Rear clunking

[adalex]

Hey guys need some troubleshooting help, I've noticed for a while now when I go over a speedbump or pot hole the back end clunks really bad like metal on metal. I've replaced the rear strut mounts and hardware in between, all 4 stabalizer links with deezas. I have a trd rsb with the trd bushings. I was trying to measure the bar a little while ago, because I thought that's the cause and I was going to replace the bushings with energy suspension bushings but the bar seems to be stable and hard to move and I looked at the nuts around the rear stuff and nothing seems to be loose. A few weeks ago I had read something about the jack and when I went and looked I touched the jack and it shifted. I took it out and put it in my garage but it still clunks. Is there anything specific I should look at in the back? If anybody has any thoughts and is willing to take a pic to have look at mine I would appreciate it. its been driving me nuts.

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[RPARR29]

Did you look at trailing arm bushings

[BMR]

Also check the lateral control arms... rear wheel wobble? how to diagnosis and replace a bad lateral control arm

[LE PEW]

Also while you're in the trunk take a look in the wells for the quarter panels and spare tire. I found a rusty tire iron next to my spare.

[adalex]

Are the trailing arm bushings and lateral control arms the samething?

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[BMR]

Originally Posted by adalex

Are the trailing arm bushings and lateral control arms the samething?

Nope. The lateral control arms go from the center of the car out to the knuckle. There are two on each side. The rearmost one has a turnbuckle in it for adjusting toe in/out. The trailing arm (one per side) runs lengthwise to the car. On the rearmost end, it attaches to the knuckle via a rubber bushing. At the front side, it attaches to the chassis, again via a rubber bushing.

[adalex]

i just looked and energy suspension has a rear end control arm bushing set. but no lateral arms. if its bad would i just be able to replace the bushings or does the whole thing need to be replaced? any easy way to tell if thats whats bad? or would i have to take the arm off the car? how would i tell if something is bad? im going outside to measure my rsb with the little tape measure off the energy suspension brochure to measure the rsb again. ill take some pics and maybe you can help me know what im looking at. I'm not too familiar with the back end stuff besides the rsb, stabalizer links and the struts.

[BMR]

Yes, you can replace just the bushings. I just did it on my right trailing arm to fix a rubbery creaking noise (vid below). I replaced the rear bushing with one from eBay. The front one was creaking a little too, So I pulled it out, lubed it, and reinstalled it. Nice & quiet now! BTW, I've read that the kits don't include that rear bushing, and that you can't get it from even Toyota separately... it comes with the knuckle. That's why I bought one on eBay.

To get the bushings out, putting the arms in a bench vise is very helpful. And use some lube to help them slide out easier. There's a special grease to use when reinstalling them; comes with 'em. It's some unusual stuff!... extremely sticky and viscous.

It's often hard to tell if they're bad without removing the arms. View of the bushing is mostly blocked until they're out. Sometimes the rubber is torn. The bolt in the rear of mine was totally frozen, so I had to use a cutoff saw to cut thru the bolt on both sides and then drop it out. It was a charred cut up mess when I was done, so it was hard to say what was wrong.

You Tube

You Tube

[adalex]

hey i took some pics and a few vids idk if its normal but the adjustable rod that they use when they do the alignment is able to be rotated by hand, thats the only thing i was able to tell was loose. im putting vids and pics up now

[adalex]

if u watch the second one thats the sound the bar was making a metallic sound with a plastic kind of crinkling noise too. liike i said i don't know if this normal since the inner tie rod ends are able to be twisted by hand and it makes the outer tie rod ends move too

i did notice the trd muffler i got from the guy on the forums here from chicago is flaking rust and the permatex i put on it to seal air leaks is falling off too. any recommendations on how to stop it and protect it?

You Tube

You Tube

You Tube

You Tube

You Tube

You Tube

and some pics (and of the muffler/trd rsb diameter)

[BMR]

Man, I dunno. None of yours look really bad to me. But I'm not really on expert on the rear suspension either. I'm pretty sure it's normal for them to move a bit when you twist on 'em.

In that second vid, that joint actually has a ball joint in it. It's not a simple rubber bushing. The clicking noise it was making makes me think it's bad.

Did you jack it up and try that test in the DIY thread I posted earlier (post #3)?... the one for checking lateral arm play? That might be more revealing.

[adalex]

no i didn't i climbed under and looked. i have to goto work ill be back on later tonight

[cammack]

i had the same problem. replaced the rear sway bar bushings, $16/ pr at autozone and all the stupid noise stopped!

[adalex]

U had a clunking noise like metal on metal when going over speedbumps? I notice it too when I go onto a main road over the dips on the side of the road for water runoff. It only does it if I go faster but if I go slow it doesn't do it

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[cammack]

Yeah, mine was at all speeds. But if the sway at bushings haven't been replaced yet, it's a cheap and easy one to rule out