[Nomanat]

Good day y'all,
2011 AWD equinox has some bad rear sway (stabilizer) bar bushings. I have had this horrid clunking noise since I got the car a year ago, and have been unable to locate it. Only happened at low speeds, 0-20 mph, then completely gone. Even if I hit bumps, no clunk.
Finally started happening way more often; over bumps and cracks, so I bit the bullet, went to a shop, they said it was the struts. Replaced those, sound was gone for a day then came back. Once again, only at low speeds. Not really over bumps or anything.
I was just doing brakes and noticed
the rear bushing literally has a big chunk of rubber missing, so I believe that's what could be causing the noise.
Problem is, those rear bushings look very hard to get to.. mechanic said they would have to remove the whole subframe but I don't really trust this guy anymore if he didn't see the big chunk missing out of the bushing (I even mentioned my suspicion about those things being bad). I did do the sway bar links so I know it's not those, and everything else looks and feels fine.
Has anybody replaced their rear bushings, and could offer me some advice? Thanks.

 

[SugarMouth]

Which area are you referring to? Rear Suspension for 2011 Chevrolet Equinox | GMPartsDirect.com

 

[gmvillan]

Good day y'all,
2011 AWD equinox has some bad rear sway (stabilizer) bar bushings. I have had this horrid clunking noise since I got the car a year ago, and have been unable to locate it. Only happened at low speeds, 0-20 mph, then completely gone. Even if I hit bumps, no clunk.
Finally started happening way more often; over bumps and cracks, so I bit the bullet, went to a shop, they said it was the struts. Replaced those, sound was gone for a day then came back. Once again, only at low speeds. Not really over bumps or anything.
I was just doing brakes and noticed
the rear bushing literally has a big chunk of rubber missing, so I believe that's what could be causing the noise.
Problem is, those rear bushings look very hard to get to.. mechanic said they would have to remove the whole subframe but I don't really trust this guy anymore if he didn't see the big chunk missing out of the bushing (I even mentioned my suspicion about those things being bad). I did do the sway bar links so I know it's not those, and everything else looks and feels fine.
Has anybody replaced their rear bushings, and could offer me some advice? Thanks.

Did you ever get the situation resolved? I need to change my bushings also and can't get access to the bracket with any of my tools.....

 

[Nomanat]

Did you ever get the situation resolved? I need to change my bushings also and can't get access to the bracket with any of my tools.....

I did. However, the culprit was not the bushings. It was the rear lower control arms. I have no clue how you would get those rear sway bushings off.. a mechanic said they would have to take off part of the subframe.

 

[RIT333]

Appreciate you having reported back this for others to learn from.

 

[rednox301]

I have no clue how you would get those rear sway bushings off.. a mechanic said they would have to take off part of the subframe.

That's exactly what the 2014 Repair Manual tells you to do.
Unbolt and lower the subframe.