Have you put it up in the air and looked around for something banging around? Might be as simple as an exhaust hanger.

 

Yes, more than a few times. Everything I can put my hands on seems tight. Nothing obvious.

 

Does the noise increase with a tight turn?

 

No, turns have no effect. Mildly bumpy roadways are what brings it out.

 

Have you changed the Dual Pump II fluid in the rear differential ever?
When I bought Zippy in ‘08 he came with a rear end noise that presented more pronounced when in a turn... (forced the clutches to interact?)

It turned out to be contamination in dif fluid... flush and fill it went away immediately...

 

Yes, recently had this done at the Honda dealer.

 

If you have looked all over the suspension area, How about looking for something loose rolling around inside the spare tire compartment?

 

Yes, I've checked the spare tire compartment for anything loose - nothing.

 

So did you follow through with replacing the shaft in the differential as your "fellow E guy" suggested?

 

No, I haven't been able to find any more information on this.

 

🤨i'd still focus on the differential

Rear End Noise? Diagnose and Fix a Differential in Your Car, Truck, or SUV - YouTube

What’s That Noise in My Differential? - YouTube

 

Happened to me on my previous E. Rear differential fluid change fixed the issue.

 

In my 08, I used an electronic stethescope to track down the noises on 1 & 3 below.
1) The sway bar links were worn. Replacing them helped, but still clunking.
2) While doing a visual inspection, I found the harmonic damper was rattling. It only exists on manual trans models. It is attached to the diff
3) The sway bar bushings were the final fix. They looked great, but were just loose enough to clunk

Also in (SE) Michigan, fwiw

 

I had my sway bars replaced in the rear and after that I had a clunk in the rear. I had the bushings replaced on the sway bars and the noise completely went away.

 

On my element on smaller bumps it was clunking turned out to be the rear shocks.

After more time a clunk appeared and that was the sway bar bushings.

 

Check the rear diff mount. Is above the diff and can be easily over looked.

 

HMm... I had something like that which also drove me nuts. It ended up being the rear swaybar and bushings.

 

I had a similarly vexing noise and chased down all kinds of paths trying to find it. It was a thud/clunk that would only happen when the rear susp. got unweighted in motion (like on the back side of a speed bump or over a bridge expansion joint). It sounded so menacing (and expensive) that for a while I really rejected the idea that the fix could be anything simple.

But turns out it was just a $10 part! - and such a simple repair with no need for a lift or to even jack the vehicle up!!
Just so there's no confusion about terminology or location, it's this part (www.amazon.com/Red-Hound-Auto-Compatible-Stabilizer/dp/B079RZ3P75/) but feel free to get it from Honda or wherever you trust.

Look under the rear bumper, loosen a couple of bolts on each bracket, swap the bushings, tighten back up, and Bob's your uncle!

 

I had a similiar problem but with the front sway bar making the clunking noise, changed the sway bar end link, problem solved

 

I'd also check the rear trailing arm bushings

 

I had a awful clunking in the back of my AWD. Replaced the sway bar bushing and greased them and the noise went away immediately.

Bcuda77

 

I had a awful clunking in the back of my AWD. Hitting the sway bar with a hammer produced the same tone I heard inside the cab. Replaced the sway bar bushing and greased them and the noise went away immediately.

Bcuda77

 

I have basically the same problem. 05 EX / 4WD /150k. Changed struts, sway bar bushings. Links look ok. Still rattles over rough road at low to moderate speed. I took my rubber hammer under the car and started banging on things. I am pretty convinced that I need control arm bushings. Even visually, they look worn. That is a pretty big job, especially since my bolts are all rusty. Afraid to really crank on them and break them off. Maybe spray everything with penetrating oil once a week until July, then try to get it apart. I'm retired now and very low mileage. So I can put up with it if I have to. Not worth the $$$ to have someone do it. (Ha Ha I filled the tank on 12/12, so 3 months today and just below 1/2. I get my second Pfizer shot next Friday, so then I may start doing things and going places. 😁

 

why is everyone telling him it's the sway bar bushings. In his original post he stated those have been changed already.

 

Ok, it's been a few years since I had to deal with this on my 04 Element, but I had a heavy piece of metal, almost like lead that was near the year axle. I didn't have a good explanation for what it was for, other than some kind of dampening, but it was loose in its holder, so I used a caulk or silicone and filled up the void between where it was held and the piece of metal, and the noise was gone. I don't know if they changed this design in later years? I would take a picture for you, but we are in the middle of a big snow storm, so I'm not crawling under there anytime soon.

 

I think mtnlyon is referring to #17 below:

 

That's the rear differential dynamic vibration damper. If it's broken you'll definitely hear it rattle, and in my case it sounded like something rattling around in the spare tire well. If it is broken I'd suspect you might feel a vibration from the differential too though. It does an awful lot to soak up vibration from the rear at certain speeds.