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With due credit and consideration to Paul Simon...
I've been messing with the clunking rear suspension of my '83 245 for nearly a year. Meanwhile I've exorcised clunks from two other 240's, but this one is nuts! At this point the car has urethane torque arm bushings, urethane trailing arm center bushings, new shocks, urethane panhard rod bushings. The funny thing about this car is that it heals, temporarily. After each repair, the car stops clunking for a few days, a week, a month, then it comes back. I have not changed the trailing arm front bushings since I've had the arms down and they seem to have been changed. No cracks showing, they seem solid. Earlier this week I jacked up the car by the suspension (load on the springs), broke all the suspension points free (for the third time) and re-torqued them all. Car was quiet, for three days. However, as it always does, my clunk is back. And, as always, it has changed. Now we get a double-clunk, but only if we take off with the wheel turned and accelerate hard. A straight take off with moderate acceleration is usually quiet. I'm beginning to suspect differential problems, but there is no other noise at all. Now I know Sherlock Holmes would tell me "Whatever is left, regardless of how improbable...." etc. That I should change the front trailing arm bushings. I have them on my work bench. Thought I'd solicit opinions first, as the symptoms are psychotic.
Thanks to all who have given input on this mystery over the last twelve months,
DS
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