Ok, completely clueless here. I bought an 86 transam from a guy about 3 weeks ago. Was told "All it needs is a transmission mount and cable" and like an idiot I took the guy at his word. Bought the car, towed it home.

Upon getting the car on the tow truck and looking underneath, it became clear that it needed the WHOLE CROSS MEMBER. (And side note it didnt run but thats a different thread)

I went to PULL-A-PART in nashville, got a crossmember and what looked to be a transmission mount attached to it. (I could not get the "mount" off the cross member). I was also prety stupid and put the cross member on and got the transmission back up where I thought it should go (instead of haging down toward the ground) before I got the transmission cable.

Anyway, Today I *FINNALY* got the damn thing to start. The cable is broke at the sleeve so if I have the car in park, I can shift back down through R, N, D, 1, 2 etc but not back into park. I figured what the hell and put it in reverse to try and back it off a chalk I had it on. As soon as I got it in reverse I could here the tranny slam up against the floor pan, so Im guessing Im missing some sort of mounts some where...

What I need is some clue as to where these mounts go... All I can see is there is one mount between the transmission and dead center of the cross member. Any help is appreciated..

 

i think thats all there is to it,do have the crossmember bolted in three locations? the left and right sides of the car,and at the center to the tail of the tranny? does it have the torque arm in place (from the center of the rear axle to the rear of the tranny housing,about 4 feet long),i wonder if the sound was the rear end rotating and hitting the floor with the driveshaft.

 

possible it the tourque arm slapping the bottom of the tunnel if its not bolted to the transmission

thanks

 

Well, I think I found PART of the source of my problem. I took it for another test drive and the drive shaft dropped. Turned out the u-joint blew apart. I dont think who ever put the thing to gether used any retaining clips.

So here is where I stand now: Spent all day replacing the U-joint (theres some real fun)... Got it hooke back up, and checked the fluid on the tranny... BONE DRY. I added 3 quarts but dont think that was enough. A quicky around the block and while SOME scary sounds have vanished its is still making strange noises. Mostly when either in reverse or when applying the break's. and it stull king of "Thuds" against the body when in reverse. Im pretty sure last night when I went out I screwed something up royaly.. just dont know what.

Kind of off topic: but what does everyone use to treat burns? say, a scorching hot exhaust pipe burn?

 

Well, once you treat your burn (sorry to hear - I've done it also ), put the car up on jacks and drop the trans pan carefully. Take a look at the fluid, the tranny filter and the magnet in the pan - This will give you some clue of the "condition' of the transmission.
The tranny mount - is it a new one or one from the boneyard? - If it's an old used one, you may be dealing with a collapsed mount, and you will have to replace it with a new one - go to NAPA. They are relatively cheap. This could possibly be causing the thunk noise, but from the way you describe the noise, it's hard to tell.
Like fbodyguy86 said, double check the torque arm bracket and mount. If it's in bad shape, well the torque arm might be hitting something or the rear dif might me rotating and hitting the body. This is a possibility, especially since you have driven the car now.
Have you checked over the brakes? You mention that the thud noise also appears when you apply the brakes. Can a caliper be sticking and suddenly releasing? Front wheel bearings good? (mind you, while driving the car, if the wheel bearing were in really bad worn shape you would probably have noticed)
Are all your suspension components in good shape? Lower control arms are tight? The bolts aren't rusted through? Panhardbar?, swaybar? swaybar endlinks
Lower A-arm ball joint is good - they can be noisy if they are worn out? Is the steering box or any of the steering components worn out? Idler, pitman etc??
Exhaust - muffler, cat, etc hitting any body components?
THere are so many possibilities. Start with all the obvious sources, and through deduction you will isolate the problem (use a check-list) almost like taking the car in for a certification/roadworthy inspection...
-Andrew