HI BOARD!!!
sorry to start off like this, but i need help.... on my 92 camry there is a clunking noise coming from the rear by the strut mount area... the shock and mounts are fairly new (aftermarket KYB) , not busted at all.... I climbed in the rear with the seat down, while my bro. drived the car and I can see the strut moving around and touching the mount area, (we took the whole assy. out and checked the mount it was good, and so was the shock too... )but this is with the top rubber dust cap removed... now I know that the rubber dust cap is also to prevent ssuch noises too, because it actually goes into the top of the strut, but I still hear the noise and I am going crazyyyyyyyyyy, I'm thinking this is one instance where dealer parts is the only way to go.... HELP[:@][:@][:@][:@]

 

by chance, are your springs, or struts bottoming out?

 

Replace the rear sway bar bushings. This your problem. You can get them from NAPA or the dealer. Price is arround $20.


G.L.
Iggy

 

You mentioned that the rear sway bar mounts caused this noise problem in the rear stuts. do you know of any other worn parts that contribute to the rattleing?

 

This is a an over looked,easyly fixed problem. You should also replace the front stabilzer(sway-bar) bushings. They ware out around 80-100k mi.

 

I've had thumping noises in my 98 Camry for several years in both front and back when I would go over bumps at a slower speed (like in a store parking lot). The noise has become worse over time. The local repair place said the struts were fine but recommended replacing all strut mounts. $800 later it took care of the front end noise but the back end was just as noisy. After reading this forum, many people recommended replacing the sway bar bushings which I had done yesterday. That completely fixed the problem. It was relatively inexpensive to do and I would recommend people do the bushing replacement first and see if it fixes the problem before replacing struts and mounts. The Toyota dealer said they put some kind of grease on the bushings before installing.

 

You said you can see the strut moving around, can the top nut attached to the strut rod be turned easily if so you didn't put things together
correctly. Remove the strut again and the tower mount compress the strut spring until you have room between the spring and the top mount now find a way to push the shaft up into the tower mount and turn it till it locks in now holding it locked in tighten the nut as much as you can, then reinstall it in the car and finish torqueing the top nut to spec. I'm making the assumption here that the top of your after market strut shafts have two flat sides at the top these are made to fit up in the bottom of the top strut mount tower basically creating a keyed effect to hold the strut shaft from turning. Hope this helps, Tim