Strange noise! Help

Ok so I'll preface this with I took it to the dealership and they said it was the chain for the spare tire......there is no chance in hell that is the noise I'm hearing I'm not a total idiot.

Anyways. When I take a left and then a right or vice versa the truck makes a clunk noise. It sounds like it is coming from the rear end area.

Also I can repeat the noise if I push the truck side to side from the rear of the bed (above the tail light) I hAve looked at the spare, the leaf springs, the bed mounting bolts and I cant find the noise!

Any suggestions or something? It's driving me crazy! It should do that with only 33k miles right?

Also I did the same thing to my boss' tacoma and he has the same truck........no such noise.

 

"How full is a glass of water?"

There's really no way anyone can give you much help here. It could be as simple as something rolling around in behind or under the seats, or it could be far more severe. The only way to solve your problem is by the process of elimination like you have already been doing.

You're actually lucky you can reproduce the noise when the truck is stationary and you're out of the vehicle. Otherwise, it's way harder to troubleshoot. Get a buddy, a flashlight, and get under the truck and take turns pushing, prodding and listening until you hone in on the noise. Pretty much the only way I know to go about these things.

 

Have you checked the shocks? Have you lowered the spare?

 

Process of elimination - drop the spare tire, remove anything from the storage bins in the bed or behind the seats and once you've eliminated the easy/obvious, then you can start to focus on suspension/body. Clunks are tough - can be benign as a loose jack under the seat to something more serious like a loose shock mount or loose spring u-bolt.

 

Hi Colman42

I had what sounds like exactly the same thing happen to my Tacoma with only 5,000 miles on it. Was driving me crazy for a few days trying to pinpoint.

Hard clunk when when turning left or right or when I went over a pothole. Never tried reproducing noise when at a stand still.

Brought it to the dealer. I did not talk to mechanic who worked on it but service slip says they torqued for suspension bolts.

Anyhow noise it gone! I think you are spot on Syvman!

 

Ya I actually gave up on it after 3 trips to the dealership.......I'll have to just look at it myself. Time to go buy a tourqe wrench

 

Sometimes just a visit under the truck with a small prybar (aka large screwdriver) can reveal a lot - especially if you can reproduce the noise at a stand-still. Get underneath and have someone rock the truck back and forth and try to find the general area and then start prying on items in that area (leaf spring u bolts, shock mounting bolts/nuts, etc...) If you find any movement that seems egregious, just tighten with a ratchet and see if it helps. @tacomiami is very lucky - seems like a lot of times dealerships don't put a great effort into troubleshooting noises (based on accounts from members here, and my own personal experiences - but I'm sure there are some dealerships with service deptartments that do whatever they can to try and find the problem). I can *sorta* see why, though - I'm sure there are some VERY persnickety customers that complain about the slightest of creaks and rattles.

 

So today I heard a strange noise while turning out of a parking lot - after I looked under the truck, I saw a fairly big rock INSIDE the frame. Found the hole it went in and fished it out. Not sure if this could constitute a "clunk" but it can't hurt to take a look and see if you maybe have something moving around inside the frame...