Clunking noise in trunk area

[bubba912]

My 2000 Camry has had this clunking noise in the rear of the car for a long time. I always assumed it was stuff in my trunk, my golf clubs, or other odds and ends in there. I recently took all the stuff out, and the noise is still there......nothing seems to be loose, structurally, and sometimes it sounds like it is coming from the left rear, or right rear, or both or in the middle.......frustrating. The car runs very well , but I hate to pour a bunch of money into it, having my mechanic try to figure it out.........any suggestions??

Thanks

[pmesfun]

How old are the struts and mounts? Check the condition of the sway bar bushings, torn bushings can cause the bar to rattle around in the brackets.

[bubba912]

Bought the car used in 2000, and have only changed oil and tires since, so I don't know how old struts, etc. are. I have read on a number of sites about the bushings, is that a big job? I just took it somewhere, and it is the damdest thing........rattling away, worse when I hit bumps, but sometimes I hit bumps and it doesn't make any noise at all.

[usmc5811]

my 2000 solara does the same exact thing. I checked out the rear sway bar bushings and replaced them, that was extremely easy, but the noise remained. I noticed the noise the most when i was going slow over bumps or uneven roadways, I'd say under 35mph and once i was going faster I couldnt hear it. If your problem sounds like mine then chances are its your strut mounts, they're a notorious problem for our cars, my mounts were shot and my struts were shot at well. im just waiting on the struts now, but im 100% positive that was the issue, not too big of a problem and you can get back quick struts for about $300 and they'll have the strut mounts and everything, the only pain is getting to the bolts lol. And its a huge pain.