I get a knock from the rear end when taking off - often a double knock, maybe one from each side but hard to say for sure. Also when coming to a complete stop I get a little 'hitch' in the rear end. Almost like a little wiggle from the rear end. I have new polyurethane bushings everywhere in back except the panhard rod which has original rubber that look to be fine. I've torqued and retorqued the bushings and that hasn't helped (with weight on the suspension). The u-joints seemed to rotate smoothly when I had the driveshaft off for recent work (transmission mount, center support bearing, rear pinion seal). The shocks are KYB, 1 year old. The car has had this clunk since I bought it a couple years ago and it just seems to get worse - the hitch is a little newer but it too seems to be getting worse. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Tom
'86 245DL 239k

Exhaust hitting the rear axle on takeoff maybe?
My 3" routed over the axle hits every time unless I remember to take off very slowly and evenly. Maybe yours is sagging or too large and hitting too.
Have a look at the pipe and see what it looks like.
I finally figured out what my clunk was after replacing all of the bushings back there. I just assumed it would be solved by bushings (which I needed), finally investigated when it didn't go away.
--
1981 242 GLT-Turbo
1967.5 122S Automatic
2000 V70R AWD (shared)
Seattle, WA
www.psvcoa.org

Just a quick thought ... have you tried removing the spare tire & tool set
(and whatever else is in that compartment) from the trunk and see if the noises are still around? Perhaps those things have shifted and bang around when you're pulling away / stopping.

Did you replace the drive shafts rubber center bearing support? Are the engine mounts in good shape? Dan

I did replace the rubber donut and spring when I did the bearing. The engine mounts look okay, although I don't know exactly how old they are.
Thanks,
Tom

It is easier for me to see broken mounts from the under the car with a flashlight, look for the rubber separated from the metal part of the mounts. My experience has been the engine mounts only last 60,000 miles or so. Could you better explain what a hitch noise is? Dan

Oh yeah, the hitch. Well, it feels like something in the rear end (drivetrain or suspension I'd guess) shifts just before coming to a complete stop, particularly noticeable with sudden stops. It feels like the rear end kind of wiggles slightly when this happens. I'm guessing that it's the same thing shifting the opposite way at takeoff and causing the knock. But clearly I don't know for sure.
Well, I hope that helps clear it up...
Tom

Check your brake calipers and see if they are tight.

How about the bearings inside the rear itself? There's some near the pumpkin and then further out towards the wheels. Someone else will know more about this than I, but that's what's going on with Rover right now.

Sarah and Rover '83 245Dl 188K

What are your symptoms? When does it happen? How did you diagnose this issue for certain - what can I do to determine if the bearings are the problem?
Thanks for your help,
Tom

This all started a few months back, as an occasional 'clunk' when I pulled out hard, uphill and to the left (all at the same time). It progressed to a double clunk, then to a 'clunk clunk grind' (pulling out normal on the flat), and now its to a 'clunk clunk grind shake rattle squeek' when you creep off of a stop. All these noises are from the rear. When I brake there's a horrible squeel from the one rear wheel and a grind from the other. We know the carrier (central) bearing is bad which may be causing some of the issues. Hubby jacked it up last night and inspected all the bushings which were fine, but there was a lot of play in the driver's rear wheel coming from the axle (Driver's side made the most noise), and the passenger's side axle seems looser than it should be. He's taking it apart tonight, so I can give you an update tomorrow.

Sarah and Rover - the dog hauler

Thanks!
I'd love to hear what you find.
Tom

So far we've found the carrier bearing is totally thrashed, plus the rubber mount was destroyed. The center universal joint had broken from all the vibrations and wiggling going on with the drive shaft. We havn't torn the rear apart yet, but there is definately something loose on the driver's side - when you wiggle the tire back and forth/ up and down there's a clunk clunk clunk. Should have an update on that today.

Just a thought - does your car make its clunk noise in reverse? If not, that means driveshaft - check out your carrier bearing. Crawl under the car and try to wiggle the driveshaft. There should be very little, if any, movement on a good driveshaft.

Sarah and Rover

How is the torque on the shock and sway-bar mounting bolts?

Are the shock spacers in the control arm OK?

Is the emergency brake working smoothly?

--
Jim - '92 Red 245 193K, and sometimes an '85 245 275K+

Thanks for responding Jim.
I torqued those bolts to spec with a torque wrench - 32 ft. lbs. for the sway bar mount and 62 ft. lbs. for the lower shock/sway bar mount if I remember correctly. The shock spacers looked good to me and the emergency brake is functioning well. I get the noises whether I use the e-brake or not so I don't believe it to be sticking e-brake shoes.
Tom

Bad torque rod bushings will clunk but it sounds like you have done them?

Yes, I've replaced the torque rod bushings, and the front and rear trailing arm bushings with polyurethane. Thanks for the reply,
Tom