Clunking and banging - when towing

Morning all.

I've a W reg diesel and for the first time it's given me a concern when towing, I was on the M5 going to the South Coast and as you can imagine the traffic awful - stop start, dead slow often just walking pace.

I was getting a lot of clunking from the rear suspension, at normal towing speeds or with out the caravan I don't get any so I'm thinking that it's caused by the van pushing/pulling/lifting the back end of the Freelander and moving the suspension in a way that is different from normal running.

It went back to normal as soon as the van came off.

Is this something I need to worry about? Can it be reduced?


Many Thanks aamcle

First off I would check caravan tow hitch to make sure that is tight and the noise transmitted through the tow bar, then the tow ball hitch to see if you have any play between the ball and the hitch, how old is the van if its old enough it may have a 2 inch hitch or someone may have fitted one,then I would check the tow bar mounting bolts, if they are OK then check rear subframe mountings on the chassis, on the early ones it is a known problem for the spot welds on the tube that the mounting bolt goes through to break, allowing the subframe to move very slightly and makes a clicking noise which could become a clunk with the weight of the van.

An after thought, check you front diff mount, may not be worn enough to clunk under normal conditions, but the weight of the van when the clutch is released could be the cause.

Many Thanks aamcle

have you towed before?Towing is noisey. What makes you think its suspension and not the hitch/tow ball? We use bate n dixon hoitches and they sound like the trailers crashed into the motor!

it so easy to blame the car . How long has the van been laid up are the brakes binding

Having re-read your post, you get no noise when towing normally, only when useing the clutch and when going slow and you are accelerating or lifting off in the heavy traffic. Try doing an agressive pull away,with more revs than normal ( boy racer away from the lights style) and virtually drop the clutch through second and third, and see if you can replicate the noise. If you get the knocking then it will be the forward diff mounting on its way out.