Clunk when shifting from park to reverse

I have a 2009 Subaru Legacy non turbo and when I am in park and shift into reverse I here this clunk sort of noise and I only hear it when the car is cold. It happens only once even if I shift from park to reverse then back to park and then back to reverse it won’t clunck. And I only hear the noise when going from park to reverse I don’t hear it any other time. Car has 207k any help is appreciated!

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Are your engine and transmission mounts original? Original pitch stop (if the non turbos have those)?

I don’t know if they are original but I would assume so. I bought the car with 175k or so and I haven’t done them as long as I’ve had it. Would a bad mount only clunk going from park to reverse? Wouldn’t it clunk going into other gears as well if it was a bad mount? What is a pitch stop? (lol I’m a noob)

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I don’t know if they are original but I would assume so. I bought the car with 175k or so and I haven’t done them as long as I’ve had it. Would a bad mount only clunk going from park to reverse? Wouldn’t it clunk going into other gears as well if it was a bad mount? What is a pitch stop? (lol I’m a noob)

 

 

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Park to reverse would likely be the most pronounced clunk between gear shifts, same with park to drive. If you get a lot of shudder at idle then that is also another symptom.

The pitch stop mount is essentially an engine mount. It looks like a dog bone and it links up between the top of your transmission and the back of the engine. When the bushings in it wear out, you get a bit of that clunking effect. I can’t find anything that definitely says that your 2008 NA Legacy has a pitch stop mount, but it would often be replaced with your engine mounts. It’s towards the middle of your engine bay back towards the firewall.

Has the transmission fluid been changed recently? Diff fluids? Those should be done whenever you buy a used car.

Could be a carrier bearing going bad too. Get under the car, about 18" behind the transmission there will be a bearing bolted to the chassis. grab the shafts on either side of the bearing and check for movement. I little is ok but if its easy to move around, that is most likely the issue.

Most any auto parts store will have a replacement propeller shaft as its called by Subaru.

When mine was going bad, i could feel a vibration when I put my right elbow on the center consul when driving at highway speeds.

Could be a carrier bearing going bad too. Get under the car, about 18" behind the transmission there will be a bearing bolted to the chassis. grab the shafts on either side of the bearing and check for movement. I little is ok but if its easy to move around, that is most likely the issue.

 

Most any auto parts store will have a replacement propeller shaft as its called by Subaru.

 

 

When mine was going bad, i could feel a vibration when I put my right elbow on the center consul when driving at highway speeds.

Ok great I’ll check that!

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Park to reverse would likely be the most pronounced clunk between gear shifts, same with park to drive. If you get a lot of shudder at idle then that is also another symptom.

 

The pitch stop mount is essentially an engine mount. It looks like a dog bone and it links up between the top of your transmission and the back of the engine. When the bushings in it wear out, you get a bit of that clunking effect. I can’t find anything that definitely says that your 2008 NA Legacy has a pitch stop mount, but it would often be replaced with your engine mounts. It’s towards the middle of your engine bay back towards the firewall.

 

Has the transmission fluid been changed recently? Diff fluids? Those should be done whenever you buy a used car.

I do remember seeing that I haven’t checked the bushings on it though I’ll check that today!

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Park to reverse would likely be the most pronounced clunk between gear shifts, same with park to drive. If you get a lot of shudder at idle then that is also another symptom.

 

The pitch stop mount is essentially an engine mount. It looks like a dog bone and it links up between the top of your transmission and the back of the engine. When the bushings in it wear out, you get a bit of that clunking effect. I can’t find anything that definitely says that your 2008 NA Legacy has a pitch stop mount, but it would often be replaced with your engine mounts. It’s towards the middle of your engine bay back towards the firewall.

 

Has the transmission fluid been changed recently? Diff fluids? Those should be done whenever you buy a used car.

I did change the transmission fluid about 10k ago but I haven’t done the diff fluid yet should I do it soon?

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Diff fluids are normally done at 30,000 miles. rear diff and front diff on a 5eat.

Mines a 4 speed auto

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I do remember seeing that I haven’t checked the bushings on it though I’ll check that today!

 

 

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Check and it looks fine done see and tears or cracks and don’t feel any movement when I try to shake the engine

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I sometimes take my mom's AT car out for a spin when I visit her or she visits me, and her car does the same thing when parked on an incline (which is how she's always parked). On her acura it is a really, really disturbing sound which makes me cringe so hard. I've found if I engage the parking brake before shifting into park, that fixes it. I guess it's the sound of the parking pawl which locks the transmission disengaging

Edit: so I guess I'm asking, does yours do it all the time? or only on an incline? I know it's not a ford, but same concept, and this guy has really good videos.

I sometimes take my mom's AT car out for a spin when I visit her or she visits me, and her car does the same thing when parked on an incline (which is how she's always parked). On her acura it is a really, really disturbing sound which makes me cringe so hard. I've found if I engage the parking brake before shifting into park, that fixes it. I guess it's the sound of the parking pawl which locks the transmission disengaging

 

Edit: so I guess I'm asking, does yours do it all the time? or only on an incline? I know it's not a ford, but same concept, and this guy has really good videos.

It does on a incline only but doesn’t need to be a very big incline it also does it on very small incline

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If you set the transmission in neutral, engage the parking brake, let go of the brake pedal, then put the car into park, does the clunk occur the next time you take the car out of park? Every auto car I've driven (and I've driven literally thousands throughout my time at the dealership) clunks if you don't set the parking brake and let the weight of the car rest on it before going into park on any sort of hill.

Just saying - although your parking pawl can take a ton of abuse, if you don't like the sound, the ratcheting lever between the shifter and seat is always a safe bet to hold your car in place. On a hill, it should be your primary method of holding your car in place.