Clunking in rear

[Drewe30e]

I have a clunking noise that sounds like its coming from my differential. It happens the moment that I press on the accelerator and then also when I suddenly let off. Whenever I shift gears it does it too. It seems as if something is loose in the differential or possibly at one of the CV joints where there is some slack in the system.

I also noticed that when slowing down I can hear a faint clicking noise that correlates with speed as I come to a stop (under 10mph). Any ideas?

[wagonizzle]

I have the same situation in the rear. It is suggested that this comes from worn out subframe bushings, or perhaps a diff mount or trailing arm bushings. I am going to be replacing all of that as well as rear shock mounts pretty soon, so I may not be able to tell which thing used to make what noise, but at 20 years old, I'm sure none of that stuff is doing it's job anymore so I may as well swap all of it. You should do the same. Or, live with it. As long as you don't drive aggressively, you could probably go another 50k like that.

[gazellebeigem3]

subframe bushings

[Drewe30e]

If its just a noise and won't be much of a safety problem for a DD, should I even worry about replacing them. I'm at 213k on the odometer but don't plan to put much more money into this car. What do you guys think?

[StereoInstaller1]

1. Plan on spending money on this car
2. U-Joint.

Hooray, you get to replace a driveshaft, see #1 above

[Fidhle007]

Halfshafts, wheel bearings or a u-joint like Luke said.

[TDE30]

Could be subframe mounts or diff mounts.

[Erick]

Sounds like something in the subframe moving. Either the subframe or the differential.

[Drewe30e]

1. Plan on spending money on this car
2. U-Joint.

Hooray, you get to replace a driveshaft, see #1 above

I've actually had this car for about 9 years now and have put money into it in the past. However, I'm only planning on keeping this car for another year or so and don't really want to dump too much more money into it than I have to.

At the moment I only can do visual inspection or parts under my car. Any red flags I should look for?

[StereoInstaller1]

I read your original post again. I think it really sounds like a U Joint, but we both know the difference between conjecture and knowledge, right?

My suggestion is to get the ass end of the car off the ground, but use the shock mounts or something like it as the jackstand point so the suspension is closer to the normal compression. then, get under there and look for stuff and yank it around. yank pretty carefully on that driveshaft, the drive axels,wedge a prybar under the subframe and yank to see just how shitty the subframe bushings are...

So, tell us why you think you are getting rid of this car?

[Drewe30e]

So, tell us why you think you are getting rid of this car?

Just upgrading the car. I bought this car when I was in high school and I just graduated from grad school and now have a job. Where I live now, I don't have a garage to work on the car myself and I feel like a sucker paying some guy to do the work for me that I can do myself. I'm going to wait a year to make sure I'm relatively financially stable and then probably upgrade to a newer 3-series.

The next time I get a chance, I'll try and check things out. Thanks for the advice.

[nickpdx]

I also get a clunking noise from the rear but only when I accelerate in 1st gear and then disengage the clutch (such as exiting a parking lot or other short distances) and lose momentum quickly. Will have to check out some of the things posted in this thread...thanks for all the ideas. :)

[Drewe30e]

Finally got the car up in the air. Everything seems to be good looking except, when twisting the driveshaft by hand, i hear a similar clunking noise. Someone told me it was the driveshaft support. Does this sound right?