popping noise
 

I've got a strange popping noise I wonder if anyone is familliar with

I get it under hard braking, basically any time the body shifts forward significantly. under really hard braking, it will pop multiple times, happens every time. Nothing obvious is broken or wong.... Any ideas of where to start looking? Shocks possibly?


This is an SN95 60k miles btw.

Dino

forgot to mention, I can feel it in the brake pedal and its definitely front end.

keep forgetting stuff... oh yeah it happens occasionally while reversing with the wheel turned...

Dino

Ball joints
 

It's the ball joints.

Rev

Rev,

reasoning for this diagnosis? are ball joints cheap/easy to replace by chance? Is it dangerous to continue driving?

Ball joints
 

The ball joints are the pivoting mechanism for turning the wheels and allow movement of the spidle up and down during suspension travel. As they wear, the spindles which attatch to the suspension arms both top and/or bottom allow the spindles to move at those attatchments. As those attatchments are stressed as in braking or cornering, those joints can pop and/or make other noises. Also the car won't take or hold a front end allignment and will usually wonder on the hiway. Other steering and supension parts will cause this too.

An easy way to check the ball joints is to just jack up a front wheel until off the ground. Grab the top of the tire with one hand and the bottom of the tire with the other hand. Try to move the tire in and out from the center of the car forcefully with the hands (in at the top and out at the bottom at the same time and vice versa).

If the tire moves 1/4" or more and the wheel bearings are OK and adjusted correctly, then the ball joints are bad. Be sure the wheel bearings are OK as worn or loose bearing adjustments can mimic bad ball joints.

How many miles on the ball joints?

Rev

60K unless they've been replaced, which I doubt.

How do I isolate the problem to the wheel bearings or the ball joints? IE,how do I check the wheel bearings?

'93
 

I'm not really familiar with the '93 suspension. You may have McPhereson struts for the front suspension. The wheel beasrings should be adjusted with no play and not too much preloading with the adjustment nut.

If you can shake the tire 1/4" in and out top to bottom, then something is wrong. If the tire moves and the spidle does not, then it's the wheel bearing. If the tire and spindle both move together then it's slop in the suspension. To me that means ball joints. I do need to familiarize myself more with the '93 front suspension, but my bet is ball joints.

Rev

i'll check it out tomorrow... thanks... its a 96 btw.. same as a 93 for all intents and purposes though.. will keep posted

Alright, I checked the play in the wheel and i could not feel any, and it did not seem like the wheel moved independently of the suspension. I then looked at the ball joints and tie rod ends and i could not see any physical damage... is it safe to say the problem lies elsewhere?

Also, I noticed the top of the bumpstop (the hat?) on the strut tower was bent slightly. Could this cause the strut to dip and hit the side of the tower making a popping noise? I'll take pictures if it'll help..

Dino

does anybody think this could be the front struts? Any way to test em?

Movement
 

Can you get any movement fore and aft on the lower supension with the wheel off the ground?

Rev

nope, like i said, i checked it, the wheels dont move.