Rear suspension clunking noise

[Jon Tara <jtara@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Geoff tells us:

Damn, all the things checked out fine!!! but the darn noise is 
still there!!!  I took it to my no-good-incompetant dealer which was 
absolutely no help to the problem, and they told me that the shocks were 
bad???  now, is that possible???  the noise is a klunking noise, it only 
does it when the car goes over uneven surfaces or speed bumps, it kinda 
rattles and makes a metallic klunking noise. 

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Have you had this problem ever since the shocks were installed?

I had a noise that sounded just like you described when I had my
Bilstein's installed.

I picked the car up at closing time, dorve it off, and everything was
fine. Filled it up with gas, and the clunking started. (I guess maybe it
was a mistake to take it in with an empty tank!)

Took it back in the next morning, and took a few minutes of poking around
with a light to find the culprit - one of the cup washers had been
installed upside-down, and was catching on the end of a bolt from 
something else just beind the driver's side rear shock tower.

Man, were they embarrased! The owner and mechanic played tag-team and had
it apart and back together within 1/2 hour.

To see if this is the problem, take a look up into the wheel well with the
car up on a lift. At the top of the shock, you should see a cup washer.
The lip should be pointing UP, conforming with the countour of the upper
mount. (Don't know if that's the technical term, but whatever it mounts to
up there. :) ) If the lip is pointing DOWN, then, Houston, we have a
problem...

- -----
Jon Tara
95 325is

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