When i shift into any gear I hear a slight clunk in the rear end. When i get under my car i can turn my drive shaft maybe a 1/4" back and forth, and the sound comes from the pumpkin. No my U-joints are not shot. I know something is loose and most likely needs to be rebuilt. What could this clunk be?

 

depends have you had a rear end noise noticable from the inside of the car?

Any other sounds or feelings besides the clunk, and when does the clunk happen? Accel/Deccel or coasting?

 

Sorry can't help you. If it was a FC I would jump up and say that its the diff mount but I don't know what it could be.

 

The noice wasn't noticable when i bought the car, the noise was only noticed 2-3 months ago maybe. I hear it the most when i am accelerating from a stop, since i can actually hear it over my exhaust. Don't hear it when i am deceling, only when i am accelerating. My diffy has some slop somewhere, but i'm not sure what components, hopefully someone who has rebuilt one before can help?

 

It really sounds like a u joint issue, however you said that it's not forsure.

I've rebuilt my rear-end and if a bearing or gear inside was bad, you'd hear it all the time. The next guess would be slack on the clutches inside. AkA the LSD.

Do you know forsure that both wheels are spinning because when your clutches start to wear, your LSD can't grip and one wheel will get power.

Nothing major you can have new clutches put in or add a shim to the existing clutch pak.

IF that is the problem.

Keep driving the car and if it gets worse you'll be able to pin point were the problem is.

But jack up the car and spin your rear wheel by hand, the other side should spin in an oposite direction. That will indicate if the LSD is working or not.

 

There is no slop or play in the u-joint whatsoever. Both wheels spin in the same direction, the thing is, i can place one wheel on the ground and spin the other by hand fairly easy. So my thoughts were that my clutches needed to be replaced or shimmed as you said.

Do you or anyone else know how intricate it is to replace those clutches or shim them? I was under the impression that i was going to need some specialized tools and most likely a press. Any info would be thankful.

 

When I rebuilt my diff, I changed all the bearings myself without a press. That was the hard part, but if you are only after the rear end clutches you could have everything back together in a few hours.

I didn't need any special tools. However lining up the gears so they seat properly is a bit of know how.
But not hard at all.

Any place that specializes in camaros will know what to do because it is the same system.

Mazda parts workers will probably have no idea what you are talking about, for me that was the biggest set back. You have to be lucky and talk to a parts guy that actually knows his stuff. Some guys will just say that they don't have them anymore. WHICH is bullshit, that is when they don't feel like looking into it. (quoted from an actual parts guy at mazda!!)

Clutches in canada are 50 bucks for 4 (you need 8 total)
and mazda has 2 thicknesses to choose from. depends how tight you want it.