Unknown rear occasional clunk...possible culprits?
 

Hi everyone
I have been sorting through my new to me 91k mile 2006 ap2.

On occasion i hear a clunk coming from the rear of the car possibly towards the drivers side.

At first i thought it was the spare so i opened the comparrment up and made sure it was secured properly.

It does not seem to be a suspension piece because i dont hear it all the time.

I am thinking some sort of driveline mount that is worn out causing something to hit the body when transmission shifted under load.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Fat lou

Any ideas

You will get a clunk in the drivetrain picking up slack changing from reverse to forward if you are not mindful. Its not abnormal, but it can be avoided in how you clear the transmission and operate the clutch. Not rushing is usually part of it. I rarely if ever hear this, so am not even sure if I could recreate it at this point, but others driving habits do. Its possible this may be what you are hearing.

The toolkit for changing tire? Its in the well.

Remove everything from trunk, then see if noise goes away.

Maybe the fuel filler neck is loose. Remove liner, feel around for anything loose.

Also, feel around on 5e suspension for anything loose. Could be as simple as a worn out swaybar end link.

The cure I usually find effective is checking the source of the noise and then fixing it.

Joking aside, sway bar links are a common source of clunks. Disconnect (unbolt) one of the 4 link points. zip tie the link to the bar or LCA so its not flying around. Go for a drive.

Noise gone?

If yes, you found the issue.
If no, then you know the links are likely OK.

And a sway bar with tiniest, almost indetectable amount of slop in the endlink will sound like a control arm is about to fall out of the car :P