Transmission jerky shifting and noise from the rear

[sonic587]

Hello all,

My girlfriend recently bought a 1997 Toyota corolla CE with the auto 3-speed transmission(no O/D) and the car has just over 60,000 miles. She has driven it over 500 miles since it has been bought. I have done basic maintainance on the car including plugs, wires, dist rotor, cap, changed oil, air filter. The car hasn't thrown any CELs in the time she has had it. As it stands, the car has two separate issues I would like to fix for her.

1st issue) The transmission shifts VERY harshly between gears. All gears. It just jerks the car when shifting, even people in the back seat notice it. It also seems to rev a bit high before shifting, but I can't tell for sure since there is no tachometer. The car will shift harshly while driving or when parked with your foot on the brake. The worst is when you shift it from park to drive, which results in an audible clunk and jerk as it engages. I have drained and refilled the transmission fluid once and added a bottle of lube gard red which has helped the shifting slightly. The transmission fluid looked healthy with a red tint to it. However, the issue still remains. The car hasn't had a problem with slipping or not going into gear. It just shifts violently at all times, hot or cold.

I also recently discovered that the car has a separate drain for the differential fluid. I have not changed this fluid yet. I have also not replaced the filter. Could these be causing the issue?

2nd issue) There is a loud "whoop, whoop whoop" noise that seems to be coming from the right rear tire well of the car. Sounds almost like a tire that is under-inflated. However, the tires, steel wheels and the entire rear braking system have been replaced and the tire PSI is correct. The whole 9 yards.

You can also "feel" the noise inside the car through your feet, like it is catching on sometimes as the wheel turns. The noise also gets faster as the car speed increases. Is this a wheel bearing issue? Alignment? Something else?

I have used the search feature, but so far I have not turned up any posts relating to the issues I'm having. Thank you for any input!

[Rip The E Brake]

Bearing issue for sure.

As for the trans, willing to bet 1. You need to adjust the detent cable that goes into the trans and b. you probably need a new front motor mount.

[Bitter]

i'll agree, bad motor mount(s) and either a bad tire or bad wheel bearing. rotate a front tire to the rear and see if the noise stays or moves.

[sonic587]

Thanks a lot guys, I looked up what the detent(kick-down?) cable was and checked it. Sure enough, the previous owner had adjusted it all the way to the left. I backed it off to the middle of the threads and now the car shifts smoothly and doesn't rev high before shifting anymore!

Thanks for the suggestions on the wheel-bearing as well. I will investigate that at a later time. For now, I'm happy the car isn't a bucking bronco anymore!

[Steelballz]

to double check if it is the wheel bearing, find yourself a quiet wide road...drive at around 20mph and turn right...if the noise quietens it is the right rear wheel bearing that needs to be replaced.this is rather easy to do and should only take around half an hour

[Rip The E Brake]

Originally Posted by sonic587

Thanks a lot guys, I looked up what the detent(kick-down?) cable was and checked it. Sure enough, the previous owner had adjusted it all the way to the left. I backed it off to the middle of the threads and now the car shifts smoothly and doesn't rev high before shifting anymore!

Thanks for the suggestions on the wheel-bearing as well. I will investigate that at a later time. For now, I'm happy the car isn't a bucking bronco anymore!

Awesome.