Dear Gilly,

I have a 99 ML320. I hear a clunk on the rear right side that comes from underneath the truck whenever I make either a right or left turn unto an elevated ramp. I would say the ramp would have to be 30 -35 degree angle. I don't hear the clunk if the angle is low.I've complained to my dealer before and what they did was to tighten up the stoppers on the liftgate. They were entirely off the mark.

I would appreciate if you have any advice when I take this to my dealer to have it looked at. Is this the sway bar , stabilizer bar , shocks ?

Thanks
Chris Sia

Chris:
Not too much back there I can think of that would 'clunk". The rear shocks would be suspect if it were more of a "squakking" noise, not a clunk.
The sway bar and stabilizer bar are different names for the same part. Possibly the sway bar "link" could be loose.
Any chance the CD changer isn't screwed down (secured) tightly enough?
The rear seat can also make noises.
If the dealer was at least heading in the right direction with believing the rear hatch was the cause of the noise, there is a new latch assembly which has repaired many rattle/clunking type noises from the rear gate.
Wish I had a "silver bullet" for you. Some noises can be real tough to determine a cause without being there to hear it.
You can also check to make sure the spare tire tray is securely tightened down and the spare itself it tightened to the tray.

Gilly

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The cd changer is definitely secured.
From your advice, I can check the spare tire to make sure it's tight. The other things to look for such as sway bar, shocks
are something I would not be able to do so I'll leave it up to the dealer.

Thanks
Chris Sia