2002 Explorer 4.0 Loud banging/clunking when turning from back end

[Steve850]

The other day I noticed an issue while turning at about 15 mph. It is happening very frequently since. It appears to be coming from the rear of the vehicle. I feel a disturbance in the drivetrain so to say when it happens, sometime the clunking is very loud. I haven't drove it much. I've changed the rear passenger wheel hub assembly and was almost certain it would have been the cause due to how worn it was. The driver rear side seemed fine. I continued to experience the issue. I've since changed the rear differential fluid and disabled the 4x4 by removing fuse 17 & 18 and unplugging the large black wire clip at the tc. I am beginning to think the problem is the rear differential. I did not test the u-joints yet as I am almost certain this would not cause the MAJOR clunking. It almost feels like I've backed into something in reverse, when I drive straight it doesn't do it. Only if I am turning and worse and more so on sharp turns. It feels very harsh. I was really hoping it would have been the 4wd engaging or something other than the differential. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[shane10]

The other day I noticed an issue while turning at about 15 mph. It is happening very frequently since. It appears to be coming from the rear of the vehicle. I feel a disturbance in the drivetrain so to say when it happens, sometime the clunking is very loud. I haven't drove it much. I've changed the rear passenger wheel hub assembly and was almost certain it would have been the cause due to how worn it was. The driver rear side seemed fine. I continued to experience the issue. I've since changed the rear differential fluid and disabled the 4x4 by removing fuse 17 & 18 and unplugging the large black wire clip at the tc. I am beginning to think the problem is the rear differential. I did not test the u-joints yet as I am almost certain this would not cause the MAJOR clunking. It almost feels like I've backed into something in reverse, when I drive straight it doesn't do it. Only if I am turning and worse and more so on sharp turns. It feels very harsh. I was really hoping it would have been the 4wd engaging or something other than the differential. Any help would be appreciated.

Not sure how confident I am that this is the issue, but it would be the easiest fix. Severely worn or loose sway bar links caused a "clunk while turning" on my X some years ago, though this was on the front end. Maybe it's a shot in the dark here, but I would suggest checking those, they are cheap and very easy to replace regardless of what the problem is.
Good luck