Pop from the rear.

[Tenrac]

I have been trying to locate a pop that has recently started in the rear of my car.

I had suspected my rear strut mounts, but I pulled and broke down both rear strut assemblies the other day and found nothing.

I have my rear seat pulled until I can find the noise, and it sounds like it is coming from directly under the battery. It only happens when the suspension is loaded, and it is not consistent. It might only do it two or three times on a drive, or only once, or not at all. It seems like when it happens it is when the weight shifts to the rear, like when leaving a light, or when the rear suspension flexes when going from a sharp grade to flat ground...like leaving a steep driveway while turning.

It is a very sharp powerful POP, I can feel it in the floor when it happens.

Rear subframe bushings are new, dog bones are new. Trailing arm bushings are original, but still tight.

I was starting to wonder about body seems, or welds breaking.

[NikosX]

Could be worn CV joints on the half shafts.

Diff could be popping.

Loosen all the bolts you took out and re tighten them. That will probably quiet it up. Something isnt sitting where it sat prior to your rear end refresh.

Hope this helps.

[Tenrac]

Hmmm, I did the rear end refresh about 4 months ago, and this started about 2 weeks ago.

Worth checking out nonetheless.

The noise has such a sharp and clean resolution that it almost sounds like it is coming from inside the cabin, or something that is directly connected to the body of the car, as opposed to something like a pop in the diff, or CVs. Whatever it is does not have a lot of transfer between source and responder.

[E34ührer]

Subframe bushings.

[Tenrac]

So, you guys were both right.

The subframe bushing nuts were not torqued to where they should have been. The popping noise that I was hearing was in fact coming from inside the car. What I was hearing was the splines at the top of the pinch bolt on the passenger side popping as the bolt twisted in the socket.