[GLP]

I have a 2003 odyssey EX with 171,000 miles and am getting a loud clunk when shifting into reverse (only when cold). I have read that this is likely due to a bad engine mount. I have checked all 4 mounts and they look good. The rubber seems fine and no unusual vibration. There was no unusual movement or noises when reving the engine (low rev while in Drive and foot on brake done by assistant). When doing that the engine rotated side-to-side a little and the front hydraulic mount compressed down less than 1/8 inch and came right back up. Is there anything else I should check?

Passenger side mount was replaced at 100,000 miles. Also, can the hydraulic mount look fine installed but be bad? Can't see the inside of that mount.

 

[CDChangerGuy]

That behavior is normal when cold says the dealer. Mine has always done it. I THINK there is a TSB on it and I recall some old threads about it.

 

[GLP]

Yea, there is a TSB (TSB 06-030). I did the Diagnosis procedure and the front mount behaves normally. Can't help but think it is bad though since this TSB is about harsh shifting in reverse. I may just bite the bullet and replace it if I can't get more info on how to diagnose a bad mount. I cringe every time I hear that loud clunk.

 

[baseball]

Had loud clunk on reversing when cold. In my case, the rear mount was broken. Checked rear mount by holding the parking and service brakes on and reving engine to 2400 rpm in reverse. Engine moved up at the firewall side of the plastic cover by about 1 1/3 inches. Did the same in drive to check front mount. Moved much less. Hard to see if cracked without removing front mount.

No way to visually check rear mount until I removed it. Cracked on top and bottom of rubber. See the pics of badly torn mount. http://www.odyclub.com/forums/24-19...-rear-motor-mount-replacement-2002-ody-2.html

Good luck. Time consuming job if done yourself. An expensive one if done by dealer.

 

[wild willy]

my 04 has done this since day one.........

 

[pvandegriff]

My 2000 had a bad front and side mount and I could not tell when they were on the vehicle whether they were bad or not. I put a jack under the engine and pulled all the mounts and went to Honda and bought replacements for front and side last year. If you have more than 80k miles on your Ody I'd just bite the bullet and do the job. Odds are pretty good they are bad. The powertrain develops way too much torque for the mounting system and the fact that it's riding on a mediocre suspension system means somethings gotta give somewhere--engine mounts is usually the place. They're cheap and not really that hard to replace.

 

[GLP]

Hi pvandegriff. When you had bad mounts was there a loud clunk when shifting into Reverse? If so, did changing the mounts fix the problem?

 

[DaleClark]

Yeah, motor mounts are REALLY hard to diagnose for being broken on the car. They're hard to see and unless you have them off you really can't see if they're broken.

The trick above for watching the motor move is a good idea, that 's a good way to do a diagnosis.

Honda designed the mounts to be soft and insulate the vibration from the chassis, unfortunately that softness means compliance and constant movement over the years weakens and breaks the rubber.

Dale

 

[pvandegriff]

My harsh shifting into reverse was better and seemed to disappear for a while but it was not really gone after I replaced the mounts. I presume the broken mounts were actually caused by the harsh shifting which was caused by wild pressure fluctuations in the AT as it slowly failed.

BTW, the technique to watch the motor move was a complete failure as a diagnostic test. My mounts were bad and the engine didn't move at all when I did the test. There was no idle vibration or vacuum leak from the line controlling the front mount. If you suspect your mounts just replace them. You can do the job in a couple hours and they cost about $200. If your AT is bad it will cost you a lot more than that if you pay the shop doing the tranny repair to do the mounts and they won't let you drive away with bad mounts.

 

[Odypyro]

I had a loud clunk with my 04 Tranny. I thought at first the mounts were gone. i checked and they seemed kinda broken but not coming apart yet. but after i changed my ATF to the Racing ATF, my clunk when shifting to R is basically gone... and i still have not replaced the mounts.

CK

 

[theodydude]

I have one method that has definitely worked on my older odyssey as well the newer one.

One is 2000 with 240,000 kms the other is 2003 with 35,000 miles

It's very cold in my neck of the woods so I always let my ody idle for atleast 5 minutes in the morning. I noticed when I shift in to N and let it idle... the clunk is much less pronounced when I go to reverse out of my drive way.

 

[wild willy]

Could always back in as well.......not much of a clunk going into D.

 

[theodydude]

smart alec....lol...That's the procedure when I don't back in...

I back in most of the time

 

[wild willy]

so do we....except summer

 

[Lowcountry]

so do we....except summer

+1:rollingeyes:

 

[avesraggiana]

I have one method that has definitely worked on my older odyssey as well the newer one.

One is 2000 with 240,000 kms the other is 2003 with 35,000 miles

It's very cold in my neck of the woods so I always let my ody idle for atleast 5 minutes in the morning. I noticed when I shift in to N and let it idle... the clunk is much less pronounced when I go to reverse out of my drive way.

I posted about this on another thread. This technique works very well on my 2002 Odyssey EX (transmission replaced circa 2007).

I wait about one to two minutes, especially important in Chicago’s cold weather. I then shift from P to R, and there’s no filling-rattling “clunk” at all.

Good Luck.
Arnel

 

[NGUSPEED]

I have one method that has definitely worked on my older odyssey as well the newer one.

One is 2000 with 240,000 kms the other is 2003 with 35,000 miles

It's very cold in my neck of the woods so I always let my Ody idle for at least 5 minutes in the morning. I noticed when I shift in to N and let it idle... the clunk is much less pronounced when I go to reverse out of my drive way.

Same with me. The clunk only occurs when its a cold start, but after the car idles for a little and the RPMs drop, then the clunk is nearly gone.

My question is, do I need to replace all 4 mounts or just certain ones? How would I know which one(s) is/are bad?

 

[madamqueen]

I have a 2003 odyssey and has been experiencing that same dreadful clunk in reverse for a couple years. Live in NC-weather isn't too harsh but very cold in mornings. I also starting backing in and that helped. Recently had to replace tranny at 193,000 miles. Also replaced all mounts but rear one. Not a happy camper to fork out $3000 three days after I paid it off. Reverse is much smoother in the mornings but still feel a heavier shift, at least it doesn't feel like the transmission is going to fall out. After the mornings and initial start I don't feel the shifting hardly at all.

 

[wild willy]

193,000 miles......? I would expect the wheels to fall off by that time...3000.00 not too bad.

 

[CDChangerGuy]

193k on first tranny? Original owner?