Reverse to Drive/Drive to Reverse Clunk ?!?!

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Jeri99

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As the title hints, I have this loud clunk when I move the shifter from reverse to drive and vise versa in my 2005 Chevy Tahoe. It has about 145,000 miles on it, if that information helps at all. Any advice on how to approach this is appreciated. To give everyone an idea of what I'm experiencing I found a couple of youtube videos that display the same exact problem I'm experiencing to a T.

Here there are:



jump right to the 12 sec mark to hear the clucking sound in question.


in this one it happens at the 1 minute mark


Bonus video.... I found another that appears to show the components responsible for the noise. this one begins at the 19 second mark
 

OR VietVet

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First, I would assume the you tube videos talked about what was found and what wasn't, so if they did you should share that. If they didn't, then you should share that. If the 3rd video is yours it looks like the rear u-joint was replaced. Is that yours or just the video? The other u-joints have the aftermarket clips on them and have been replaced before but the last pic of that joint shows obvious play in it. You should look for any play in your joints and then remove shaft to check for any play, off the vehicle, and any roughness when moving the joint. If they all check good then the noise is likely coming from the differential. The rear cover needs pulled and drain the fluid and look at the ring and pinion and have the side bearings checked. If you have no idea on how to do this or check this then find a friend who does or find a shop. If you have no mechanical background or no friends that do then you should find a shop you can trust for the future.
 
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Jeri99

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...the comments in the videos didn’t really provide much info as to identifying what the problem is...and how to potentially fix it...so ur advice is really helpful... thank u...none of the videos are mine...just videos I found on YouTube that sound just like mine...I will look for play in the shaft tomorrow for sure...I have some mechanical experience..so I’ll take a look
 

OR VietVet

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Careful when under the vehicle when you have someone shifting to load the joints. You can have play but the naked eye cannot pick it up, sometimes. That is why you may have to drop the shaft and look at the play and feel for roughness as you flex the joints. Any type of hinderance to joint movement is NOT good and should be addressed, even if the noise is not from that joint.
 

rockola1971

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At first I thought ujoints but after seeing and hearing the shift to reverse and back at the output shaft of the transmission, I am inclined to call it an internal noise from the transmission being amplified through the driveshaft and joints. Sounds alot like the steel plates clunking in between all your friction plates in the transmission. There is a anti rattle clip that should be installed and could be missing. (happens sometimes after a rebuild) What transmission is in your Tahoe? Should be a 4L60E. Look in your glove compartment for the RPO code sticker. Look for a M30 RPO code on the tag.
 
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Jeri99

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72CEEDE8-CABF-41D6-AB0D-345957DB50F3.jpeg

This is the tag I found
Could this possibly mean I need to replace my transmission?
 

Rocket Man

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View attachment 185179

This is the tag I found
Could this possibly mean I need to replace my transmission?
That's your RPO code list, with codes for everything installed on your truck. Why would that have anything with needing to replace your trans? All it could do is tell you WHICH trans you have which is RPO M30, a 4l60e.
 
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Jeri99

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Oh ok ...thanks for clearing that up for me Rocket Man...just the thought of something possibly being faulty with my transmission and my mind gravitates toward the worst possible outcome :) Anyways ...now that we know the transmission is a 4l60e is there a way to figure out if the steel plates clunking is due to a missing rattle clip as rockola1971 suggested?

...I haven’t had a chance today to see is there’s any play in the joints or shaft...been too busy running errands...however in one of the occasional hard shifts i get from time to time ......while driving today I heard the clunk during the hard shift...I don’t if this helps with the diagnosis but it was just something I noticed...
 

Rocket Man

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I'd say we need an actual video/ sound clip of YOUR truck as opposed to listening to clips of other trucks that you think sound like your problem. Just because you think it sounds like yours, we might hear something with yours that you don't. But you definitely need to get under there and at least inspect your u-joints. As far as if the problem is your trans and not your drivelines, you'd have to disconnect the drivelines and that way you isolate the components. You could try shifting from forward to reverse with nothing connected to your trans.
 
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