weird sound coming from the back

(no comments from the peanut gallery!)

I'm not too familiar with '88 GL's (awd - fwd?), but here's my 2¢ :

1- Re; the knocking'banging sound: Check out the rear shocks and their mounts. Mine went out on a Mazda, and they always made noise under acceleration, hard cornering, coasting off of throttle.... & the biggest clunk under braking . Oh yeah, BTW, *was* the hatch closed?!?!? See if there is any play in it when closed. Rear doors usually do not have "irritating' noises"; it is a type of sound one would know to be a loose piece of metal . Heck, just go drive around for a few minutes with the rear hatch open (as an excuse for the unlatched hatch, stick something out the back and attach a red flag to it - just for the H-of-it) and see if it occurs; if it does not the hatch and you may be able to more closely pinpoint the noise. And if so equipped, check therear lisence plate and bracket. 2- Re; the pigeons(!); I'm not terribly familiar with pre-2K Subies (there's a line, eh?!?), but first I'd check the rear hubs/bearings, especially as it would most likely be less costly than my second guess, the rear differential and CV's if so equipped. Terry - '03 Silver Legacy SE sedan - 36 miles! '02 Regatta-Red GT wagon 5spd - 23k miles Yakima / TandeMover / Rockymount rack To reply, get rid of the "nonsense"