Thumping/ Banging Sound In Back?

[IlyaIlya]

hey guys, I drive around on my 97 es300 and once in a while or sometimes more often i hear a thumping sound comming from the rear wheels/or just rear(cant tell exactly where its comming from) . I can not figure out what it is, I tried removing stuff from trunk etc. and same thing, WHen mechanic had it up in air, he did not really found anything wrong/loose.

(sound sounds like something is loose and swinging/banging on something, but i can be mistaken)

What is weird is that the sound is not always there. Sometimes i go over a huge bump/pot hole, and there is no sound that i heard before. And when i try to shake my car i dont hear nothing eather. (shocks seem solid)

also i heard similar noise when i was rolling slowly and pressed brakes hard, same sort of noise came from back when it stoped.

any ideas on what it can be? (i ll check my muffler/exhaust , maybe its hitting something once in while) .

I have searched the internet, and I found this post by some one

"Question: 1995 Lexus ES300 3.0 liter mileage: 86,000. Hello. There is a rattling noise, which seemingly comes from the rear passenger side area. This noise only occurs when I am traveling over small bumps or uneven pavement. I have removed everything from the trunk & test driven the car & still get the noise. To describe the noise, it almost feels and sounds like a rapid low dribble of a basketball. Any ideas?

Answer: Several things may be the cause of your noise. Check the rubber bushings on the struts also the bushings on the rear suspension. It is possible the struts themselves are making the noise.

"

seems like same problem as me,

If any one has some information regarding this, i would appreciate hearing it, thanx

Ilya

[bdonkersgoed]

I had the EXACT same problem as described in the quote (low dribble of basketball).

I replaced my rear struts, adn the noise went away. Now that the back is silent, I could hear that my front needs some work too :P

Do a search on "clunking" . . . I think that should bring up previous threads.

Hope this helps,

Bryan

[jragosta]

I had the EXACT same problem as described in the quote (low dribble of basketball).

I replaced my rear struts, adn the noise went away. Now that the back is silent, I could hear that my front needs some work too :P

Do a search on "clunking" . . . I think that should bring up previous threads.

Hope this helps,

Bryan

For what it's worth, a bad strut is one of those problems that can be hard to diagnose. First, it's often intermittent. Second, the problem may only be obvious with weight on the strut - so it doesn't occur when the car's up on the dealer's rack.

Ultimately, the best success will usually be if you can find a way to reproduce it consistently so you can take the service manager on a test drive to demonstrate the noise. These guys have a huge amount of experience identifying odd noises.

Bad bushings can behave the same way.

[jimbostar]

I have the same noise and will be doing struts (all around) in a few days, I'll let you know how it turns out.

[AjayD]

How much do Struts cost to replace. I have a 95 ES300. I have the same problem. Is it something I can do at home.

[IlyaIlya]

well if it was bad struts it would make noise all time?? and car would drive weird? but car stands tall and drives solid going over big bumps just fine, but the noise is there over small bump etc, sounds like something is loose, maybe its my exhaust, i shaked it and it hits the top of the chasis, but i dont think it would swing that much over small bumps, i guess eventually i ll find problem, but no way am i going to do struts , too much $ , plus its not dangerous to drive it like that, just annoying,

[jragosta]

well if it was bad struts it would make noise all time?? and car would drive weird? but car stands tall and drives solid going over big bumps just fine, but the noise is there over small bump etc, sounds like something is loose, maybe its my exhaust, i shaked it and it hits the top of the chasis, but i dont think it would swing that much over small bumps, i guess eventually i ll find problem, but no way am i going to do struts , too much $ , plus its not dangerous to drive it like that, just annoying,

As I explained, bad struts can often cause an intermittent problem. I've had a situation where a bad strut was quiet over a big bump, but noisy on a small one. It sounds odd, but it can happen.

Of course, I don't know that your problem is bad struts. I would, however, urge you to get it taken care of. A number of problems that cause a noise in the rear end could be very dangerous. A bad strut can let go and cause an accident. Wheel bearing failure can also cause an accident.

Even if you're right and it's nothing more than a loose exhaust, it will be far less expensive to fix it now than after the exhaust system falls off.

[IlyaIlya]

when mechanics had it in air, they did not see any problems, so its SAFE In my opinion, and they said no problems with it.

whats is the wheel bearing you are talking about? how would i check it?

thanx

P.S. can it be rear links? but they would cause that sound all time IMO

[jragosta]

when mechanics had it in air, they did not see any problems, so its SAFE In my opinion, and they said no problems with it.

whats is the wheel bearing you are talking about? how would i check it?

thanx

P.S. can it be rear links? but they would cause that sound all time IMO

If you're going to ignore my earlier posts, I don't really see why I should bother.....

I already answered your question about the mechanic having the car in the air.

Bottom line is simple. If you don't even know what wheel bearings are, you're in over your head. Take it back to the mechanic and show him how to reproduce the sound and let him find it.

[IlyaIlya]

i actually took it to mechanic and he did not find nothing wrong for 2nd time(not in air), so now you going to tell me to take it to LEXUS dealer , like they will actually find something, they would prolly charge me 500 bux to replace struts and call it a day , thanx but no thanx, car will run 100k miles on struts i have now just fine, especially the way i drive, (5k a year tops)

i am not ignoring your posts, I just dont think that it is what my problem is. thanx for information anyways, and i dont mean to offend any one, and hope i dont offend you by asking things again in diffrent way, . I try to see many opinions, cause usually 2-3 people will say diffrent things, and its up to me to find out which one really applies to my problem, it dont mean any one of them is wrong, it just means they are saying solutions to diffrent variety of problems

so thanx every one

[boRXis]

I just back from vacatiom, that's why I'm answering so late. Ilya, your sway bar bushings are bad 99%. Very common problem for ES and I replaced them succefuly many times - noise went away. Very easy and cheap.

[Dbmmbd]

I have a 2005 ES330 it has a  Rhythmatic ,thumping at 45 and 65. Sounds like a thump thump-------thump thump. I've had a tires  checked and put new sway bar bushings on it could it be the sway bar links?