Clunk under car somewhere - but where?

General Discussion Forums MX-5 Chat
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Having now got my NC on the road (the story is in the welcome section) I’ve put new tyres on and enjoying driving around in the nice weather

However I have a loud metallic clonk (for want of a better description) sometimes, and only sometimes, when I go over a bump. The car has just passed an MOT and feels OK so I thought it might be the exhaust but I’ve given it a really good shake around under the car and can’t reproduce the noise.

I’d say it’s coming from the rear although can’t be absolutely certain. It’s definitely a hard metallic sound but it doesn’t do it over every bump

Does anyone with more experience of the MX5 have any likely suggestions ?

Any help appreciated :slight_smile:

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First move.
Jack the car up.
Give the wheels a shake about at 12 and 6 and 3 and 9 positions. Might narrow it down to a corner.
Get a jimmy bar in amoungst it and move things about and look for play in the vious bits as you lever against them.
To me it sounds like a bush or ball joint or drop link has cacked it.
Someone who knows what they are talking about will be along soon.

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Brake pad rattle. I had the same annoying clunk and if you have a particular bit of the road that causes it to happen, pull the handbrake on and it should eliminate the clunk…then you’ll know.

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Had a “clunk” at the front n/s…low speed over certain bumps. Turned out to be rear (:flushed:) drop links needed replaced.
Prob solved

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Check exhaust hangars?

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Not on limited to NC but on many other vehicles drop links and or broken springs cause exactly these sort of noises, as do worn bushes.

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Thanks all, I will get underneath and check everything suggested

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After experiencing something very similar my first suggestion would be to check the shock absorbers - they have a hard plastic cap on the top which is not tight and bounces up over bumps and comes back down with a ‘dink’ sound. If it’s this, some gaffer tape around the top of the shock absorber and then firmly wedge the cap in place so it’s a snug fit.

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Had exactly the same issue as Minty Rox, I used mastic sealant but did the same job as the gaffa tape. No problem since.

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Finally got round to checking this today, yes, the plastic caps on both sides were pretty loose, I slid them up and put some duct tape around the top of the shock as suggested and slid the caps back over the tape which is a pretty firm fit.
I went for a short drive and couldn’t hear anything although the fault was always very intermittent so I’ll reserve judgement for now

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MX5 3.5. Same problem. Told the garage for yesterday’s MOT and annual service. They couldn’t find anything. I will type up a note of all the answers above and take it in to them!

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