When I make a turn and the wheel is cut all the way to the right or left, I hear a sound that I can best describe as clinking. It's a lighter sound, but nonetheless is sounds as if something is hitting something else or something is loose in the front end. I thought it was the metal shield that protects the rotors, but it doesn't seem to be that as they seemed to have had clearance. Any ideas?

 

u have a bad axle or axlescheck ur cv boots they r more then likely ripped
mine do the same thing i jus dont have time or money to change them

 

End link bushings ... not axle. Axles 'pop' and 'click' when they are bad. If that is what you are hearing, it's possible it's an axle. Our cars are known for sway bar link (end links) bushing issues after so many years. If you turn the wheel to full lock and get out of the car (in P or shut off) then push on the corner of your fender (near the headlamp asby) it should duplicate the sound for the most part. To clarify that a bit .... turn the wheels all the way left and push on the drivers side, then do the same on the pass side. The end links are cheap (I suggest Moog - and the better stuff from Moog at that) and it's not a hard job at all. Should only take you a few min's to do each side. I didn't even remove the wheel, just lifted the car an inch or so to take the load off.

If it is an axle, Raxle's FTW! Don't go cheap on axles, you'll end up with the 'wobble' most people get from re-maned axles (Autozone - Oriely - Advance Auto). If it's a bad axle, you'll see the grease slung all over and you'll know. The fact that it does it both left and right tells me it's not an axle.

 

if you have 100k + mileage and still riding on your stock suspension. that may be the issue... or did you replace any of the factory suspension?

the upper strut bearings are responsible for rotating the whole strut and spring assembly as a whole. its a plastic disc that causes much annoying-ness when broken.

try being a bit more descriptive and see what driving situations seem to handle differently or make new sounds

 

What JtzMax Said.

Check your boots if you stick our hand down there and it comes up black you know what the problem is. Otherwise it is probably the end links which are cheap and easy to replace mine wen't bad a little bit ago but I cannot describe the sound. I'm sure you know not to let a CV axel go un-fixed. Wheels will go a-rollin around the streets

 

It might be your axle. I heard my car had a weird "creak" & "pop" sound when I was turning into my garage. I ended up getting my front right axle replaced since it was leaking.

 

I'll point you in a different direction. I had a light clinking sound, like a couple of small box wrenches clanking together. I only heard it when the window was down and I was driving next to something that bounced the echo back. I finally took a little piece of stiff wire and wrapped it around the locking cover over the hex nut holding the wheel in place, to keep it from rattling and hitting the cotter pin. (There's a better name for that cover, I forget what it is.) I haven't heard the noise since.