Hey guys,

I've got a 1996 Civic EX Coupe that recently acquired an occasional (maybe 30% of the time I drive it) but very loud knocking in the rear right side at low speeds after I've been driving at highway speeds (aka hitting traffic after a while of cruising on the interstate). More recently, the knocking hasn't stopped when I've sped up and can be heard even at higher speeds (30-45mph). As the speed increases, so does the frequency of the knocking. Also, the knocking seems to stop when I press the breaks.

I'm not too familiar w/ how the rear suspension works so I don't know where to start in terms of diagnosing the problem. Any ideas?

I've sunk almost $1,000 into fixing it in the last week (torn CV boot, new front tires, new brakes, new master power window switch) and it seems like the hits just keep on coming. I'd love to be able to fix this myself instead of going to a mechanic again, I'm running out of cash and patience.

 

sounds like the bushings in the rear control arm has gone out or the upper control arm could have too. this happened to me already cause i bought a car with some ebay rear lower control arms and ebay camber kit. good luck

 

I was under the impression that a bad bushing would make more of a squeaking noise rather than a loud thud as the wheels rotated. Either way, I'm going to take the rear wheels off this weekend and see if I notice any bad parts or connections.

UPDATE: In addition to the knocking at low speeds, the car doesn't seem to roll smoothly anymore. It feels like I'm riding on ovals more than circles.

 

sounds like rear lower control arm bushings ( the one the shocks bolt onto). The can be pricey to replace factory bushings on stock LCA. Better to bu a good quality LCA such as Skunk2