• Mustang Forums
  • 1996 - 2004 SN95 Mustang -General/Talk-
  • SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech

Drivetrain Rear end clunk

  • Thread starter Thread starter seanmahoney
  • Start date Start date Oct 13, 2025
  • Tags Tags
    clunk rear end

seanmahoney

New Member
Jun 9, 2025
8
0
1
Cleveland, Ohio
Oct 13, 2025
#1
  • Oct 13, 2025
  • #1
So I have an 03 GT, I got this car about a year ago with factory wheels and tires. I wanted to upgrade to a meatier tire because its supercharged and has a 4.10 rear. Got myself some nice new wheels and wider tires for the rear and then all of a sudden when I took it on a joy ride to test out fitment, after about an hour I had some NASTY clunks coming from the rear end anytime I turned at all. Limped it home to find out my diff had a pretty bad leak (also found out my car doesn't have quad shocks with factory upper and lower control arms), wasn't particularly low on fluid but it was certainly leaking. I replaced the diff seal and put the proper amount of Royal Purple fluid (with friction modifier in it) into the rear end. So that fixed the very aggressive clunking whenever I turned going forwards. About 5 months go by with no notable issues but about 2 months ago, I was backing into my driveway and i started hearing and feeling a similar clunking from the rear end; and only when i was turning. This clunk sort of comes with each revolution of the wheel and its a pretty nasty feeling. I must note that i only hear/feel it after I've driven the car around for a significant amount of time and gotten everything up to temperature which leads me to believe its not a mechanical failure, and it only really does it when I am going in reverse generally. Additionally i must note when I am riding the clutch while turning in reverse its not too bad but as soon as the clutch is depressed I can feel the whole rear end sway almost-- terrible feeling! My thoughts are bad rear upper and lower control arm bushings??? Im curious if anyone else has had this issue or has any insight for me; Thanks!
 
Last edited: Oct 13, 2025

nickyb

I gotta say i never painted my nuts, Never Ever
15 Year Member
Apr 3, 2009
2,979
1,626
153
nevada
Oct 13, 2025
#2
  • Oct 13, 2025
  • #2
Ill take a stab at this. You got a 22 year old stang that you've had for just one of the 22 years of its life.
God only knows what abuse it has endured before you adopted her.
If you love her like I do my stang then go ahead and replace the upper and lower bushings with a good quality set,replace the u joints also.
Remove the rear cover again and check the gears and the endplay.
You will be surprised what spending quality time with her will do for you both.
 

seanmahoney

New Member
Jun 9, 2025
8
0
1
Cleveland, Ohio
Oct 13, 2025
#3
  • Oct 13, 2025
  • #3
nickyb said:
Ill take a stab at this. You got a 22 year old stang that you've had for just one of the 22 years of its life.
God only knows what abuse it has endured before you adopted her.
If you love her like I do my stang then go ahead and replace the upper and lower bushings with a good quality set,replace the u joints also.
Remove the rear cover again and check the gears and the endplay.
You will be surprised what spending quality time with her will do for you both.
Click to expand...
You're absolutely right! This cars only got 58k original miles so i wouldn't expect any giant mechanical failure, when i replaced the fluid i didn't see anything catastrophic with the spider gears or any metal in the gear oil. Just seeing if somebody could give me a similar experience and point me in the right direction. Gotta do the control arms anyways with the quad shocks being missing.
 

nickyb

I gotta say i never painted my nuts, Never Ever
15 Year Member
Apr 3, 2009
2,979
1,626
153
nevada
Oct 13, 2025
#4
  • Oct 13, 2025
  • #4
Well I had clunking in the rear end on a posi rear and it was too much end play in the gears.
My stang had a bad banging clunk and it was the upper rearend bushings,I replaced them with some poly ones from CJ pony parts as I'm in driving distance to there west coast warehouse.
As far as the quad shocks,I removed them when I replaced the stock control arms years ago. I have zero wheel hop.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Rear alignment issues
  • Jayjay001
  • May 27, 2026
  • 2015 - 2023 (S550) Mustang -General/Talk
Replies
1
Views
93
2015 - 2023 (S550) Mustang -General/Talk May 27, 2026
Noobz347
C
Suspension Rear suspension help
  • Clark302
  • Aug 17, 2025
  • Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech
Replies
7
Views
336
Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech Aug 17, 2025
Clark302
C
Considering widening my rear wheels, would like to verify my thoughts on fitment
  • 2000xp8
  • Jul 9, 2026
  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
  • 2
Replies
25
Views
527
1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk- Aug 6, 2026
85GT4V
Ford truck engine swap issues
  • keel
  • Jul 7, 2026
  • Other Auto Tech
Replies
17
Views
337
Other Auto Tech Jul 13, 2026
General karthief
J
2004 Mustang 3.8L V6 vibrations above 65 MPH and differential leaks
  • joeybuddy96
  • Mar 16, 2026
  • SN95 V6 Mustang Tech
Replies
16
Views
617
SN95 V6 Mustang Tech Jul 14, 2026
joeybuddy96
J
Share:
Bluesky Email Share Link
  • Mustang Forums
  • 1996 - 2004 SN95 Mustang -General/Talk-
  • SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech
Menu
Log in

Register

  • Forums
  • What's new
  • Media
  • Resources
  • Contact
  • Sponsor
X

Privacy & Transparency

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

  • Personalized ads and content
  • Content measurement and audience insights

Do you accept cookies and these technologies?

X

Privacy & Transparency

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

  • Personalized ads and content
  • Content measurement and audience insights

Do you accept cookies and these technologies?