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This story is surely familiar to many readers: Clunking rear end noise over low speed bumps. Gets worse over time. I read many posts on this site and others and many, many people diagnose end links. But in my case that was not the problem. I ordered new end links and got to work to install them but of course first I removed both old (factory) end links. Maddeningly they seemed fine upon visual and manual inspection. I did not perform the torque test recommended by the Mazda service manual. Instead I allowed the sway bar to hang free of any suspension components and went for a test drive. First bump I went over the same clunking noise. Kept it up for a few more minutes and heard all the annoying noises I had before. So shipped my brand new Moog end links back to Rock auto. (a side note on the end links...the Moog ones have no 5 mm allen hole in the threaded post. I actually found removing the factory end links quite simple with that method despite 5 Canadian salty winters. But the Moog end links have wrench flats on them and that works OK on the sway bar end but not in the "hollow" control arm. I could not figure out how to hold those flats when they are up inside the control arm. Good think I didn't need them and the stock Mazda end links are back in)
Then I suspected the drivers rear shock (damper). I removed the damper and put the car back together. Did the bounce/jounce and the noise I could make with that test was completely gone (to do this I simply bounced the rear deck of the trunk up and down with my hands). I did not want to make a test drive with no damper in the suspension. Probably would have been OK, just very bouncy.
Also, the damper had a peculiar operation when I pushed down on it. It immediately sprang back up with a springy feel. Not the smooth rebound you would expect. I also could not pull it out at all. It's almost as if it had turned into another spring instead of behaving with a damping action.
So there it is, I am pretty sure (95%) that the drivers rear damper was the issue. I have ordered 2 KYB gas-adjust mono-tube to replace the damaged and passenger side (dealer installed two years ago). I figured that even though only the drivers side was bad, I should really replace both at the same time.
I'll write again once I have the new dampers installed. In the meantime, the old damper is back in and my "favorite" noise has returned.
Then I suspected the drivers rear shock (damper). I removed the damper and put the car back together. Did the bounce/jounce and the noise I could make with that test was completely gone (to do this I simply bounced the rear deck of the trunk up and down with my hands). I did not want to make a test drive with no damper in the suspension. Probably would have been OK, just very bouncy.
Also, the damper had a peculiar operation when I pushed down on it. It immediately sprang back up with a springy feel. Not the smooth rebound you would expect. I also could not pull it out at all. It's almost as if it had turned into another spring instead of behaving with a damping action.
So there it is, I am pretty sure (95%) that the drivers rear damper was the issue. I have ordered 2 KYB gas-adjust mono-tube to replace the damaged and passenger side (dealer installed two years ago). I figured that even though only the drivers side was bad, I should really replace both at the same time.
I'll write again once I have the new dampers installed. In the meantime, the old damper is back in and my "favorite" noise has returned.