Rear suspension clunking - cannot solve!

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For about the last year or so, my Sedona has had a clunking in the rear suspension. It doesn't happen at higher speeds or on bigger bumps, but at lower speeds and on smaller bumps. Basically, I go over a bump, and there is almost a resonant 'rattle' for a second or two. Logically I would think sway bar end links, but I completely disconnected the sway bar, and the noise was still there. Seeing that the van is getting older, has some miles on it, and carries a decent load every day, I've been freshening up some parts lately:

-The main rear control arms had cracks in the bushings (not too bad), so I decided to replace those since they're easy and pretty cheap.
-The rear shock absorbers looked fine, but are even cheaper and easier than the control arms, so I put on 2 new KYB Excel-G shocks.
-Sway bar links are even cheaper and easier yet, so I did those too.

Long story short, the noise is still there! Everything on the underside looks fine. The rear trailing arm bushings are good, no cracks. The toe links look fine, secondary control arms look fine, sway bar mounting bushings are fine. All heat shields are in place, exhaust hangers are intact, etc. Everything on the inside of the van is held down tight, rear seats are removed so those can't make noise. The rear hatch and latch assembly are tight, the rear condenser unit for the A/C is securely fastened, etc...

Whatever is making the noise sounds substantial, either in weight/size. Could one of the toe link arm ball joints be bad? The boots look fine, but maybe there is play within the joint that I cant see. Any ideas? Van rides great otherwise, and is nice and tight after the new parts I put on.
 
It can be hard to to at times to find a clunk especially if it is a binding type of noise.
 
It can be hard to to at times to find a clunk especially if it is a binding type of noise.
 
Did you change the rear upper mounts along with the shocks?

Also, It can be a little tricky to correctly torque the rear shock upper nuts. That will create a nice clunk if not fully torqued down.
 
My money is on any component that has a ball joint. They are mechanical in nature, not rubber. So if they wear, they can cause a suspension travel related clunk.

One thing you can try, is to very lightly activate the emergency brake and see if it goes away. That could indicate a clunking caliper or rattling pads (if your ebrake is part of the caliper)

A harder application of the E brake might preload the suspension and may help indicate if your ball joint is bad.
 
Cujet, thank you for bringing up the caliper issue. I forgot to mention it. All brake parts are tight. I've tried applying the brakes over bumps, and the noise is still present. The e-brake is actually a drum-style setup within the hub section of the rotor, and is totally independent of the main brake system. I will try using the e-brake and see if the noise goes away. I know they aren't adjusted properly, since the pressure they apply isn't as much as it used to be. But it's been that way for awhile, longer than the clunking has existed.
 
I recently had a local shop look at a friend's 2006 Sedona in an attempt to run down suspension rattles both front and rear. The front was easy: last winter the Kia dealer replaced the control arms under a recall and neglected to tighten the !*^&6 bolts. Idiots. The rear was diagnosed as probably being the upper shock mounts. I've not checked the manual, but apparently the upper mount is not simply a welded-in-place bracket for the upper end of the shock. The diagnosis was 'probably' because (I'm told) without taking things apart it is not possible to actually see the mount. Also, the estimated price for a repair broke out the upper mounts from the shocks. At 222,000 miles new shocks are in order anyway, so one of these days we'll have both the mounts and shocks replaced.

As a side note, the Kia dealer that screwed up the control arm replacement is the same place that neglected to change the oil filter for the first several oil changes, even though they charged for the filter (of course). When I took over the minor servicing somewhere around 50-75,000 miles, the first filter change revealed a black and crusty item that I THINK was a filter. It's difficult to understand how an operation like that can stay in business.
 
Originally Posted By: cappilot
the Kia dealer.. is the same place that neglected to change the oil filter for the first several oil changes, even though they charged for the filter (of course). When I took over the minor servicing somewhere around 50-75,000 miles, the first filter change revealed a black and crusty item that I THINK was a filter.


I wish you would have cut that one open!!
 
UPDATE: I just took the van for a drive, and applied the e-brake while going over some bumps. With the e-brake applied (which presumably loads the suspension) the rattling/clunking is almost constant now. Does this point to a bad ball joint?
 
My moms sedona had the same problem, ended up being the rear passenger lateral arm. Was a PITA to change because alignment bolt was frozen in the bushing.

s-l1600.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: Taurus979
Have you had exhaust work done? The shop hung my muffler too low and it bangs over low bumps on the rear axle. Drives me crazy.


My first thought also...something in the exhaust.
 
Originally Posted By: Kuato
Any update? Was it suspension or exhaust?


Looks like it was the driver's side lateral link. It makes a creaking noise, and I feel a little slop when I pushed the van up and down. I'll be replacing within a few days. Hopefully that solves the issue.
 
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