"Pop" Sound From Back of Foresters

[Carmel Corn]

New to the board. We've owned 3 Foresters. Two of them (including a new 05) have minor "Pop" sounds from the back end when we encounter even minor bumps or turns. Hard to describe the sound, other than it sounds like something hard is hitting either hard plastic or glass. The sound is such that the first thought is that something is loose in either the spare tire well or side pockets, but that is not the case (nothing loose found).

 

Has any other Forester owners experienced this irritating "pop" sound? If so, any information or remedies?

 

Thanks and regards.

[Setright]

Check the rear subframe mounting plates for deformation.

 

Along the lower side of the sill, in the same area as the jacking point, you will find a trapezoidal plate that is fixed to the sill with two small bolts and has a big bolt on the other end, where the frame carrying the rear suspension mounts.

 

If this plate has been used to lift the car frequently, it might be deformed and this will cause it to knock the subframe.

 

You don't need to lift the car to do this check, just on your knees in front of the rear wheels.

[knelson]

If the noise sounds like it's coming more from the hatch, check the little spring-loaded plunger things on the side of the hatch opening - near the gas springs. (Sorry - don't have the car in front of me to give you a better description.) Don't know if the newer Foresters have these, but my 99 does.

 

These plungers span the gap between hatch and frame and when the hatch wants to move a little relative to the frame (like going over bumps or around corners) the ends of the plungers have to slide against the hatch. If the surface is too clean, the plunger grabs and doesn't slide freely. When it finally does break free you can hear a little pop or squeak. To fix, just rub a little lube on the mating surface and the end of the plunger. It also goes away as dirt/dust builds up on the surface.

 

Don't know if this is the noise you're hearing, but it was definitely an annoying noise on my Forester.

 

-kurt

[mtsmiths]

If you have a "POP" sound in the rear of your Forester, you should be looking for a weasel in the wayback.

 

Now, wasn't that simple.