93 300E rear clunk sound
 

Hello everyone. Having read this forum with great admiration for quite some time it is finally time to join in the membership.
I need advice with my 93 2.8 300E.
It has 160,000 miles, we've owned it for about the last 30K (2 years) almost all long distance freeway driving. Never a problem.
We love this car but it has developped a very annoying/frightening problem in a clunking sound coming from the right rear wheel area.
It happens only when I start out from a stop and not all the time.
It will clunk in time with the wheel revolutions.
I have read a lot of the posts concerning this type of problem, removed the rear wheels, inspected as well as I could, the only thing I find strange is the half shafts move in and out about 1" (from boot to boot)
The right rear wheel can be rotated just a little, enough to emit a clunking sound from the drive line.
The flex discs seem ok.
The rubber boots are all fine.
The sway links are fine.
The shocks and boots are fine.
Thank you for any advice or ideas.
:confused:

Wheel bearing, half shaft, or diff, but I can't get you any closer than that.

Peter

I had the same problem a few years ago on my '93 190E. It turned out to be a defective sub-frame mount. When I removed the right rear wheel and lifted the suspension up with a 2 x 4, I could see play in the sub-frame mount. The rubber bushing was worn out. I changed it myself and no problems since.

How are the diff mounts? They are two "eyes" sticking out from the back of the diff into the subframe.

Thanks, I will check the diff mounts tomorrow.

Looked at the mounts with car on the ground, they look in place.

One more thing, the clunking noise seems to occur only after I step on it hard from a stop. If I start out real smooth and slow it doesn't clunk.

Jacked right rear up again, removed wheel, with crowbar tried pressure against all torsion/A-frames/links/etc....nothing seems to be loose, no loose joints!
Noticed that when I spin the wheel by hand the brake pads seem to be rubbing on the disc.
Could the pads possibly be worn out and somehow dislodge when I take off causing a clunking noise?