diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/qt-4.x/4.8/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/qt-4.x/4.8/default.nix
index d3eaeed2f1e0..1b87b1b0a27b 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/qt-4.x/4.8/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/qt-4.x/4.8/default.nix
@@ -114,6 +114,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
       -datadir $out/share/${name}
       -translationdir $out/share/${name}/translations
     "
+    unset LD # Makefile uses gcc for linking; setting LD interferes
   '' + optionalString stdenv.cc.isClang ''
     sed -i 's/QMAKE_CC = gcc/QMAKE_CC = clang/' mkspecs/common/g++-base.conf
     sed -i 's/QMAKE_CXX = g++/QMAKE_CXX = clang++/' mkspecs/common/g++-base.conf