Good day all, The other day I started hearing something hitting under the rear of the car. The wife and I figured the exhaust came loose from the hanger and was swinging and hitting the underside of the car. Today I crawled under it to see what all I needed to fix it and discovered there is nothing wrong with the exhaust. So I started shaking things around to see what could be making such a racket and discovered that my rear Diff is moving around. I put my hand on it and pushed up and it traveled about 1 1/2 inches and when it hit the top it made the familiar noise. I was wondering if any of you have had this problem before, where did you find replacement parts, how hard was the fix, and how much was it? Or if you took it to a garage to have it fixed and how much did it cost? Thanks for any help you can provide. Chad

 

Assuming it's AWD since there is no rear diff otherwise. So what your saying is the rear is bottoming out enough for the diff to hit the underside if the body? Either severely worn shocks/struts or something is broken. Either way, bump stops should prevent metal on metal contact. A thorough inspection of the rear suspension is in order. As to how much it costs, that depends on what's wrong, where you live, shop labor rates, etc. A lot of places will perform an inspection for free or minimal amount to give you an idea of what's wrong.

 

Thanks jkeaton, pretty sure a mount has broke, every once in awhile when you go a round a turn it feels like the whole *** end is shifting. Needless to say it's time to park it till it get it fixed. Thanks again for your input.

 

Upon closer examination, I have discovered that the rear cross member has rusted out. While searching for new cross members, I discovered that this a problem that plaques the Caliber, Compass, and the Liberty. Apparently Chrysler has an extended warranty on the front and rear cross members. This warranty is good for 10 years on certain vehicles of the models listed above. You need to call the dealership and give them your VIN and they will see if your vehicle is covered. Luckily mine is. And they are suppose to replace the rear cross member, inspect, and replace the front one if needed free of charge. So we'll see how long this is going to take. I'm just happy that it's not going to cost me anything. Hope this info helps someone else too.

 

Thanks for the info!!