Thumping\clunking Noise

[peacemaker]

hi,

after checking the obvious, axles,cv joints and boots, struts, steering rack, exhaust system and all mounts,(engine,tranny,etc) I can't find the coulpritt behind the strange thumping,clunking noises and vibration I am getting from the under carriage of my car, a 97 toyota corolla 1.8L w/automatic tranny.

this noise at times is rythmatic or sparatic and the sound and vibrations tend to come from somewhere around the steering rack, tranny area which is felt and heard through the floor pan at 30mph speeds or higher.

what I did notice was that there is a lot of up,down,side to side movement with the inner cv joints at the point of entry on the tranny as though the splined shaft on the end of the joints are not in place,... but no oil leaks. is there suppose to be this kind of movement, or is this an indication of something wrong inside the tranny?

your help is appreciated.

Peace