Best way to troubleshoot rear clunk
06-02-2011, 04:10 PM
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Best way to troubleshoot rear clunk
I have this clunk/thump from the rear of the car whenever I go over uneven surfaces. What's the best way to go about finding it?
2000 Prelude, 153K miles, all stock driven in NE Ohio (some rust)
All 4 struts were changed at 127K (maybe 2 years ago) along with the rubber spring supports on top (whatever they're called) and the four strut rubber mounting pieces on top.
There is a TSB for the rear shock mount collar where it's either replaced with a shorter one or cut down by 2-3mm. That way you should be able to tighten the top strut mounting pieces tighter against the frame to reduce the knock. That has been complied with.
I went in the car and took EVERYTHING out of the trunk. Spare tire, trunk lining, jack, nothing left. No fix.
Made sure the top springs/struts were tightened. No fix.
Checked all the bushings on the rear suspension. Used a pry bar to try to move suspension components and visual check. Some wear (cracks in the rubber bushings) but nothing excessive...
Tried jumping up and down in the trunk (195lbs) could not duplicate the sound.
Tried driving on uneven concrete with the e-brake on, made no difference.
Moved the exhaust/heat shields/gas tank by hand, all quiet.
Checked the anti roll bar bushing and anti roll bar ends with and without load on the suspension. No play, no noise. Some wear on the bar ends boots, but still intact with no play/noise.
Checked the lower, rear and upper ball joints. No play/noise.
Checked the trailing arm bushing, again not new, but no metal to metal contact.
Adjusted trunk stoppers in and out. No real difference.
Drove with the trunk open. Still there.
I still have to find somebody and drive while they are in the back trying to pinpoint the source.
The sound can be easily duplicated when driving on uneven concrete, 20MPH or so. I can't tell if its coming from the right or left suspension, if it's the suspension to begin with or coming from somewhere else all together.
The sounds can be best describes as oil canning, but muffled. It seems like it happens when the suspension drops from a higher surface onto a lower one or when catching the lip of uneven pavement. I'm not sure if it's because the rear end drops suddenly, is jolted upwards or the rear wheels are jolted rearward.
How do I go about narrowing this down? I've made up my mind. This is a simple car and I can use simple logic and reasoning to troubleshoot it. I'm not gonna get beat by this damn Prelude!!!
I don't want to just throw money at this.
The only discrepancies I've found is some play in the upper control arm bushings where it connects to the frame and trailing arm bushings (side to side, nothing front/back/up/down). No metal to metal contact though... When I pound on the lower part of the fuel tank or on the lower part of the bumper cover lip it does make a "thump" noise but It doesn't sound the same
What else can I check? How can I eliminate other components? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
D
2000 Prelude, 153K miles, all stock driven in NE Ohio (some rust)
All 4 struts were changed at 127K (maybe 2 years ago) along with the rubber spring supports on top (whatever they're called) and the four strut rubber mounting pieces on top.
There is a TSB for the rear shock mount collar where it's either replaced with a shorter one or cut down by 2-3mm. That way you should be able to tighten the top strut mounting pieces tighter against the frame to reduce the knock. That has been complied with.
I went in the car and took EVERYTHING out of the trunk. Spare tire, trunk lining, jack, nothing left. No fix.
Made sure the top springs/struts were tightened. No fix.
Checked all the bushings on the rear suspension. Used a pry bar to try to move suspension components and visual check. Some wear (cracks in the rubber bushings) but nothing excessive...
Tried jumping up and down in the trunk (195lbs) could not duplicate the sound.
Tried driving on uneven concrete with the e-brake on, made no difference.
Moved the exhaust/heat shields/gas tank by hand, all quiet.
Checked the anti roll bar bushing and anti roll bar ends with and without load on the suspension. No play, no noise. Some wear on the bar ends boots, but still intact with no play/noise.
Checked the lower, rear and upper ball joints. No play/noise.
Checked the trailing arm bushing, again not new, but no metal to metal contact.
Adjusted trunk stoppers in and out. No real difference.
Drove with the trunk open. Still there.
I still have to find somebody and drive while they are in the back trying to pinpoint the source.
The sound can be easily duplicated when driving on uneven concrete, 20MPH or so. I can't tell if its coming from the right or left suspension, if it's the suspension to begin with or coming from somewhere else all together.
The sounds can be best describes as oil canning, but muffled. It seems like it happens when the suspension drops from a higher surface onto a lower one or when catching the lip of uneven pavement. I'm not sure if it's because the rear end drops suddenly, is jolted upwards or the rear wheels are jolted rearward.
How do I go about narrowing this down? I've made up my mind. This is a simple car and I can use simple logic and reasoning to troubleshoot it. I'm not gonna get beat by this damn Prelude!!!
I don't want to just throw money at this.
The only discrepancies I've found is some play in the upper control arm bushings where it connects to the frame and trailing arm bushings (side to side, nothing front/back/up/down). No metal to metal contact though... When I pound on the lower part of the fuel tank or on the lower part of the bumper cover lip it does make a "thump" noise but It doesn't sound the same
What else can I check? How can I eliminate other components? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
D
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