Rear Clunk when Turning

Hey Guys,

I’ve been searching the last few weeks and can’t seem to figure out what it can be.

2011 Tahoe 2WD

I’ve been hearing a clunk coming from the rear when I’m turning right or reversing with the steering wheel going right.

It happens more when I’m turning and there is a small dip.

I’m stomped!!

I don’t want to start replacing parts that don’t need to be replaced.

What can it be??

Thanks in advance.

Sounds like a u-joint to me.

check your shocks and rear sway bar bushings & end links, look closely it may not be something you spot right away and as mark stated also check the pinion bearing & u-joints. and if it is none of that I would proceed to the brake calipers. funny thing on these trucks though sometimes the sound comes from somewhere else entirely. so you may want to inspect the entire under carriage.

Doubeleive said:

check your shocks and rear sway bar bushings & end links, look closely it may not be something you spot right away and as mark stated also check the pinion bearing & u-joints. and if it is none of that I would proceed to the brake calipers. funny thing on these trucks though sometimes the sound comes from somewhere else entirely. so you may want to inspect the entire under carriage.

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I actually had a very noticeable clunk when I came into my driveway or went over a hump just right especially when turning that turned out to be a bushing in a rear end link was shot and the swaybar would clink against the end link when it moved up or down.

This may sound dumb but check your engine mounts.

When the engine mount on our Suburban went bad I was out of town and my wife called me and swore there was something clunking in the rear.

I had her take it to a local shop to figure out what it was since I wasn't going to be home for several weeks.

It turned out to be the drivers side engine mount and the sound/vibration transferred through the frame and made it feel like it was coming from the rear.

Not saying that is your problem but it's worth checking out.

I got the Tahoe up on the lift and me and buddy looked over everything and couldn’t find anything.

We did notice that the rear passenger side tire made a slight noise when we were moving it side to side. Maybe a wheel bearing? Or someone mentioned the caliper?

Maybe I should just take it to a shop and have them check it out.

I don’t want to change anything if I don’t have to

Regarding the U Joint, wouldn’t it make noise when I’m driving? Accelerating and stopping?

Jaytizzle said:

I got the Tahoe up on the lift and me and buddy looked over everything and couldn’t find anything.

We did notice that the rear passenger side tire made a slight noise when we were moving it side to side. Maybe a wheel bearing? Or someone mentioned the caliper?

Maybe I should just take it to a shop and have them check it out.

I don’t want to change anything if I don’t have to

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You can always have a shop give you an estimate; most times they don't charge if you decide not to do the work. As far as the u-joint, it depends. Sometimes they only make noise under certain conditions, like when you go from forward to reverse or when you go over a dip just right. But there should be no noise or side-to-side movement on that rear tire. If the wheel can be moved side-to-side it's probably a bearing. Did you pull the wheel and look at the brake?

unlikely to be a rear wheel bearing usually those will make a constant noise and start spewing axle grease but I guess it could happen.
I was just thinking there is also a bar that goes across behind the rear axle some people call it a panhard bar, but it has a bolt on each side, sometimes that thing wears out and makes a clunk, you might want to check that the bolts are pretty tight if it gets loose it can def make a clunk or if the rubber bushings get too worn on it. you probably wont be able to recreate it manually but if nothing else checks out might be worth replacing it, I think mine was around $65 from the dealer probably cheaper online, but just something to consider if you cant figure anything else out. (that was on my nbs but these trucks use the same type bar), you might want to check your rear passenger shock too

Dropping off the Tahoe on Friday.

I'm going to have the shop look over everything...all the bushings, rear arms, panhard bar etc...

As for the engine mounts, are they able to diagnose if they are bad by just putting it on a lift? What's the best way to find out if they are done?

I've read that everyone is going with the Hummer Engine mounts instead of the OEM Tahoe ones. Is that route I should go if they are done?

Thanks guys in advance for all your help