Rattling in the rear of car

[96silvereclipse]

alright i was coming home from a high school sports game when getting on to an off ramp i hit a pothole and now everytime i go over a hole it rattles really bad on the drivers side rear...anyone have a clue what that might be?...could it be the suspension, tie rods?...i have no clue...im scared to drive it now... it sounds like something is banging against something else...let me know what you all think...thanks

 

[96silvereclipse]

alright i was coming home from a high school sports game when getting on to an off ramp i hit a pothole and now everytime i go over a hole it rattles really bad on the drivers side rear...anyone have a clue what that might be?...could it be the suspension, tie rods?...i have no clue...im scared to drive it now... it sounds like something is banging against something else...let me know what you all think...thanks

 

[RamenPride]

alright i was coming home from a high school sports game when getting on to an off ramp i hit a pothole and now everytime i go over a hole it rattles really bad on the drivers side rear...anyone have a clue what that might be?...could it be the suspension, tie rods?...i have no clue...im scared to drive it now... it sounds like something is banging against something else...let me know what you all think...thanks

not to sound like a jerk, but why don't you remove the wheel and take a look

 

[96TSi_Chris]

Is it a thumping sound? You could have blown out the shock. The easiest way to tell is to actually take a look like it was said above. I really wouldnt worry too much about driving it, if it were in the front, id be worried, but its in the trailing section of a fwd. I drove around w/ a blown shock in the pass. rear for 2 weeks and i didnt affect ne thing except for the horrendous noise going over bumps. Nothing loud music cant take care of.

 

[dont need 8]

Nothing loud music cant take care of.

I use this technique too.

 

[bhop]

My guess is it's a blown shock.

Mine had a similar rattle when going over bumps and stuff.. for a while some mechanic guys tried to figure out what it was (one guy even got in the trunk while i drove around the block to listen to where the sound was coming from .. ghetto.. ) They couldn't figure it out, so I just dealt with it for a bit. Then I got new shocks. When my buddies looked at the shock after taking it off, they were laughing because you could move the shock up and down by hand easily.. once the new shock was on, the sound was gone.

 

[tylerk]

I don't know if you have the same rattle as I do, but I've had a couple of trim screws pop out in the back, causing the rear bumper cover to be a little loose and rattle over bumps.

 

[TalonBurner05]

finally a solution to my problem except the redneck hillbilly that drove mine and looked at mine said it was struts so i bought new struts and i still have the problem

 

[ldstang50]

how hard did you hit the pot hole and how big was it? when does the 'noise' occur? is it going around a turn? is it while accelerating? braking? combo of both or all? blown shock seems like an easy solution, but why spend the money when you're not sure.

 

[Defiant]

make some room. Spread out.
Look for one of these, with a long, skinny thing attached:

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[Slipstream]

It's really hard to say for sure so your best option is to start eliminating things that it could be. Start with the suspension components already mentioned...if it still rattles move to the inside of the hatch, pull the plastic panels and check the antenna assembly. A few years ago my friend developed a rattle that seemed impossible to fix, only happened on bumps, dips, or other rough roads...but sure enough his power antenna had come off the bracket and was knocking against the rear quarter panel. Sounded like hell, but it was a cheap and easy fix.

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

First I would make sure the spare tire, jack and tools in the back of the car are not rattleing around. or something else could have fallen down in the spare tire well. Next I would try to shake the car and get it to make the sound while you are back there so you can try to locate it. Next crawl under the car and start wiggling and shaking suspect components. Be careful. Block the tires or put it on jackstands or whatever you have to do to make sure it will be safe. I will not be responsible for runned over or squished people.