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i promise this isnt another "clunk" thread

2K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  patrick983 
#1 ·
ok ive been investigating a clunk in the rear of my WJ for quite some time, and i would like some advice/opinions from you guys here, ill keep this as short as i can

symptoms:
loud clunk from rear (pass side i believe) going over SMALL sharp imperfections in the road, such as small potholes etc.
Noise is drastically reduced or eliminated if i hit a bump under load(on the gas)
Going faster seems to diminish as well.

things ive replaced:
entire a-arm, plus ball joint (twice)
both lower rear control arms and bushings
shocks (even removed shocks completely, noise remained unchanged)

now, ive come to think that play in the wheel bearing is allowing this clunk. in my experience though if the bearing was worn out it would howl/grind and get worse rapidly, ive had this noise for half a year, and on a smooth road there is no bearing-type noise at all, the rear is smooth as glass. but hit a 3inch pothole you cant even see and it sounds like my wheel fell off. any advice or things ive overlooked would be greatly appreciated!
 
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#2 ·
Have you checked your rear swaybar bushings? Do you have the old style addco bar that hits the gas tank? Nothing in the spare tire well bouncing around?
 
#3 ·
i dont run a rear swaybar, forgot to put that in the original post..oops. the noise sounds like its coming through the chassis, but its possible its under the floor in the tire well, i should check at least. but im thinking its underneath the car. ive checked the muffler as well, just really stumped here. going to pull out my axle shafts this weekend and take a look at them.
 
#4 ·
Check the brackets for the upper AND lower and see if they got egg shaped at all. My upper brackets were in real bad shape.
 
#5 ·
im gonna diassemble the entire rear AGAIN this weekend, and i'll make sure the brackets are ok, im pretty sure it is i can cycle the suspension and theres no play/noises etc. im pretty positive my clunk is in the axle, im just hoping someone else has had similar symptoms, usually bearings dont "clunk" without some other crazy noises accompanying that. tahnks for the responses so far guys
 
#7 ·
Gosh first thing that i thought was a arm ball joint, (90% of rear clunks start here kids)
but after reading the next sentence that said you did it twice, i didn't think it anymore hahaha

i'd look for egg shaping... its really my next best guess
 
#8 ·
removed/reinstalled the upper a-arm just now, and i can say pretty much 100% this noise is NOT in my a-arm. mounts and all 3 bushings are all perfect and new, no play anywhere cycling the suspension. its got to be somewhere besides the suspension. i will pull the axle shafts tomorrow, replacing rear bearings is such a PITA though :(. last thing im worried it could be is the pinion bearing, i;ll be checking tomorrow as well. i'll report back when i hopefully figure it out.
 
#9 ·
I think I posted something similar
I changed the rear muffler hanger and my clunk (sounded like tuka-tuka when I went over bumps) and the clunk stopped........then slowly came back
......then I changed the rear muffler hanger again along with the center muffler hanger and the sway bar end links ( I think they're the small ones behind the rear axle....and the clunk went away.............
Then came back.......WTFF!!!!! hate!!!!!

Please someone come up with an answer.....throwing money at clunks is not economically viable
 
#10 ·
Thinking more, wonder if something in the emegency brakes haven't broke loose?
 
#11 ·
I had the same problem so I rebuilt some things and checked all others. Clunk still existed. I read an article about shock mount bolts. I had replaced the shocks before so I didn't think that would do it. But I did pull out the top shock mount bolt and found it was worn in one spot. Almost too hard to detect it. I replaced it and Wow,, Its all quiet now. I think the bolt size is 13mm x 170mm. You might double check that but mine was the bolt all along.

Good Luck!
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the help but as i mentioned ive run the jeep with no rear shocks at all and the clunk remained, the shock mount problem is quite common and everyone should start there imo.
 
#13 ·
pulled the axle shaft out today, it fought me quite a bit. my clunk is definitely here. kinda hard to explain but the bracket that houses the 4 studs that mount the shaft to the axle, is loose. so the axle shaft and wheel can actually wobble around in the housing. the bearing appears to be ok. i'll post some pics once im finished. im gonna have to put it back together and order a new shaft nobody has them locally.
 
#15 ·
no no AXLE shaft not driveshaft, the bearing doesnt appear in terrible shape but has come "loose" from the shaft. and the plate bracket that holds in on(has 4 studs that mount it to the end of the axle before the brake is no longer tight to the shaft either, looks like its supposed to be pressed on as well. with both of these the way they are its making a hell of a racket, after greasing and reinstalling and torquing everyitng down the noise is 20 times worse now, so this will be replaced ASAP before my wheel tries to fall off.
 
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