Hey All,

Greetings! First post, I think. I'm looking for some help on this one, and I'm completely out of ideas. I've used the search extensively, and have read through 28 pages of posts about this, but still no luck.
I'm having some SERIOUS metallic popping/clunking coming from my front end ('98 Coupe, stock Z51 suspension). I get it when I turn full lock left or right, and move slowly (up to 10 mph) forward or reverse. I can also hear it when I come to a stop, in the last few feet or so, even if my wheels are straight ahead. It's a LOUD popping or clunking, like something's binding. I can't feel it through the steering wheel though, only hear it. So far, I've done the following:

Removed swaybar and endlinks completely to test, still does it.
Tightened shock tower bolts and lower mounting bolts.
Tightened upper control arm to frame bolts.
Tightened lower control arm (alignment cam) bolts.
Tightened ball joints.
Tightened tie rod ends.
Tightened caliper slide bolts, and caliper mounting bolts.
Tightened steering shaft to steering box bolt.
Tightened steering rack to subframe bolts.
Checked for excessive play in wheel bearings.
Checked the front spring for possible delamination, and tightened spring clamp bolts.
Lubed the HECK out of everything.
Moved the wheels back and forth while up on jackstands...no extra play or noises. Only does it when rolling.

At first, I thought, steering rack, but it even does the popping when I'm going straight and come to a stop...or go in reverse and stop.

Then I thought ball joints, tie rods, etc., but steering feels tight, and no play, shimmy, etc.

Thought it might be rear end, possibly transmitting sound up through frame, but had my wife drive the car slowly while I crouched next to each wheel. Definitely the front.

Before I start throwing money at it and begin replacing things, is there anything I'm missing? I'm going to LOSE MY MIND!!!!

Thanks for tolerating such a long first post.

-Kurt

 

Welcome to the Forum!
I hope someone here can offer a good suggestion for you; you've already tried just about everything I would have tried.
Mine popped like crazy, but sure enough it was the sway bar bushings.
I wonder; the rear end is infamous for exactly that sound, when the axle nut gets a tad loose, or the splines need lube. I wonder if something similar could be going on with the front - even though there is no axle. Maybe a cracked wheel or something!!!!!
Also, might check the ride ht adjustment screws that push down on the spring - if the rubber bushing separated that could certainly make noise. How is the ride ht, side-to-side, and overall? If you see an issue it might help guide you to the noise.

Probably not much help, but maybe someone more knowledgeable will chime in.

DG

 

Check your front wheel bearings. Jack er up..grab the wheel at 12:00 & 6:00 O'Clock and see if you get any in & out movement.

Edit...never nind I just re-read your post.

 

Thanks for the tips. Yeah, I've heard of the rear spline issues. Unfortunately, the front bearing seems to be a sealed unit, without splines. I would think if it were the bearing,

I'd have some extra play, or some other noise while driving (whirring, squeaking, etc.). I checked the spring ride height bushings, but not sure what I'm looking at. They

seem to be ok, and the ride height seems fine.

I'm almost tempted to re-check the rear splines (or even pop the rear axles out completely) and roll the car to make SURE it's not the rear. I'm about 99% sure it's not

though.

I might also just pull the rotors off completely in the front and visually inspect the hubs, and check the wheel studs as well.

What about subframe bolts? They seem tight though.

Motor mounts? Problem is, the popping even occurs when the engine is off and I roll backwards, forwards, etc.

How could I tell if my ball joints are bad visually? I can't get any play in them when I yank on the wheel at 12 and 6, and I get no shimmy during driving. Also, the car only has

50,000 miles on it, so they should be in good shape, I would think.

Any other ideas anyone?

Thanks for the quick replies, folks.

 

Do you hear the noise if you spin your front wheels while they are off the ground? Do the same for the rear and see what you get. Just some trouble shooting thoughts.

 

Thanks for the reply, BUGZ. No, unfortunately everything is totally smooth with the wheels in the air (front and rear). It only occurs under load. Again, only when I'm turning full lock left or right, moving forward or backward slowly, and the strangest thing is that it even happens when I stop with the wheels straight ahead, forward and backward. It's a pop pop that happens at the veeeeery end of the stop, like right as the car stops moving.

Okay, now for the good news. I had re-torqued everything and sprayed the heck out of all the bushings with WD-40 about two nights ago, and didn't drive yesterday. Today, the popping was ALMOST non-existant. Occasionally it would do it on slow turns, but not straight ahead, and quietly. Also, it's intermittent at this point, and almost not there. So....I think I'm on the right track. Could it be dried out bushings? I would think if it was something loose it would happen all the time. Not sure. Anyway, at least I've narrowed it down to the front, and not the steering rack (expensive)....

If it gets worse, I'll re-lube (with WD-40 or silicone...White Litho seems too thick, doesn't penetrate well, and just collects debris). If it quiets down again, I'll know that's it. If not, I must re-torque again....we'll see...

 

Thats' great news, but you still don't know the exact location of the noise do you? Which bushings did you spray? Sway-bar bushings? Tie Rod Bushings? Maybe they are dried out and should be replaced.

BUGZ

 

Well, I'm making more headway. I decided to lower the car on stock bolts (rear, w/2 threads remaining), and cranked the fronts down. The front spring/lowering bolt bushings were SHOT! So, I popped the swaybar, shocks, and lower balljoints loose and cut out the bushing with a sawzall (off the car). Hoped those bushings were making the noise. Unfortunatley, no. The car now looks sweet and slammed, but still popped.

Then i re-sprayed the upper control arm and lower control arm bushings with WD-40. Fixed! The noises were completely gone. I know they'll probably return in 2-3 days or so, but at least I'm getting there. Now I'll just spray the left side, or the right side, then upper, then lower, to isolate. Once I have it pinpointed, I'll break it down and re-grease or replace the bushings. I'll probably do all of them.

I swear to God i"m going to put this one to bed if it's the last thing I do. The car has pretty low mileage, but is now 10 years old, so I guess dried out bushings are not out of the question. Should I go poly?

Then on to more mods.....current economy permitting, of course...

 

Good to hear you are gaining on it.
Poly bushings have pros and cons; like harsher ride, potential noises (oooops), great response, etc. You might do a search here to get some comments.

DG

 

Old thread but I'm having same problem. What was ur solution?

 

Might sound stupid.... but check your battery to make sure its firmly bolted down. I had similar issue as you and I went thru everything before someone mentioned my battery being loose and flopping around in there.

Toque

 

It's not the battery but thanks for the info. It seems like it always pops in two's and only when the weight of the car is shifted like after braking and then backing up into driveway or spot.

 

I don't want to jinx myself but I replaced the old plastic sway bar end links with the new aluminum ones and for two weeks now no popping noises! I'm posting this in order to help others with the same problem.

 

I can weigh in here even though I've been out of the loop for a while.

Glad to hear you had luck with the end links. I had replaced mine as well and in my case it didn't solve the problem.

For me, strangely enough it ended up being the motor mounts. I sprayed the heck out of them and the popping stopped completely. Eventually it would come back after a few months, but I just re-sprayed and it solved the problem again. I know it sounds weird but I'm wondering if mabye turning the wheel hard over while under load would flex the frame just enough to allow bad motor mounts to make themselves known. The best solution would be to replace them, but spraying was free, and helped me narrow down the problem.

Not discounting anyone else's solution here, just one more thing to take a look at if all else fails.

I'm a little embarrassed that it's taken me so long to close the loop on this one, but I've since sold my pride and joy (bought a house, had a baby, etc. etc.) but still check in from time to time....