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clunk in rear

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by myride, Sep 7, 2004.

  1. myride

    myride Junior Member

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    i have noticed a matalic thump in the rear area of the car. sounds like the pass side tire/ wheel well area but i might be mistakened. it happens when im coming to a stop and im all but stopped. it doesnt happen all the time but it happens more than it doesnt. i didnt hear this during the first 5K miles or so and i now have 7K on it. im taking it in to the dealership in a week or so when i can get girlfriend out of it. i was woundering if anyone has had something close to this. i am a mechanic and i know most noises and it almost sounds like a strut tower is loose in the rear and its moving as the veh slows down (almost stopped 3-5 mph). i love the car but cant stand the moise. also it seams to be worse with a pass in the rear (3 total) than when im the only one in it. :|
     
    #1 myride, Sep 7, 2004
  2. Tempus

    Tempus Senior Member

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    Lift up the secret panel under the rear hatch floorboard and see if there's anything loose in the secret storage bin.

    Then remove the secret storage bin and see if there's anything loose down around the spare tire/jack assembly.

    If you have the Wheel Locks, pay special attention to looking for the 'key'.

    They often store it down with the spare tire, and if it gets loose it can rattle around.
     
    #2 Tempus, Sep 7, 2004
  3. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Coupla other things to check...

    1)There is a plastic tightener for the spare, make sure it's scewed down nice and tight.

    2)Check for loose stuff everywhere.

    3)License plate holder bounces a bunch. I put weather striping under mine to help reduce rattle.

    4) Here's the most likely cause...it was on mine with near identical symptoms..... Put on clothes that you can get dirty. Crawl under your car...rear passenger side. You'll see the muffler. Above the muffler between it and the floor of the car is a piece of metal 'flashing' I found that that thing rattled against the muffler like crazy (can't recall now if it was the muffler and flashing that rattled more or the flashing and the floor of the cargo area above it.). Anyway, I bought some expanding spray foam insulation in a can at a hardware store. I sprayed that in a few key areas...this stuff goes in like a foam, expands then hardens and won't go anywhere for a long long time. It did a perfect job of stopping the rattle.

    Now, if I could get rid of the little one in the dash....
     
    #3 efusco, Sep 7, 2004
  4. myride

    myride Junior Member

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    reply to clunk

    im about to go put the rear of the veh up on ramps and do a thorough under carriage inspection. i will keep you updated :lol:
     
    #4 myride, Sep 7, 2004
  5. shocker

    shocker Junior Member

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    My car started to make the same noise at around 9,000 miles. It makes it usually when I am stopping at a downhill stop sign. I was just becoming annoyed enough with it to post when I saw this thread. Please keep me updated, thanks
     
    #5 shocker, Sep 7, 2004
  6. Frank Hudon

    Frank Hudon Senior Member

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    loose backing plate? possible. Does it get worse going from drive to reverse. Also the easy way to find clunks and noises is with a 3 foot chunk of old garden hose, one end to ear and other pointed in the direction of the offending noise. keep moving the hose around until you zero in on the noise. Some times it takes another person diving and you climbing around in the car and pointing the hose at where you hear the noise and zeroing in on the spot.
     
    #6 Frank Hudon, Sep 7, 2004
  7. myride

    myride Junior Member

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    inspected under the car. found the floashing/heat shield that was refereed to. it isn't loose enough to make this noise but i made sure it was not able to touch anything. removed the tires and brake drums from rear. everything looks good (did notice a little rust around the inside of the hole in middle of drum. cleaned it and added neverseiz to it) at this time i grabbed the coil thats on the strut. moving it back and forth it makes the noise i'm hearing. louder and more often when top is moved than bottom so id guess the rubber isolator at the top is needing lubbed or replacement. ALSO a note to anyone who lives in a hot climate..... i have found when i took out all the items in the rear cargo compartment and the spare tire an oily liquid in the spare tire area (its not oil based cleans up too easy)... i looked for signs of leakage and found none. i believe it is from the adhesive holding on the rubber pads under the spare tire and too much heat (mine doesn't have the luxury of a garage) :( YOU might want to look at yours for this problem. I noticed a smell in the veh a few days before and sure enough it was this liquid. ill let you know what the dealer says on the noise and ill ask about the liquid too so ill post that later.
     
    #7 myride, Sep 7, 2004
  8. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    What, you don't want to fill the dsah with expanding foam? ;-)
     
    #8 bruceha_2000, Sep 8, 2004
  9. Billdig

    Billdig Junior Member

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    Was a solution to this ever found? I have a Gen II, 45K miles, clunks once when you are slowing and almost stopped. Increasing in frequency. I've removed EVERYTHING from the back, including the spare, and it still happens. It IS suspension related, but pushing and pulling on things does not reproduce it. Any clues? Have not yet crawled around in the back with wife driving (am afraid to...have you SEEN my wife drive?!).

    Billdig
     
    #9 Billdig, Feb 12, 2011
  10. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    I suggest that you have the rear sway bar and rear shocks mounting hardware tightened.
     
    #10 Patrick Wong, Feb 12, 2011
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