Rear End Noise -- Update?

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drkknight196

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Has anyone actually definitively diagnosed the rear end banging some of us have been hearing? Mine's getting worse. Dealer can hear it, but can't diagnose. They're digging deeper into TSBs for insight, but most of what they've learned about the MM came from me passing on info I learned from this site!
 
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Just throwing a data point at you...

I got some sort of thump from the rear of the car when taking a left turn at an intersection at a ... ahem.... more aggressive speed today. The road was bumpy, so the turn itself wasn't smooth but rather choppy. After the turn, I *thought* I heard the bumps transmit more noise into the car via louder thumps at each bump, but eventually I either got used to it or it went away.

Not saying it's related to your problem, but maybe it's something involving that funky linkage ahead of the rear axle. Good luck.
 
When I had my wife in the passenger seat and my mother-in-law in the trunk...OOPS I MEANT in the back seat last week, I thought I heard a slight thump, but it wasn't readily identifiable. I had just finished the new rear sway bar install, and thought maybe I didn't tighten one of the end links sufficiently. With no one in the back, I can't reproduce the sound, so I guess it isn't the sway bar...otherwise, I've never heard a sound from my rear end.

You may now start the "useless booty" jokes, insults, etc...
 
rear end noise

My dealer solved a rear end noise. The dealer originally thought the noise was due to bad shock absorbers. When the shock absorbers were removed, the mechanic noticed an improperly installed bushing. The bushing was fixed. The clunking disappeared.
 
Re: rear end noise

BlueMarauder said:
My dealer solved a rear end noise. The dealer originally thought the noise was due to bad shock absorbers. When the shock absorbers were removed, the mechanic noticed an improperly installed bushing. The bushing was fixed. The clunking disappeared.
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What were your symptoms? I'd like to know more about this, in case it ever happens to me (or is currently happening, and I just accepted it as it is).
 
RF Overlord said:
I thought I heard a slight thump, but it wasn't readily identifiable.
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Hmmm.... new rear sway bar, Mother in Law in back seat, slight thump....

Could have been your Mother-in-Law's head hitting the side glass as you broke-in your new sway bar!
 
Blue Marauder: Thanks for your post -- that's the first new info I've seen on this problem in awhile and I'll get right on that. The only other rational explanation I've seen here (that hasn't already been checked out) is a body-on-frame issue, but no one's actually run that one to ground. There are others here who have had the exact same problem with the clunking noise when turning and driving over a bumpy place in the road.
 
The noise occurred mainly over potholes or speed bumps. A very bumpy road did not automatically cause the clunk. However, the clunk did happen more often over very bumpy roads. The clunk occurred when the car was moving. Neither the speed of the car nor whether the car was turning affected the clunk. The dealer needed four days to diagnose and repair the problem. The mechanic stated that the misalignment of a bushing above the shock absorbers caused a noise in the frame of the car. There was no squeak associated with the rear end noise. So far, the noise has not come back.
As an aside, I originally thought the clunk was due to a loose mini-spare tire. However, the noise did not stop when the tire was tightened.
 
Blue Marauder, et. al: Following your lead, service guys checked rear shocks and said bushings (in upper shock arms) looked like they'd been there for 75,000 miles (!) and had an extreme amount of play side-to-side. Ordered new shocks and will install next week. Please tell me more about these bushings that you said are "above" the shocks so I can have them check those, too. Thanks! If this problem gets solved, it will be the last nagging (difficult to diagnose) issue!! (Edit: Mini-spare? Yikes!!)
 
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rear end noise

I do not have additional information regarding the bushing above the shocks.The dealer stated that it made the correction to the bushing and replaced the shocks. Unfortunately, the mechanic has not yet furnished the written repair order which lists the parts and labor. I will try to furnish the info when I receive it. Glad to hear that the earlier info may have solved your problem.
 
Interesting about the shock bushings. Did you guys never get a little squeek with the pop too? Sometimes I get just the pop or thunk sound, sometimes it comes with a little squeek.

I'll talk to my dealer about the possibility of the shock bushings and see what they say.

Thanks for the ideas!
 
Excellent info!

I'm noticing the hollow-sounding "cluck" sound when going over bumpy roads much more, lately. If it's an issue with the bushing, I'll have it corrected once I go in for the seat squeak issue.

Fourth-horseman, are you listening? :D
(edit: didn't realize you had already posted before I completed my post...)


Actually, if it's the bushing I think it is, I can see how it can squeak in extreme circumstances, if the threaded shock shaft was to rub against bare metal! On my GTA, the rear upper shock shaft protrudes through the floor pan (well, the 'trunk' pan as it dips to the floor pan, right behind the rear seats). The threaded shock shaft is then bolted from inside the car, by lifting the carpet behind the rear seats.

The original shocks were isolated by a set of rubber biscuits both inside the car and underneath the car, with the lower biscuit protruding through the shock shaft hole in the chassis in such a way as to isolate the shaft from the metal of the chassis. The biscuits that came with the replacement shocks were just plain flat biscuits, no isolating "sleeve". So within 50 miles, we had metal-on-metal squeaking... it drove me nuts! Luckily I had the old biscuits and re-installed them (they're still on the car, and things are still quiet).
 
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You know it! I'm all over this like a cheap suit. :D

I think I'm going to hold off installing my DR rear sway bar until I get the dealer to look at the shock bushing issue. Don't want to give them any possible excuse to say "Hey... this car isn't stock!"

I'll be dropping by my dealership Monday after work to chat with them about it and hopefully get parts ordered for them to install. I'll follow up here and let you all know if it works for me, too. I'm really hopeful. I had just about resigned myself to live with it.
 
Blue -- spoke to service guys about the "bushing above the shocks" and they drew a blank. Anyone know what bushing Blue may be referring to? Looking forward to getting the info on the parts used to repair your problem. Did they replace your shocks also?
 
Drkknight196,

The dealer did replace the rear shocks. Unfortunately, I do not have more info about the bushing until I receive the written repair order. The dealer has promised to mail the repair order.
 
OK thanks. The bushing they may be talking about might be the one in the top of the shock arm. If not, I'm clueless.
 
Took mine back to the dealer again today. Explained what BlueMarauder's dealer did to solve his rear suspension noise. My dealer retightened shock mounts and other suspension components to specified torque, drove it around a bit and declared it fixed. I got it, drove it through one elevated driveway and promptly reproduced the same pop noise.

Argh! :mad2:

Looks like I'm going to have to call the service manager and start getting mean. I'm sick to death of this problem and my dealership's inability to fix it. Yay Ford. :down: :down: :down:
 
I'd like to throw out another idea for consideration, regarding this popping noise.

I pulled the back wheels off the car this morning, and had a look at the upper shock mount bushings. Looked okay (I didn't unbolt them, nor did I check the torque). However, I did spot something odd.

There are two rubber bumper stops on the axle, one on each side of the car. If you look at the rub pattern of the rubber stop on the passenger's side frame rail, you'll see it might actually clip some sort of bracket that looks welded on. If you compare this with the rubber stop on the driver's side, you'll see there is no bracket welded to the frame rail... all you see is a nice clean rub pattern from where the rubber stop contacts the frame.

My theory: maybe the passenger's side rubber stop "snaps" as it contacts the bracket along with the frame rail? I could clearly see the polished rub pattern on both the frame AND the edge of the welded bracket. If the rubber stop hits the frame rail at not-quite-90-degrees, I can see the rubber stop 'snapping' as it gets snagged by the sharp edge of the bracket.

Might be a possible explanation if it tends to happen when the passenger's side suspension is compressed, going over an irregular surface.
 
Oh yeah, I also noticed a light scuff mark on the side of the shock absorber body, facing outwards, on the passenger's side. Was this scuff mark a result of contact made between the tire sidewall and the shock body during driving? Or was it just a chance contact made between the two as I wiggled the tire off the hub? Dunno. I didn't see the same scuff on the other side, but again... it could be just a fluke.

Another thing to check out, I guess?
 
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