there's anything that'll change it.
Shortly , you'll be driving something else ( it's a consumable ;) )
and all will be forgotten in the mists-of-time :p
Everyone's got their own experience , so asking isn't going to
make any difference to you really ..................

How the hell did you arrive at that ?
I drive a 400K old 88RRC , now I can turn anywheel and get almost quarter of a turn (90 degrees )Even with 28 spline maxi axles in it !!!before the drivetrain takes up all the slop.(yep the center diff is cactus )
When I try that on my 160,00K D3 auto (with the EPB released off course I cant even get from 11 oclock to 12 oclock ,less than 30 degrees easy.
Exactly how do you stretch a chain that far before it does more than just clunk ? Where exactly is all this freeplay/takeup/stretch/wear that I am yet to experience . ?
"It's very more noticeable on petrol " ??? Why ,can you swap to some other fuel source , never seen a D3 that had 2 fuel sources !
Did you mean "It's very more noticeable on A petrol powered vehicle than a Diesel "
Funny friend with V6 Petrol says cant tell the difference , same as when I drive his V6 petrol ,cant tell theres any more or less clunk , perhaps this only a phenom of the V8 petrol ?
.

[discojools]

My 05 D3 clunked a bit when I first got it and I adjusted my driving style and it became less.. I mentioned to my dealer and who said there was a software upgrade which would help. I said "no really?!" and they said "yes". Anyway it did make a bit of difference much to my surprise and lucky for 400HPONGAS who now has the car.
My D4 is better again and I hardly ever notice it. And I agree with 400HPONGAS that slack in a D3/4s driveline is alot less than earlier type Landrovers.

[Discostewpot]

I have an D4 2.7 and the back lash has been there since new, mainly after you slow to go round a corner then back on the throttle. Again, like most have said, if you adjust your driving, it tends to smooth it out. I had the LR dealer look at it and got the obligatory "we road tested and couldn't fault it" I'm starting to think that they teach that phrase to all dealer mechanics

[DiscoWeb]

I have a 2009TDV6 SE with 57K on the clock, three years old and mine clunks as well if accelerating after slowing down particularly when in D.

One way to manage this is to kick it across to sports mode as it downshifts more aggressively or use the manual changing in sports mode.

It is not a big issue, just disconcerting. The acceleration lag will probably scare you more when you pull out into flowing traffic the first time and floor it an nothing happens for what seems a long time.

Regards,

George

[Mike_S]

I think it sounds worse in the V8 petrol than in a diesel, just because the engine spins up quicker. Like most have said, I've tailored my driving style to give the box chance to get the right gear at junctions etc. When I forget, the *thunk* from the gearbox when it gets the lower gear is monumental, as the V8's spun up quickly because I'm normally wanting it to get a wriggle on and have given it a bootful of throttle only to find the gearbox is still asleep. It can really be very uncomfortable and disconcerting.

[Uberdubster]

I also agree with others that you will learn to drive a certain way to avoid it. It's been like that with our old D3 and current RRS.

[TerryO]

Bugger I noticed a small clunk last night so I was wrong I didn't miss out.

cheers,
Terry

[Neil P]

:banana:

[TerryO]

:banana:


I only said that I had a clunk to make you feel good Neil ...;)

cheers,
Terry

[Neil P]

I wish none of 'em had clunks. :)

[rmp]

True. Most D3s will clunk when shifting down to 2nd when accelerating and I've driven perhaps 5 extenstively and been passenger in many more. To avoid either use command shift or drive very smoothly. The clunk is more pronounced the harder you rev.

[daj]

Thanks for all the comments everyone.

Like those who have the "clunk", I have long since modified my driving style accordingly.

I either gently feather the throttle while accelerating out of a corner or let the speed drop right off before accelerating, depending on the circumstances.

Using Sport mode seems to reduce the "clunk", but does not entirely eliminate it.

Using Select completely cures the problem. I assume this is because, when cornering, I am changing down into 2nd long before the auto box would.

The above seems to suggest that remapping the gear box change point from 3rd to 2nd might help.

Is this possible, and has anyone tried it?

[Mike_S]

It's not just 3rd to 2nd, but 1st as well. I'm not sure if anyone's remapped the box and advertised the fact, I'd hazard a guess it could be done though so perhaps dropping an email to the likes of BAS may conjure something up.