Clunking in rear end

[DviperX]

I brought my 2002 FE to the dealer yesterday for service and concerns about the clunking sound that many on this site have spoken about on previous threads. The Viper Tech told me that sound has been normal on vipers since they started making them. He has been a viper tech since the beginning of vipers. He says it has something to do with the spline gear. I don't like the fact that he says it is normal because it does not sound normal to me. I printed out the previous comments about transmission mounts to retorqeing the drive system. He says he will check it out but still insists its normal. Any body have any feed back or suggestions for me????

Thanks,
Dickey

 

[Viperfreak2]

Mine all clunked. However, after a re-torque the only clunk left was the driveline backlash. This is when you are gently on then off the throttle. All Vipers do this like your tech says. The 'other' clunk happened under hard accel or decel and that's the one that can be fixed.

 

[DviperX]

Thanks!!!The driveline backlash is what I am hearing.

 

[Iceman]

If you ask a dealer everything is normal unless the transmission falls on the ground.

My driveline did not make a clunk for the first year. It seems funny that it's normal when it just started a couple of months ago.

 

[ViperGTS]

My GTS (1999) had the driveline clunk.

The RT/10 (2002) doesn't have the clunk!

What's normal? Less free play between the parts!

 

[Iceman]

My car only clunks when it's hot. In the morning no clunk.

 

[2BADD 4U]

NO Clunking for me at ALL.......never...

hard or soft acceleration...never..

5300 miles on my 02 FE

Dave

 

[Ulysses]

No clunking for me either.

 

[Doug]

I have a clunk when i back out if the garage. thats when it's cold. never hear it after its warm.

 

[PaViper]

Mine stopped after they re-torqued all the suspension bolts.

 

[Hisserman]

My clunk comes and goes. Viper tech says it is normal (must be in their instruction manual).

 

[got one]

None here either...just depends I guess...which is concerning

 

[Viper Specialty]

I have only known one Viper that had no noticeable clunk whatsoever. That car was owned by Jimandela, and I believe it is now owned by Yellow Fever. Other than that, they all have some level of it. You can make it come and go depending on driving style. Easiest way to make it occur is when the car is hot, jump a gear or two too high, and tap the gas a couple times. It will make itself apparent.

 

[Iceman]

Mine did not clunk at all for the first year. Is it just bolts getting loose?

 

[Yves]

Had a clunk till I changed the rear brake pads.

 

[Andrew2KRT10]

Didn't realize that FE was an official title now. Just so I understand....we skip GTS and RT/10 and just go with the year followed by FE.

lets see....
GTS
RT/10
ACR
GTS-R
FE
SRT-10
SRT-4
SRT-RAM

Any others?

AC

 

[DviperX]

Andrew you must be the "Official" viper termonology expert on the site for corrections!! So go ahead Andrew is FE stamped on my car for looks or is it a true title????

 

[BigCarrot]

Mine never had the clunk until a couple of months ago. I'm going to re-torque everything and see if it stops. My R/T never did it either.

 

[Shelby3]

Is a clunk the same as a clink? I have a clink.

 

[BigCarrot]

I think mine is sort of a clinky clunk. lmao

 

[Iceman]

Please let us know the results after re-tightening.

 

[FFVIPER]

after i beat on it for a while it starts to clunk in the rear. then i had the bolts tightened and it stopped. then i beat on it agian and it started to clunk agian. and of course i will burn rubber in any gear i can because thats the fun in having a viper.

 

[Iceman]

Any specific bolts that needed tightening?

 

[BigCarrot]

Good question.

 

[Steamroller]

My 2001 ACR has no driveline clunk noise, but my car makes a single clunk/pop noise at the rear of the car each time I go over a sharp bump (small or large). The noise will come from the side of the car that went over the bump. Because it is at the rear, I suspect it could be loose suspension-related or driveline-related bolts. Any thoughts?

 

[Bonkers]

GTS
RT/10
ACR
GTS-R
FE
SRT-10
SRT-4
SRT-RAM

Any others?

The bestest - GT2 (GTS/R refers to the actual track racer here, the GT2 is the white street version.)

GenI and GenII refer to two different versions of the same car.

 

[2002_Viper_GTS_ACR]

Hey Guys,

A couple of things to check with clunking.

1st your half shafts, to make sure they are not lose at the universal joints, either near the wheel hubs or the differential hubs, also check to make sure the u-joints (universal joints) are not worn out, and therefore creating slack.

2nd, torque your outside wheel hub bolt (the big center one) to 250 LBS with a torque wrench.

I have had problems with BOTH, and each one was easily corrected, once I knew which one it was.

(I dont claim to have figured this out on my own, Tom Sessions always pointed me to the right direction). But if you check both, you will be all set.

Jon

 

[SF Final 286]

My car was making a seriously loud clunking at the rear end too. I could actually feel it! It occured in 1st gear... I would be starting a from a roll and then when I jabbed the go pedal and released it (ie. make the car lunge forward), I would hear and feel the clunk. I went for a ride with the Viper tech and showed him. He later diagnosed that the rear differential was broken. I didn't get the details of what was the exact problem. He replaced the entire rear end and fixed the problem.
Thanks to Stevens Creek Dodge.

 

[BigCarrot]

He probably just snugged down a couple of bolts and charged you for a rear end. lol

 

[WCKDVPR]

You might want to check the bolts that mount the diff housing to the frame. These came loose on my car and were the root cause of some clunking.

Good luck.