s14: clunking rear suspension noise ...

[bluedrift]

i have a 1995 240sx le with 155,000km's on the clock.i notice a clunking/squealing noise from the passenger rear suspension area when i go over imperfections on the road.does anyone have suggestions on what the clunking may be?1) control arm2) shocks3) bushings

is there a quick remedy to quiet or supress the noise?can i lube/grease somethingor tighten something up?

btw, how do i access the rear strut tower area in my s14?

thank you for all your help-r

[SLIMMY240]

it sounds like maybe a strut, how easy is it to press down on the rear of the car? if you can press it down more than a couple inches thats probably what it is. to get to the rear strut tower you should have to take out the rear deck and go in through there. ive never done it but when i replaced my speakers i had my deck out and im pretty sure thats how you get to it.

[Silvia2b]

I 'd be curious, if you find out, mine does it at slow speeds and when backing up. Also from the same side. I think it happens more often when it is cold.

[ou1848]

I agree that I think it is the strut back there. You can jack the car up and wiggle stuff around to see if there is any play in the suspension parts. It could be a worn out bushing as well in one of the control arms.

You access the upper suspension mount bolts by1) fold down rear seat2) pull out rear deck (it's held in by about 7 plastic clips) be somewhat gentle when pulling out the deck b/c you might break the clips and i'm SURE they are quite pricey from your local rip off dealer.3) Get a ratchet with a 3" or so extension and get a 12mm (deep well) socket and undo the 2 nuts. you might want to use a small mirror or something to look in there, b/c it's a bit tight to see down there with the rear window blocking you.

hope this helps

mark

[bluedrift]

good info mark.damn, almost stripped the bolt holding the strut ( didn't have a deep socket for it).i removed the rear wheels and also access'd the rear strut area. shook everything and checked that everything was tight and snug.i wasn't able to find anything loose. darn.i proceeded to grease every joint in the rear suspension.the noise is still there though.i'm convinced it's the strut now.do s14 struts go 'bad' after 155,000 km's ? seems a quick for a nisan strut to fail at this 'low' odo.btw, the previous owner installed TRUST springs back there. i think they are a 1.3inch drop all-around.

how much u do guys figure it'll cost me to replace all the struts and bushings in the rear? i intend juss to get lordco crap for the job.-r

[ou1848]

that's too bad that you couldn't find an easy solution

i did have another thought though. The culprit might be the balljoint that connets the lower A arm of the suspension to the knuckle. You can see it by taking off the wheel and looking behind the brake rotor, on the half shaft side.

here is a pic that might help....#7 is the A Arm i'm talking about, with the little thing sticking up being the ball joint.

lets try that..shall we?

good luck Mark

[240SXer]

I had that problem and it was my subframe bushing.