Nervous, Worried, Help Please!

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Originally Posted by etlsport

power mode lets you rev a little higher than you normally would.. could just be that your gears are spinning faster when the shift happens, so more noticable clunk?

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I suppose that could be it. It seems to definitely be when I downshift outta 3rd back into 2nd and then quickly back up to 3rd. It clunks and jerks a little.

However, I must say this, the clunks that I am noticing now (probably because I am paying overly close attention to it) do not happen like the day when it was happening really bad EVERY TIME I shifted from 2nd to 3rd. So maybe some of the "normal" clunking of the VX I am indeed mistaking for a problem, however I know for a fact, the occasion when the violent shifting occurred was ANYTHING but normal.

So we'll see.

Bart

yeah i get some clunking too.. usually when i do something to cause it.. like changes in acceleration around the gear change, either giving more gas or letting off right before a gear change, that kind of stuff is to be expected with a heavier car, i definately have paranoid moments with noises.. like the other day i was on a highway that hadnt been paved in awhile and i kept hitting spots that hadnt settled as much and had a rythmic bumping... and i started freaking out, then i changed lanes and the bumping went away... hahaha

Yup, thats exactly it. The roads in Chicago are anything but smooth and its lots of stop and go around 20-30 mph. The VX clunks just like you said, when changing speeds around shift times. After what happened to my Xterra, I am like extra-freakin-paranoid about ANY weird sounds that I am not used to. (and no, I will not go into the Xterra story, it still pisses me off!):)

And speaking of sounds, when I start up in my small 1 car garage, I can hear a faint, rythmic rattling sound bouncing of the garage walls. I just noticed this yesterday. It seems to rattle more when the front wheels are cut a little. It just sounds like something vibrating with the engine. I don't think it is anything major, but still, I DONTLIKEIT! :)

Bart

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Originally Posted by etlsport

yeah i get some clunking too.. usually when i do something to cause it.. like changes in acceleration around the gear change, either giving more gas or letting off right before a gear change, that kind of stuff is to be expected with a heavier car, i definately have paranoid moments with noises.. like the other day i was on a highway that hadnt been paved in awhile and i kept hitting spots that hadnt settled as much and had a rythmic bumping... and i started freaking out, then i changed lanes and the bumping went away... hahaha

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At some point, especially for a salted northern VX, the heatshields on your exhaust piping (in the vicinity of the transfer case) will rust through and rattle.

Tap them with a screwdriver to see if they are loose.

Change out the tranny fluid to synthetic. I'm using Mobil 1 ATF. No problems at all since the switch. Make sure you do it right and replace the tranny filter.

My '01 was doing this HARD upshifting/downshifting thing last night for the first time. Freaked me out, especially since my 20 yr daughter home from school for the summer has been driving it lately. All the way from River Forest to St Charles it did this hard shifting thing, usually from second to third and then back down. On the way home, nothing. Not a thing. Back to normal.

Maybe this is a Chicago thing?? :)

Hey, yeah, it is definitely not cool. Were you in Power Mode? Mine seemed to only do it while I was driving in Power Mode, and like you said, once I would stop, shut off the VX and start again it was fine. And yes, it was only between 2nd/3rd up and down....

I have yet to switch fluids to synth in the tranny/transfer case but I will soon.

Bart

PS - If it is a Chicago thing, it is a direct result of our crappy infrastructure and the relentless traffic!

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Originally Posted by Boogieman

My '01 was doing this HARD upshifting/downshifting thing last night for the first time. Freaked me out, especially since my 20 yr daughter home from school for the summer has been driving it lately. All the way from River Forest to St Charles it did this hard shifting thing, usually from second to third and then back down. On the way home, nothing. Not a thing. Back to normal.

Maybe this is a Chicago thing?? :)

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It's not a Chicago thing, because it happened to me in CT.

It's just a rare, niggling problem - probably a relay that's not kicking over, or one of the 0's in the ECU switches to a 1. No big whoop, as long as it goes away after restarting.

I had the same issue a month after I got mine. I drove to a local mall(85 degrees)and when leaving I had the first gear shift was hard like the torque converter was loading up. I am planning on taking it in in a few weeks and have them drain and put synthetic fluid in it. Knock on wood I have not heard the noise since.