Clunk in rear - not what I thought
 

I have this thud the second I engage clutch - I was thinknig it was the shocks but its not... I had a friend get in and release clutch while i looked under car and the only thing I see moving is the Differential

so my questions are

- is it the U-Joints? and how can you tell without taking them out if they are bad?

- is it the differential mounts?

-is it something im not thinking of?

before I put in the driveshaft me and my dad looked at the ujoints and wiggled them and they had no play so I think I can rule out the ujoints but I am not positive yet.
the car sits so low I cant really get a good look under the car while he engages clutch - thinking about putting the rear on jack stands securely and then engaging clutch so I can see better.

any ideas???

these cars looooove to break the front diff mount

The guys at my local shop race TIIs and when they started they were breaking diff mounts all the time, dumping the clutch at 6k-7k+.

Your thump sounds like someone's punching the floor of the car behind you, ne?

After poking around, they discovered that there's a tiny bit of play where the mount meets the body. So now they make their own spacers to put in there and they haven't broken a diff mount since.

You'll have to replace it. And be sure to throw something in there so it doesn't happen again...

ttyl,
Amur_

further explanation.....
 

That sound you described Amur is what mine does every once in awhile. What is the problem again and what is the fix?
Thanks a ton!

Well, actually, the thump could be two things. :) A broken diff mount is the most common. In my case, it's a failing differential (meaning the assembly inside is coming apart.)
Mine has 350K+ kms on it. When I mentioned the thump to my mechanic, he told me the diff mount story. But a few visits later (for other things) we had her up on the hoist and checked it there. Something to do with raising the rear wheels with the car in gear and still being able to turn the rear wheels a little in both directions. So I have to replace the Torsen. And soon - I'm delivering for Pizza Hut and I like to dump it when I leave the parking lot (fortunately, no one's complained yet about the POP! from the afterburn.) :)

So there's 2 things to check on. A broken front differential mount or your differential itself...

ttyl,
Amur_

http://www.chronicsite.com/gatchaman/images/Ken.gif

Thanks man.