2001 VW Eurovan

My 2001 Eurovan is making a clunking sound when I accelerate. It is irritated by sharp turns I think. But now it just seems to clunk all the time. Is something loose? Is it the CV joint? shaft? something with the transaxle? The sound is so horrible I am afraid to drive it right now, but in fact, it is my daily drive for me and my four kids! When my husband and I take the van apart and look at it, we don’t SEE anything loose. We weren’t able to actually get in to look at the CV joint and shaft. A bolt was too tight. But it has recently been suggested to me it could be the CV joint, so should we pursue getting that bolt off and looking? Now I wonder if the left front tire wobbles when I drive. This sound seems connecting to accelerating with a load (we couldn’t replicate it up on jackstands) so we thought possible a transaxle problem? Does anybody have any ideas? Please let me know! I need to fix this ASAP, as inexpensively as possible! (i.e. no mechanic involvement if at all possible!) Thanks, Laura

May I suggest you take a look at the engine mounts along with the transaxel mounts. I don’t know much about the Eurovan and this is the first thing that pops to mind. Prying on them to see if they are broken will help.

May I stress that you do not try to run any car while it is up on the jack stands, it is very dangerous!!

Thank you for the suggestions. We will look into it further. I appreciate it! And yes, I know that’s dangerous. Thank you for the advice.