Hello everyone, I'm having this rear end noise coming from what seems like both rear sides of my Stang. It sounds like a grinding/loose metal on metal noise. I took it to my local mechanic, changed the shocks and sway bar links but sound is still there. The noise only shows up if I'm driving on a bumpy road or if my car is going up or down a drive way/road. The mechanic suggested to take it to the dealer, which I will be doing this week, does anybody have an idea of where the sound is coming from?

 

That's a/some bushings that are worn out. That's why it takes bumps and other more-major upsets of the axle to have it happen. The bushings in this car are not only the shocks, upper and lower, and the sway bar links, but also the three rear control arms and the panhard bar... and the sway bar end bushings on the shocks. 14 total if I have my math right, although some of those are two piece at the end, but I'm counting them as one.

All of them need to be inspected and/or replaced as needed. They may at first glance look ok, but definitely some of them are not. The grinding part will be the threads of the bolts if the the linkage is moving sideways on them. Which may happen, depending on the wear/deterioration that's taken place. Most likely it's the lower control arms, I'd say, but the mechanic will know more when he starts using a pry bar on them. And once one goes the rest aren't all that far away, so I'd recommend a whole rear axle bushing kit, if not start replacing the three arms and the panhard bar for upgrades...

I'm surprised your mechanic didn't figure this out. Standard prybar checks, stuff shouldn't move on all the link ends, and I'm bettin' something(s) is/are. Unless my armchair *wayyyy over here* diagnosis turns out to be wrong, then I'm not surprised even a little bit, naturally. But then I'm worried it's an axle/brake/driveshaft issue now, so maybe. Oh, perhaps it's just a loose panhard bar brace! That'd be weird, but hey, stranger things...

I hope that helps, even if I'm wrong. After all, it's still a guess... Anyway, good luck and let us know, I'm curious!

And welcome to the forums!

 

thanks! Taking it to the dealership today, hopefully they can come up with an answer