Heavy clunk from rear end!

[beatlebacker]

Hi guys - newbie to the forum and hoping you canshed some light on my query?!

I'm running a 2002 HDi 110 Rapier which is an absolute dream to drive ... until recently. Last year saw a whole heap of maintenance carried out mainly due to the mileage and the fact that I cover almost 20K miles each year back and forth to work ... clutch and dual mass flywheel (damned expensive!), timing belt, aux belt and water pump, front and rear pads and discs, rear silencer and a few tyres. A trip to a local garage suggested 'weak' shockers ... and so were replaced as a matter of course ... waste of £70! Noise still there.

Since the rear brakes have been replaced an annoying heavy metallic 'clunk' or knocking has appeared from the rear end, progressively getting worse with time, to the point where today I noticed on a trip back along the m/way, when going over a worn section of road the noise transmitting up through the car was quite alarming. I've been trying to track the noise down whilst driving (dificult at best) and thought at first it might have been the subframe / mounting bushes ... but after trawling through the numerous posts on th eforum, it appears they're really quite robust items. So, thoughts progressed to other related bushes on the rear end - all checked by a local grease monkey with a pry bar to no avail (MOT 1 week after checking proved all ok - not even an advisory). Prior to this a trip to a local garage suggested 'weak' shockers ... and so were replaced as a matter of course ... waste of £70! Noise still there.

This last week or two thoughts drifted to the possibility of loose pads within the calipers, no shims, no lock pins or the such, etc, as the noise seemed to soften or get quieter after heavy braking?! (I have noticed that the discs are starting to score already so me thinks calipers need overhauling). However, after the aforementioned trawling exercise it would appear that the ARB's and upper / lower drop links come to light more often than anything else.

Would that be the general concensus amongst you Pug experts? Or can you throw some other stuff into the mix?

Incidentally, after my excursions through this site I'm impressed by the vast pool of knowledge on tap - keep up the good work.

[jasper5]

Try jacking up the rear wheels a pulling the wheel side to side and up and down, any wear in the top links would show up then.
Take a good look at the large plastic link rods on the rear, try pulling on these for any movement.
The anti roll bar D bushes make a racket when worn, check these properly.

[beatlebacker]

Thanks Jasper - I'll take a good look and hopefully find something similar to your suggestions. Let you know my findings as and when!

[beatlebacker]

(Btw - large plastic link rods ... attached to?)

[beatlebacker]

S'ok - found the plastic links and they seem ok. N/S/R tie rod appears to be the culprit regarding the clunking (I think) ... O/S/R seems fine, but I'll change the axle pair. The ARB D bushes could also do with being replaced. (Oddly enough the tie rods were ear-marked advisory's on the 2 previous MOT's as being a little ropey, but not this time around?!). And I guess I'll have to get the rear end tracked after replacement. If there's anything else I should know prior to replacement please let me know, otherwise thanks for all your help.

[jasper5]

If you mean the horizontal tie rod, there is a How-to in the How-to section.