Clunk from clutch and whine from diff

I have a small problem with my 2007 Jimny.

There is a clunk sound (sometimes) when I change gear. I have done a search on this site and it sounds like it could be the trailing arm bolts or bushes. Would it be the two bolts that attach the rear axle or the bolt at the end of the trailing arm?

The car also has a whine that I can't pinpoint. It happens from above 45mph and sounds worse when accelerating (especially uphill). I got underneath the car this weekend and had a look at the backlash in the rear diff. It does move an inch or so if you turn (rotate) the prop shaft . The (whine) noise stays the same when I change gear and was there before the gearbox was repaired. (CMW salesman told me that Jimny's are inherently noisy and not the same as other cars, so not to worry!!)

Car has full service history and has now done 28K. I wouldn't expect the diff to be worn so soon! I have checked and changed the oil in the diff.

Any ideas?

Check the oil level in the gearbox and the transfer box.

Then have a look at the FRONT wheel bearings.

I changed the noisy rear diff on mine with no improvement, eventually I noticed a front wheel was hanging off, and a new bearing fixed the noise from the back. :ohmy:

Thanks for the advice.

Oil has been changed in the gearbox when repaired in February and the transfer unit in December (when I bought it). There are no visible leaks at all under the car.

I'll have a look at the front wheel bearings this weekend by jacking it up and giving each wheel a going over. I changed both front discs and pads (Pagid) when I bought the car last year and didn't notice any movement, but I wasn't looking hard.

After reading on this forum to put the handbrake on and give it push, I discovered the clunk. It appears that the car has elongated holes in the chassis that support the trailing arms.

Without the advice on this forum I would never have discovered that a clutch pedal release noise was related to the rear axle mountings More good advice... Ta.