This morning i had my lr3 up on our 4 post lift and i was inspecting the new trailer hitch as well as trying to find the origin of a deep knocking sound. As i looked at the rear bumper i rested my hand on what appeared to be part of the frame. To my surprise it was hinged and it swung freely. Both sides have these hinged "wieghts". I also believe they are the origin of my clunking sound. Does anyone know what they are and why they are there. I am assuming they are some kind of counterweight, but why do they need to be there and what is their purpose?

 

are they recovery points? take a pic.

 

I know what you're talking about - these weights serve the purpose of balancing of some sort, and most likely were put there during pre-production road tests, when engineers discover something but it's too late (read:expensive) to change the car design.

Other cars have similar weights, fo example BMW Z3 have weights inside rear bumpers, to balance weight distribution and cornering dynamics.