2003 Protege5 Mystery Rear Clunking sound
 

Can't figure this one out - 2003 Protege5 w/under 100K miles has started to make a clunking sound coming from the rear of the car. It's not related to shifting in to or out of gear. Checked the rear suspension and besides rust, nothing seems to be loose or out of place. Stabilizer bar and links also look OK. Ever come across this before in your Protege ? Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.

Seen issues with both the rear shock absorber and also the upper shock bushe before.

Along with other suggestions... Take a peek at the (I think it's called) rear sway arm, or something like that. Attaches to body just ahead of rear wheels and to a post behind the rear wheels. I had to replace one of those on a my standard Protege. It was making plenty of weird clunking sounds! Of course I have almost 300k on my car...