Clunking and Creaking Sounds coming from Underneath my Mustang GT

[RED2001GT]

I own a 2001 Mustang GT. I purchased it brand new, but have only been putting 200 to 300 miles per year on it since I got it because I also owned another Mustang which was a 2002 Mustang V6. Well, a few months ago, my other 2002 Mustang V6 got totalled and I started driving my 01 GT as my daily driver.

I noticed that while driving my 01 GT that there is like a muffled creaking or clunking sound coming from underneath the car while I am driving the car. These particular sounds are not always present, but they come and go. The clunking sound comes from the rear of the car. Do you think that the suspension and/or shocks on my Mustang GT have dried up causing these sounds to occur? I took my GT into service over 2 months ago when I put it on the road to get it roadworthy again and the mechanic told me that these sounds are normal because my car hasn't been driven at all and because it has been sitting for almost 7 years. The mechanic inspected everything on my GT and he found nothing wrong with any of the suspension components on my car.
I would like to know whether or not these creaking and clunking sounds will go away if I keep driving my GT? I did notice that these particular sounds are occurring much less frequently right now that I am driving it, but they are still there.
What do you think is causing these sounds? Have the suspension parts and the shocks dried out causing these particular clunking sounds to occur? I would like to know.

THANKS

 

[RED2001GT]

Anybody?

 

[RED2001GT]

bump

 

[streethorse]

If it was garage kept as opposed to just sitting outside I would dought
that any rubber or plastic would be dried out. I would try to make it do
the clunk by driving over a speedbump and see what happens.
Are your muffler hangers tight?

 

[RED2001GT]

It was sitting inside my open carport garage for 6 1/2 years. I've only driven it for 150 to 300 miles each and every summer/fall since I've purchased it brand new and took delivery of it in August of 2001.
My muffler and the muffler hangers are all okay. Everything is intact underneath the car. I've noticed that the clunking noise is less present right now after driving it for the last week or two. But the clunking noise is still present once in a while. The chief mechanic that I always use at the Ford Service department told me that the noise is normal because the car was sitting for a very long time and it was not being driven a lot. He told me that I need to drive the car a lot more. But he did not say whether or not the clunking noise will go away if the car is driven a lot like it is right now.
What could this muffled clunking noise that I hear coming from the rear end be? Could it be the rubber components in the rear suspension making this particular noise? Are any of the rear rubber or metal suspension components in the rear dried out causing this clunking noise to occur? The last time that I brought my car into service the mechanic greased and lubricated everything that needed lubrication underneath the car to make it roadworthy. He also changed the oil and oil filter and also flushed out all of the anti-freeze and coolant from the engine and from the radiator and put brand new anti-freeze inside the engine and radiator. My GT was prepped correctly to make it roadworthy again from sitting 7 to 8 months inside my open carport garage. What do you think is the real cause of the clunking noise underneath the rear of the car? What else could it be?

 

[BobHyatt]

put it on ramps and get under it. Look particularly at where rear suspension attaches to the floor/frame, as those can rip out under a heavy-footed driver. You should be able to see what is wrong if you inspect visually with a good light and take some time.

 

[RED2001GT]

put it on ramps and get under it. Look particularly at where rear suspension attaches to the floor/frame, as those can rip out under a heavy-footed driver. You should be able to see what is wrong if you inspect visually with a good light and take some time.

I will check it out, but I can assure you that I drive like an old man. I am not a heavy foot driver and I've never used a heavy foot on my GT or beaten on it from the first day that I got the car from off the car carrier brand new from the factory where I ordered it from. My car currently has only 4,500 original miles on it. Also, I would think that the chief Ford mechanic would have noticed anything that would be ripped out on the floor/frame that attaches to the rear suspension while he inspected my GT. I am very meticulous and I always ask the mechanic to inspect the whole undercarraige of my Mustang each and every year that I take it to him for prepping in order to put it back on the road. I even ask him to inspect the entire undercarraige each and every time that I take it in for an oil change during the summer and fall months while I have it on the road.

 

[green-v6stang]

is the noise when you steer left or right, i had a noise and it was the clutches sticking in the LSD, if the car has been standing the friction modifier might have gone bad
just a idear!!!!

 

[RED2001GT]

The noise usually occurs while I am driving straight. While I was driving my GT today, I did not hear any clunking noise at all. I am noticing that the clunking noise is being heard less and less right now the more that I drive my car. I am not sure why, but I think that maybe whatever the clunking noise was that it was something underneath my vehicle which was stiff because my car was sitting and because of me not driving my car a whole lot.
I am hoping that this clunking noise was temporary and that it will go away completely the more that I drive my Mustang GT.

 

[BobHyatt]

The noise usually occurs while I am driving straight. While I was driving my GT today, I did not hear any clunking noise at all. I am noticing that the clunking noise is being heard less and less right now the more that I drive my car. I am not sure why, but I think that maybe whatever the clunking noise was that it was something underneath my vehicle which was stiff because my car was sitting and because of me not driving my car a whole lot.
I am hoping that this clunking noise was temporary and that it will go away completely the more that I drive my Mustang GT.

There are lots of things underneath that use rubber isolation to keep road noise out of the cabin. From simple things like the ends of the anti-sway bar and such. A degraded piece of rubber will let metal-to-metal contact happen, which will translate every bump in the road (including those you can't feel) into a clunk/clank that is amplified by the floorpan to make it sound much "bigger" than it really is...

 

[RED2001GT]

There are lots of things underneath that use rubber isolation to keep road noise out of the cabin. From simple things like the ends of the anti-sway bar and such. A degraded piece of rubber will let metal-to-metal contact happen, which will translate every bump in the road (including those you can't feel) into a clunk/clank that is amplified by the floorpan to make it sound much "bigger" than it really is...

That's what I thought too. I drove my GT again today and I did not hear anymore clunking noises underneath the back of the car. Whatever it was that I was hearing went away for the time being.