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Help: Rear suspension weird noise?


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mrtwo
09-24-2004, 09:42 PM
I have been dealing with this weird noise for some time. I can hear the noise sounds like two pieces of heavy metal hitting each other. It sounds from the right rear area. It happens more often when speed is low say 30 mph on rough road. On highway, it does not happen as often.

I sent my car to my mechanics. He changed rear struts, right strut mount, right stabilizer bar link. And checked stabilizer bar bushings. A lot of labor has been spent but the noise is still there. Anyone know what it can be?

Brian R.
09-24-2004, 10:13 PM
Does it make the noise occasionally or repeatedly and fast on a rough road?

mrtwo
09-24-2004, 10:21 PM
It is hard to describe. Sometimes, it is occasionally. Sometimes, it is repeatedly, e.g. before a red light where the road is rough due to all the braking during hot weather.

nipsirc
09-24-2004, 11:08 PM
It is your brakes. Must be the drums or the calipers are hitting metal.

Brian R.
09-24-2004, 11:12 PM
Get as far under the car as possible - both sides - and have someone hefty bounce the suspension up and down while you try to locate the area or specific part making the noise.

Brian R.
09-24-2004, 11:15 PM
Check your muffler/exhaust pipe hangers also.

mrtwo
09-24-2004, 11:18 PM
Get as far under the car as possible - both sides - and have someone hefty bounce the suspension up and down while you try to locate the area or specific part making the noise.

Thanks. But first I will sit in the car to hear if there is noise. I can not hear anything when I press the rear bumper up and down.

mrtwo
09-24-2004, 11:19 PM
It is your brakes. Must be the drums or the calipers are hitting metal.

It happens no matter I use brake or not :(

Brian R.
09-25-2004, 12:00 AM
Could it be something in your trunk?

mrtwo
09-25-2004, 04:02 AM
It is your brakes. Must be the drums or the calipers are hitting metal.

I think it is possible. We may have looked at the wrong place. My rear brake is drum. What metal can it hit?

mrtwo
09-25-2004, 04:08 AM
Could it be something in your trunk?

Congratulations to be a fanatic :) Before this a mechanic took all the stuff out the trunk and suggested me to change struts and mounts. There is water under my spare tire so I am going to take all stuff out and try again. BTW is that mean my trunk is leaking and the waste can enter the cabin?

Brian R.
09-25-2004, 07:28 AM
Hard to say from my perspective. Nothing should get in your trunk. Probably a seal problem on the lid.

Mike Gerber
09-25-2004, 09:33 AM
mrtwo,

When the mechanic took everything out of your trunk, did that include the jack and the jack handle? If not, make sure the are securely tightened.

Mike

mrtwo
09-25-2004, 02:12 PM
This morning I took everything out to drain the water and took a test drive and the noise is still there.
I also noticed it will make one big noise when it runs over a large pit. It makes repeated but smaller noise on slightly rough road particularly on concrete road (the road looks pretty smooth though and i was driving at around 15 mph). There is no noise on really smooth road.
I also made a small bump and drive over it one wheel after another :) I was able to tell the noise is from the rear. Also the noise is louder from right side. I also feel the noise is louder when driving forward than backward.
My mechanics said something might have happened every time when the tire runs over a bump and is pushed up.
I probably should have stopped from the beginning but now I just can not stop. :(

tanuong
09-25-2004, 02:48 PM
You have to buy an aftermarket strut because the same happened to me.

mrtwo
09-25-2004, 02:57 PM
But the mechanic has changed everything he can think of.
See the 1st post.

tanuong
09-25-2004, 04:25 PM
you need aftermarket suuspension because all of the oem ones are defective

tntang
09-25-2004, 04:54 PM
I have the same problem as you are having. Every time I go over a bump or on an uneven road, the car makes the knocking/thumping sound. I replaced the rear struts but the noise is still present...My mechanic said he accidently broke some part of the sway bar and said he would fix it sometime. He said the sway bar replacement should stop the noise, but I'm not too sure. I'll tell him to replace the sway bar bushings as well. I'll keep you informed when I get the fix done.

mrtwo
09-25-2004, 06:33 PM
you need aftermarket suuspension because all of the oem ones are defective

But with the original ones, the problem was there.

mrtwo
09-25-2004, 06:35 PM
Thanks, tntang. I may change my bushings next week since i heard it is easy to do and the parts are cheap. But the bushings are really tight i don't see how they can be bad.

tntang
09-25-2004, 07:22 PM
mrtwo,

How long have you had the suspension problem? I've been living with the noise for about a year now. It's just the rear passenger side thats making the noise. I did notice that whenever its wet and raining outside, the noise seems to not happen as much as in dry weather. I don't know if you had this experience but I'd just like to share mine. Well...I'll just have to drive around some more until my mechanic gives me a call.

mrtwo
09-25-2004, 08:16 PM
I did not notice any difference caused by weather. I bought it this past april. It is probably there before i got it. The position sounds right. We may have the exactly same problem. I will send my car in Oct 4th again. Please keep me posted.

nick bamberger
09-28-2004, 08:42 PM
It's definitly ADJUSTER SLEEVE BUSHINGs. I had exactly the same problem and I got used ones from another car.

mrtwo
09-28-2004, 09:16 PM
What is ADJUSTER SLEEVE BUSHINGs? Is it the same as stabilizer bar (or sway bar) bushing? Thanks.

burchard
09-30-2004, 02:03 PM
What is ADJUSTER SLEEVE BUSHINGs? Is it the same as stabilizer bar (or sway bar) bushing? Thanks.
Most probably your problems relates to sway bar bushings and/or sway bar links.

nick bamberger
09-30-2004, 03:59 PM
Yes, It is the same thing. There are two bars that run across the rear bottom of your car. These are known as sway bar bushings, adjuster sleeve bushings, and several others. To correct the problem it is necessary to replace the bushing(s) which are causing the noise/vibration. It is simple, but afterwards you will need a one/two wheel rear alignment, depending on which bushings you replace.

jcamry
09-30-2004, 07:48 PM
same problem happened whit my 98 camry.the noise drove me nuts so i traded it in at the dealer. i got another 98 camry whith no noise for the first 6 months and now that annoying noise is in this car.i read on a form awile back about this problem, toyota has addresed this to the company that makes the struts. they said it was normal to hear that noise in the first inch of travel of the strut. as for the water in the trunk, look on the drivers side rear corner of the trunk, there is a vent. i think it is behind the taillight cover or around that area. i have also had that problem with my first camry and toyota fixed it free of charge because i had just bought the car 2 week eariler. i hope this will help

jcamry
09-30-2004, 08:05 PM
i see yuors is a 95 camry but i think this might help.




98-99 Camry's with noise over bumps. This is not really new but still unsolved. Toyota as of 4/99 is still working on this problem. Some customers don't notice the noise from the front or it takes a certain type of use, driving habits or even temperature, since we are far down the feeding chain for information I really don't know. We have installed some of the strut bumpers and they have helped. The noise from the rear is easier to correct. They seem to be the ones produced in the states so if you find the noise unusual installing Japan spec rear struts it works. In talking to the Tech line some dealers have tried 6 cyl. struts and keeping the springs the same but we tried and it did not work. 4/99 Update: Toyota is working with the manufacturer of the struts made for the US built Camry's. The strut company is owned by a European company that feels that the looseness or dampening for the first 1" of travel is desirable. We know that our customer are not as sure as they are, but the strut company is being stubborn. 7/99

Update: The new upper mounts are available from Toyota in sufficient quantities and seem to be working. 2/00

found this at http://www.yotarepair.com/technicaltopics.html
its about half way down the page

ProMan
09-30-2004, 10:10 PM
Hey, I thought it's unique to my car. Looks like some other cars have the same problem. It's still mystery to me. I replaced the rear right strut but the noise is still there. It happens when the car is very slow on a rough raod, say, field with large pebbles. You can hear the clanking noise. But it never happen on highways. Can't figure it out still.

jcamry
10-01-2004, 07:01 AM
they say to install Japan spec rear struts. i dont know if this works or not

burchard
10-01-2004, 10:07 AM
they say to install Japan spec rear struts. i dont know if this works or not
The description that nick is doing about the sway bar bushings does not correspond to a camry 95. In this car the sway bars are located in the front and rear suspensions. Each of them has two bushings (very easy to replace). There is no need to take the sway bar apart to replace them. since the toyota bushing are open bushings. Once you change the bushings there is no need of an alignment. If you car is a 95 probably your bushings are worn enough to cause some noise. Take a look at my gallery I put a picture. The two paralell arms are the rear control arms. On top of them you can see a twisted bar which is the anti-sway bar which is connected to the sway bar link (left) and the sway bar bushings (right). Good luck

tntang
10-01-2004, 10:47 PM
burchard, thanks a lot for your help!! I now know what a sway bar, end link, and bushings look like and where they are on the car.

My mechanic said he broke the sway bar somehow because of rusted nuts and bolts?? I'm currently driving the car so I guess there's no danger?

burchard, have you replaced these items before? If so, can you spend some time on explaining how to replace these parts? I'm a total car newbie, all I can do is change the oil on my car. My stupid mechanic said, "I'll change your sway bar when I have time." That's a bunch of BS cause it's been over a month now. I've been calling and calling but he said he doesn't have any time. So hard to find a trustworthy mechanic :frown: He said he has the parts already so I think I'm just going to demand the parts and never come back.

burchard
11-16-2004, 09:25 AM
burchard, thanks a lot for your help!! I now know what a sway bar, end link, and bushings look like and where they are on the car.

My mechanic said he broke the sway bar somehow because of rusted nuts and bolts?? I'm currently driving the car so I guess there's no danger?

burchard, have you replaced these items before? If so, can you spend some time on explaining how to replace these parts? I'm a total car newbie, all I can do is change the oil on my car. My stupid mechanic said, "I'll change your sway bar when I have time." That's a bunch of BS cause it's been over a month now. I've been calling and calling but he said he doesn't have any time. So hard to find a trustworthy mechanic :frown: He said he has the parts already so I think I'm just going to demand the parts and never come back.
Did you get your problem kixed. ? If not see what part is broken in the sway bar. If the links are broken then you have to replace them and is a jib that any machanic could do. If you need to replace the bushings, see earlier posts in this thread. Good luck.

mrtwo
11-16-2004, 10:30 AM
burchard,

Thank you for the picture. I have sent the car to the mechanics for three times. The latest is he took off the whole sway bar and told me there is nothing wrong. He has given up for now. Is it possible that something is wrong with the control arms?

burchard
11-16-2004, 12:06 PM
burchard,

Thank you for the picture. I have sent the car to the mechanics for three times. The latest is he took off the whole sway bar and told me there is nothing wrong. He has given up for now. Is it possible that something is wrong with the control arms?
To check the control arms jack the car up and see if you can replicate the noise moving the wheel back and forward on the horizontal axis. See if any of the control arm bushings are not tight, specialy those close to the wheels. The ones close to the chassis almost never fail.

Cammy_01
11-17-2004, 08:17 PM
I have been dealing with this weird noise for some time. I can hear the noise sounds like two pieces of heavy metal hitting each other. It sounds from the right rear area. It happens more often when speed is low say 30 mph on rough road. On highway, it does not happen as often.

I sent my car to my mechanics. He changed rear struts, right strut mount, right stabilizer bar link. And checked stabilizer bar bushings. A lot of labor has been spent but the noise is still there. Anyone know what it can be?

I had a little RX7, same silly clunk/thud noise everytime I went over a bump or pot hole.. took a year, but finally discovered the rear shock mount was just slightly loose, but not visably loose. Try tightening up the rear shocks. I assume the Camry has rear shocks and not struts?? I have not looked under mine yet.

mrtwo
11-17-2004, 08:29 PM
Cammy_01
Thank you for your reply. Camry has struts, not shocks. But i don't really know the difference. The machanics has changed one of the strut mount. I assumed it is not the problem.

ProLS1
11-18-2004, 12:19 AM
I have been dealing with this weird noise for some time. I can hear the noise sounds like two pieces of heavy metal hitting each other. It sounds from the right rear area. It happens more often when speed is low say 30 mph on rough road. On highway, it does not happen as often.

I sent my car to my mechanics. He changed rear struts, right strut mount, right stabilizer bar link. And checked stabilizer bar bushings. A lot of labor has been spent but the noise is still there. Anyone know what it can be?

drive the car about 15 or 20 mph and cut the wheel left and right. let me know if it knocks once each cut and if its louder on deceleration as opposed to acceleration.

mrtwo
11-18-2004, 08:38 AM
ProLS1,
What do you mean by saying "cut the wheel left and right"? Thanks.

Cammy_01
11-19-2004, 01:46 PM
ProLS1,
What do you mean by saying "cut the wheel left and right"? Thanks.

Just means to turn hard rt and lft.

Cammy_01
11-19-2004, 01:47 PM
I would still check all of the mounting hardware that there is not something loose.. even though it has strut rear. It can visually look tight, but still be just loose enough to cause a noise when stressed by a bump.

mrtwo
11-21-2004, 10:14 AM
drive the car about 15 or 20 mph and cut the wheel left and right. let me know if it knocks once each cut and if its louder on deceleration as opposed to acceleration.

I did what u told me and was not able to duplicate the problem. I did not notice any difference between deceleration and acceleration :(

Cammy_01
11-21-2004, 09:01 PM
I did what u told me and was not able to duplicate the problem. I did not notice any difference between deceleration and acceleration :(

So the problem is fixed?? You were not able to reproduce the problem?

mrtwo
11-21-2004, 09:06 PM
The problem is still there. But there is not knocking when I cut the wheel as ProLS1 said. I am going to change my sway bar bushings even though they looks good according to my mechanics.

Cammy_01
11-21-2004, 09:29 PM
The problem is still there. But there is not knocking when I cut the wheel as ProLS1 said. I am going to change my sway bar bushings even though they looks good according to my mechanics.

Couldnt hurt.. they could be loose as well.

mrtwo
11-27-2004, 07:30 PM
PROBLEM SOLVED after i changed the sway bar bushings. I can't not believe that it is the two little rubber bushings after all these troubles. Weird thing is that the sway bar is not loosed at all so that both my mechanics and me missed the bushings. And the bushings look not too bad. Thank you all for your help.

tntang
11-27-2004, 09:22 PM
Was it the sway bar bushings??? I'm so glad to hear that mrtwo. Mine actually look like they're ripped in half. I'm gonna change it this weekend.

mrtwo
11-27-2004, 09:33 PM
I still could not believe it. Good luck for you, tntang.

ProMan
12-11-2004, 10:18 PM
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. I just replaced the 2 rear swaybar bushings and the mysterious clunking noise that bothered me for the past 3 years is gone. And the car feels so firm when going over bumps. Never noticed there is a sway bar there. Not to say the bushings. I checked the swaybar, I can shake it with my hand.

I had been into couple shops, including local gas stations and some famous chain stores. None of them were ever even close to really solve this. The diagnoses and solutions I got including replace all 4 sturts, replace control arms, replace wheel bearings, need new brakes, replace wheel cylinders, etc. Luckly I didn't feel all their professional suggestions sound like the causes of the noise I heard so I didn't do any of these expensive and useless repairs. I got the 2 bushings for $10 from a dealer and it took me 10 minutes to replace both.

I checked the old bushings, the hole in the center turned into oval, that alowed the swaybar to move up and down loosely. I believe that caused the noise. The new ones hold the bar very tight and I can't shake it with my hands anymore.

mrtwo
12-12-2004, 09:33 AM
I am happy for you. Cong.

bullitt5048
12-24-2004, 03:11 AM
as for the water in the trunk did you check the weather stripping around the trunk to see if theres un even wear around the weather stripping same thing happend to me takes a lil while but all it need is a lil alignment

tntang
12-24-2004, 05:13 AM
Well, my cousin and I replaced the sway bar bushings and the clunking noise is gone!! I had this car for 2 years with that annoying noise and I finally figured out what the hell was wrong with it. I looked at the old bushings but I really couldn't find any tears in it. It was worn but I still don't know how it could have made that noise... the tear I mentioned in my earlier post was supposed to be there to fit the bushings into the sway bar. I am so relieved the problem is fixed. I even thought about trading in my car because of the noise. Now I love it!

tntang
12-24-2004, 05:14 AM
We should make a "Fixed Clunking Noise By Replacing Swar Bar Bushings" Club. lol :P

Brian R.
12-24-2004, 12:00 PM
There already is a "Fixed Front-end Creaking by Replacing Sway Bar Bushings Club"

Brian R.
12-24-2004, 12:03 PM
What causes the bushings to wear is when water and salt (or just water) gets into the bushing, it corrodes the surface of the sway bar and the surface becomes rough. This wears away the bushing. To get a long-term fix, you should polish the sway bar with a strip of emory cloth where the bushing rubs and then replace the bushing with a new one. Then the sway bar is smooth and the fix will last longer.

kingpin5
04-17-2005, 08:16 AM
This is a great forum. I have a 98 camry that has similar problems described by mrtwo. I have had these problems for more than 2.5 years now.

I have replaced all the 4 struts. And also 2 strut mounts in the back. The bearings have not been replaced.

I still have the following problems

1) clunking noise from the front (driver's side to be side) at low speeds (not on the express ways) - 35 mphs or so. Not necessary to go over the bumps to hear these. Just a small uneven surface on the road is enough to generate these noises.

2) Noise from the rear (loud and thumping) at low speeds - when i go over a fairly big bump. (very low speeds such as 5 mph - 25 mph). Bumps bigger than the ones described in problem 1)

Replacing the strut mounts in the back helped problem 2) a bit but it is not completely gone.

Question for mrtwo and others :

I plan on replacing the sway bar bushings.

a) Are these used in both front and the rear ?
b) So I would need to replaced all 4 correct ?
c) Will it take care of both the problems described above ?

Anything else that others can recommend ? By the way, thanks a lot.

mrtwo
04-17-2005, 11:01 AM
kingpin5,

I think those bushings are used for both front and back. Those bushings are cheap and cost about $13 for two. So why not replace all of them and see if the problems are fixed. I regret that i had the two rear struts replaced before i replaced the bushings.

hz0405
04-18-2005, 04:13 PM
So glad to know you guys solved the problem. I have the same problem for over ten years and the car dealer told me it's something in my trunk. I don't believe it because I emptied my trunk and the rattling noise is still there.
I have three questions.
1. How many bushings do I need? My problem is at the rear (one side).
2. Anyone can show me a picture pointing the location of the bushing?
3. Where did you buy the bushings?

thanks

mrtwo
04-18-2005, 06:49 PM
hz0405,
You need two for the rear sway bar and they come in two. I bought mine at Napa. You can see the photo in any auto repair manual such as the Hayes manual.

kingpin5
04-19-2005, 06:53 AM
I havent had a chance to fix mine yet. Will do it in the next two weeks or so (hopefully). But as mrtwo said, you could get the parts at Napa and also at Advance Auto Parts (www.partsamerica.com). Autozone will have these too.

I did get a copy of Hayes manual from the library yesterday but it looks like you need to raise the car a bit to replace these. Mechanic may be a good idea as opposed to do-it-yourself.

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