'87 A/T ka-THUNK!!! I think it's dead??

[diverjeff]

Hey everyone...

Driving down the Interstate Friday, pulling a small trailer with Scooter, the 1987 Camry. I was running about 75 mph. when all of a sudden the car began to shudder and make one he!! of a racket. At first, I thought it was the main bearing because of the sound.

Long story short, now, when driving forward, after about 1 ft. something goes ka-THUNK. Another foot, ka-THUNK. The whole friggin car shudders. It feels like I've run over a concrete block. It ka-THUNKS so bad that I finally had my son pull the vehicle back home. I can't go 20 feet without thinking the motor is going to jump out of the front end.

One other note, it is difficult to place the shift lever into low. Goes into park fine and engine sounds fine.

Is my tranny ready for the junk pile? If so, how difficult is it to change an A/T in one of these cars? Anyone have a how-to website? I changed head gaskets in my sons 95 4-Runner this past summer so I'm pretty handy with a wrench.

I appreciate ANY ideas or offerings.

Respectfully,

DJ

[Doctor J]

Lift the front of the car, put it on the jack stands, shift transmission to neutral
Check axles to make sure tey are fully seated in ttansmission, if ok, rotate one wheel while watching other-- it must rotate other way. The rotation must be smooth without hesitation or noises.How is the car going backwards? Are there any sounds or vibrations when the engine is cranked with starter?

[diverjeff]

Hello Doctor J,

I'll try what you said. Shift and runs in reverse okay. No unusual noises when starting. I can also shift into neutral, rev the engine and engine sounds fine.

You brought up another concern. The CV boot on the driver side is split with no grease. I'll check the wheel rotation and post results.

Thank you,

DJ

[diverjeff]

Doctor J,

Got the '87 Camry on stands this past weeknd and here are results.

First, with A/T in PARK, I can rotate the wheels. The opposite wheel turns the opposite direction. In every gear except neutral, when I "torque" the wheels forward and back, the axel acts like it comes unsplined, makes a clicking noise while rotating (the opposite wheel does NOT rotate). Eventually, it "seats back in", the clicking stops and the opposite begins rotating the other direction.

Car starts fine with no odd noises. Shifter is a little difficult to get into Low 1 gear. The only gear I don't get the ka-THUNK is reverse.

Hope this helps you diagnose. If the tranny is shot, any ideas on where to get a good rebuilt or can mine possibly be rebuilt?

Thanks for any ideas or advice. I appreciate it.

Respectfully,

DJ

[atobe]

well i'm not sure if your tranny is shot or not. but sure sounds like it. you can get a used tranny at car-parts.com you can probbly do the work yourself over a weekend hope this helps. a rebuilt you're looking at at least 1000$ used tranny may be <500$