Newbie with a problem

[K8sfavaunt]

Hi All, I am in need of some assistance from fellow Toyota owners. I have a 1993 Camry with 115,000 miles that has developed the most annoying thud noise in the rear. To date noone has been able to locate it. I have new shocks and mounts and have checked the sway bar bushings and they seem okay. It sounds like the spare and jack are laying loose in the trunk but they are secured. When I hit a bump it sounds like the rear of the car is going to fall off. I have spent a ton of money on the car in the last year. Replaced timing belt, engine mounts, brakes, water pump, and both rear shocks and mounts so you can see why I would like to keep it as it should last me another several years. This noise has me at wits end. I have called the Toyota dealership and of course, they want to charge me to diagnose the problem but the Mechanic said it sounded to him like it was still the strut mounts and I would need to replace them again but with geniune Toyota parts to stop the noise. Well HELLO I can't afford to replace them again. The man who does my work is a mechanic by trade and I trust all the work he does for me. He has no idea what the noise is and just seems to keep replacing things hoping to solve the noise , which so far hasn't been the case. Can anyone here enlighten me as to what the problem might possibly be. I've got the woman syndrome so I don't know where else to check and don't want to spend alot more unnecessary money still to hear the damn thing rattle. HELP????

[vsixcamry]

First off, by a haynes manual, i guarantee it is the best $15 you will ever spend.

i would say take a look at your strut mounts. Compare their status to that displayed in the Haynes Manual. It could also be your exhaust coming lose, ive heard of some people that have had their exhaust has come loose and caused a rattling or clunking noise.

[K8sfavaunt]

What do I compare on the mounts. They are brand new. Are you saying they could be installed wrong? Sorry to ask so many stupid questions but, cars aren't really my thing. Also, I have had the exhaust checked already and it isn't loose. Any other ideas?Thanks

[BLUEMEANIE]

if its in the rear its your endlinks. the bushings are shot. Your endlink connects your swaybar to your strut.

...the only strutmounts that would make any noise are the front ones and thats only when the bearings go bad

[K8sfavaunt]

Thanks Bluemeanie... I just have a question. Are the endlinks something that is fairly visable as you are looking under the car or do you have to dig deeper to actually see the bushings? The only reason I ask is all I have heard is "your control arm bushings look fine." and that is just by glancing under the car. Are we talking about the same thing here?

[terrastrife]

the endlinks on ya sway bar are similar but on a different bar, its one that runs across between teh 2 suspension arms... farily straight wit ha few bends in it, go under ya car, ifyou ca figure out what i mean and have a look whoever said "your control arm bushings look fine." bring it back to em and ask em if teh swaybar bushigs look ok

[joandjo]

How are you so sure it's not sway bar bushing problem? Sometimes, the bushing may look OK, but it's very hard to tell until you take it out and see. I had exactly the same problem. It was like my spare tire was not secure. I replaced the strut and the strut mount - no improvement. Finally I changed the sway bar bushing, and the noise was GONE....

The lesson I got was when this kind of problem happens, do the cheapest and easiest stuff first. Sway bar bushing is cheap (< $10 each) and it takes only 15 min to replace.

[Toysrme]

The end link is the rod connecting the RSB to the strut.

Basically it's the shineyest thing you'll see in these pictures...

Right side (passanger)



Left side

[Toysrme]

FYI


Always use thread locker on end-links. The nuts are bad to get rusted (frozen) on the stock mounts (locker will prevent that) while on brand new mounts. They have a tendancy to spin off under the extreme load placed on a single nut (several hundred lb-ft)

[slosh]

My g/f's car was doing the EXACT same thing you're describing. This evening I replaced the end links and viola - NO MORE THUMPING!

[K8sfavaunt]

Thanks everyone. I will be having the links replaced asap..

[Mike Gerber]

Try the swaybar bushings first. Have someone raise the car in the air. Now grasp the swaybar and try to move it side to side. If you can move it easily, the bushing are bad and need to be replaced. I just did this on my wife's 98 with the exact same symptoms as your car. First I tried to find something lose in the trunk. I tightened everything in there and even put some more rubber padding under the spare tire. It sounded like the spare tire was lose, but it wasn't. It was the swaybar contacting the bottom of the chasis. I was surprised at how much smaller the hole on the new bushings were when compared to my old bushings. I guess the hole that goes over the swaybar just gets bigger and bigger from the tension of holding the swaybar. The bushings are cheap and easy to replace.

Mike

[K8sfavaunt]

Okay, Now I have done a no no and got my Dad involved in this. He believes the swaybar is in front of the bigger bar between the 2 rear tires. This is what you all are talking about isn't it? It would have 4 bushings? Sorry to ask so many questions but this is not my forte' and I have to have someone do it for me. Also, I was thinking of calling someone and having it done. What would you guess it might cost me? I hate to call the Toyota dealership here in town as I know they aren't too honest.

Thanks again for all your help.

[Mike Gerber]

The rear swaybar has only 2 bushings. There are also bushings on the end links but the sway bar bushings are more commonly the problem. Look at the bottom of the 2 pictures Toysrme posted above. You can clearly see the black clamp that has to be unbolted on the left (driver's) side to replace the bushings. There is another one on the passenger side. Each has only 2 bolts that have to be removed to replace the bushings. The end links are the things that are vertical in the picture and attach to the sway bar. The bushings are about $10-$12 each at the dealer. If you have a tech that will install them for you if you pick them up, I can't see him charging any more than a half hour for the labor. It will probably take him 10 minutes if the bolts are not rusted solid and don't break. Ask your tech if he will install them for you. Tell him you feel better using OEM Toyota bushings and therefore would like to pick thme up yourself. But before you do anything, have him lift the car and see if the swaybar moves easily from side to side as I mentioned above. You can also try this test yourself but you have to lift the whole rear end of the car and support it securely with jackstands before you attempt to crawl under there.

Mike

[K8sfavaunt]

Thank You Mike. It's hard when you have to rely on someone else. I appreciate you helping me out.


Penny