Hi all,

I bought a 2000 Dodge Dakota club cab sport 4x4 with a manual transmission. When I bought it, I drove it home in traffic for an hour discovering the master/slave clutch assembly needed to be replaced since I knew the symptoms from previous cars. While driving I could hear a dull thunk when pushing the clutch pedal in on easy acceleration.

After replacing the clutch assembly, it still does this. In 1st and 2nd gear it is more prominent and becomes less so on 3rd gear. At 4th and 5th I don't hear it. I have learned to control this by accelerating, easing off acceleration, pushing in clutch, changing gear and engaging clutch. This sound doesn't occur when I engage the clutch. It only seems to happen under acceleration when pushing in the clutch on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

This afternoon I inspected all U-Joints and they are nice and tight. The front engine mounts were inspected and they are in good shape. I didn't check the transmission mount yet. There are no sounds when the clutch is pressed in and held so I don't think its the throughout bearing. Any other ideas guys? Anyone know of an old thread I could look at? I did search around the last week trying to figure this out and couldn't find a thread that described my issue.

Thanks guys! I love these communities.

 

Dull thunk?

Pressure plate maybe? How about in the transmission itself? Worn input shaft bearings may be causing some play.

 

I'm kinda with Dan. I'm not much familiar with row-your-own boxes, but the gearsets are 1-R from front the back, yes? If the noise diminishes as you upshift, then it's decreasing as the primary strain moves away from the clutch. That would lead me to a bearing/bushing towards the front of the trans I think.

 

I think you guys are spot on. I watched a couple of videos on YouTube to hear what a bad input shaft bearing sounds like. I can feel the clunk in the pedal and the shifter. The transmission mount looks in very good shape. Thanks for the help.