I just bought this 1999 SR5 with 159,000 miles and have put a bunch of work into so far. One thing I can't seem to figure out is a clunking sound when I hit bumps in the road. Definately coming from the rear quarter panels and mostly on the right side. Almost like the muffler hitting the frame sound but higher up in the interior wall. What should I be looking at or looking for to fix this?

I've crawled under and can't find any broken links or suspension parts. Again, I don't think its the driveshaft or any under the truck. Its only when I'm driving and not related to stopping or starting. It sounds like its in the quarter panels.

 

Could something in the cargo box be making that noise?

 

missing /worn bushings at the upper shock or sway bar??

 

How do I access the upper shock mount? The FSM isn't clear if its from inside or underneath the truck.

 

make sure the spare tire is sinched up tight?

 

Look in the cargo storage areas.

:wabbit2:

 

I checked the tire already. I'm leaning towards the upper shock mounts because the sound is coming from the sides, not the center of the truck.

 

the upper shock is likely broken. dirt and munge gets in there and cannot
get out, and the shock rots away....

 

I just looked at the shocks and the shaft is not broken and the bushings look old but still in place. I may just change them anyway. What else goes bad on these truck in that area?

 

I had a clunk as well, turned out to be the bushings in the track bar. Not sure if you have a track bar or not, but bushings might look ok when they really need replacing.

 

Other than just replacing them, How can I check them?

 

Sounds odd, but do this: fold down the rear seats and go for a test ride. My guess is, it's the rear seat latches. The solution is to put a few wraps of electrical tape around the latch hoops, to take up some slack. Worked for me!

 

Have someone drive your truck, while you hang out in the back and pinpoint where the sound is coming from. The rear seat latches is a common source of noise, as is having stuff in the cubbyhole in the rear passenger side of the rear storage area. The rear strut mounts are accessed from under the truck. Also give all the bars/arms in the rear suspension a shake and see if anything's loose back there.

 

So I folded the rear seat forward and drove around. The mystery clunk went away. I'll keep driving it that way to make sure but I think we have found the problem. Thanks for the post. You may have saved my sanity.