Symptoms of worn rear stabilizer link?

Hello all,

2003 Accord EX 4-cyl coupe: There's a slight clunk, sort of a creak-
ish clunk in the rear suspension, driver's side, that doesn't happen
consistently. It can't be reliably reproduced by pushing down on the
suspension, or accelerating or decelerating suddenly, or swerving.
The clunk seems to lag behind those sudden maneuvers - maybe one
clunk, maybe a quick 2-3 clunks. When I jacked up the car, the
stabilizer link seemed a little loose. I could work it back and forth
and make metal hit metal inside. Before I go replace them, two
questions:

Does this sound like a correct diagnosis?
Any tricks or warnings when replacing those? Looks easy.

Okay, three questions, third one maybe dumb: is alignment affected
(I'm guessing not).

Thanks,
Theo

 

Are these the "dumbbell" type, with balljoints at either end?

 

In response to Tegger, yes these are the dumbbell type with the two
ball joints on each end. I'll check the Haynes manual, but is there
anything nasty about separating those and putting the new ones on?

The more I think about the symptoms, the more the clunk seems like it
could be happening during very gentle sway as opposed to during
harsher motion. While actually turning, the loose part of the joint
would take a definite set against one side of the backlash or the
other, but after coming out of the turn it could clunk at low
frequency. Still, a second opinion on what one of you experienced as
your stabilizer links were about to fail would be appreciated.

Theo

 

Not really. Some of these have Allen-key holes in them to hold them still
as you unbolt them. And you might need to push-and-pull a bit to get the
new ones to "bite".

While actually turning, the loose part of the joint

Clunking noises. Sometimes the noise is more of a "doddle-doddle" (sorry)
on uneven pavement.

Undo the links, then drive around in the situations where the noise occurs.
You may notice more body lean than you're used to, but it's quite safe. If
the noise is gone, then that's the problem.

 

Hello Tegger,

Doddle-doddle... that's it! I've been trying to come up with the
right word for two weeks. I feel like Billy Crystal at the end of
"Throw Mamma From the Train".

Good idea. Many thanks.
Theo