thanks all for all the input. today I took it to my indie shop and the tech put it on a lift and took a lot at it. he said the front is broken but it's not serious or urgent and said it can be done at the next 3k mile oil change. and in the meantime, he said I could drive it. he did mention that a failing flex disk will cause "clunking" when car upshifts or downshifts and the metallic clunk when shifting from park to R or D, especially in the morning. I said those are the symptoms that my car has, but he said I'm fine and that it can be done next time. should I heed his advice?