So I searched for this and found a possibility would be the PPF (power plant frame) but it seems the symptoms for that clunking is more when lifting off the throttle.

When I clutch in and get off the throttle it's fine, but when I get back ON the throttle is when the clunking occurs. It's a pretty loud thumping and the car lurches a little bit. All the bushings (from what I can see with my naked eye) seem to be pretty fresh on this 97k mile car.

Any ideas?

 

Check for cracks on your PPF and also Rear diff bushings you can't really see them above the diff. What mine looked like after i finally got them down

 

Put the e-brake on and push the car forward with a quick jolt and see if you hear it then too. Another test is to jack up the rear end if the car and move the wheels around. There should be no play....if so... Could be your pillow *****.... Which was the case with my car...

 

Check your engine mounts as well, mine were beyond bad and caused similar symptoms.

 

I have a good feeling its the motor mounts unless you missed a bad bushing somewhere.

 

10 bucks says its the pillow *****

 

Mine is all gone finally.
I have replaced the engine mounts, diff bushings, and all of the front control arm bushings. I had one really bad engine mt. I had a leaking diff bushing and I had a lower control arm bushing that was really bad. No more clunking, yeah!

 

this...will take me a while

 

Anyone know roughly the cost of labor/hours to R&R the motor mounts? The differential bushings? This is a job I will not be taking on myself. I got a quote of about $800 for the pillowballs. I want to do the most economical first and work my way to the most expensive, if required. The clunk is the final frontier on my FD.

 

Sounds exactly like my scenario where the PPF was CRACKED near the 'front'.

Replaced with a new PPF and problem solved.

 

i have a clunk and its my pillow ***** for sure..

 

on a side note, does anyone know of a good deal for a quality floor jack/stands?

 

check harbor freight

 

Craftsman was having a sale two jack stands creeper and jack for $120

 

Jack the car up and apply pressure front/back/up/down/back and forwards with your hands. If it moves at all.. you need new pillow *****. heres a pic of one I just pulled out..

The pillow ball moved without any pressure and actually moved inside the case when I shook it. = TRASH


Nice and new pillow-ball bushing!!

 

+1

There is a prominent weld near the front, top of the PPF joining the two heavy sections that can crack overtime from normal torsional flexure. Unfortunately, it is easy to overlook with the usual visual, but with the PPF removed, take a close look at the welds to make sure they are not breaking away. Applying torsional force along the length of the PPF may help spot a cracked or broken weld. This is where PPF failures at the front seem to originate from--if not repaired the frame will eventually start to crack visibly along the side and fail.

FWIW, I've noticed that the pillow ***** will get significantly noisier when the PPF develops significant cracks. And will quite down again when the PPF is successfully repaired. If the pillow *****' clunking rather suddenly gets louder, I would look carefully at the PPF.

Hope this helps.