i am getting a popping/clunking noise when i drive straight or when i turn, it's so bad that it's effecting the steering wheel.... like causing it to move left right when it pops...any ideas?

 

forgot to mention, the brake pedal varies on how hard i push it to brake and now the abs light is on... =(

 

check your suspension and axles. look for bent/cracked parts in suspension. look for play in the axles. get a scanner and get the code for the abs

 

Maybe your tie rod ends?
In the meantime, don't drive it until you fix the problem.

 

how do i tell if the tie rods are bad? sorry, i'm kinda a newb to this stuff...

 

check the axles

 

check your front suspension and components...something might be lose or broken

 

Check Your Enigine Mounts! I had the same sound a few weeks ago and it turned out to be the engine mounts.

With the car started, place it in drive, apply the brake to keep the car from moving and press the gas to apply pressure to the engine. If your mounts are bad, your motor will shift positions in the engine bay by about a few inches if your mounts are bad.

See my thread: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....highlight=thud

 

sounds almost like you have a completely shot CV joint or completely shot wheel bearing.

Tie rod ends would not make a popping/clunking noise and would not suddenly go bad like that, in my opinion.

 

First thing that came to my mind, I know a bad wheel bearing can play dirty tricks on your ABS system. Either way stop driving till you find out what it is.

 

my mechanic says it sounds like the cv joing is bad, he recommended me to replace the whole axle....and said it would cost about 200 .... does that sound about right?

 

cv joint was my first thought...i had a camry back in the day that was doin that and the cv joint turned out to be the problem

 

took it to the mechanic, 2 axles, left knuckle and abs sensor..... *sigh*

 

NO!!!

If you need a new driveaxle, order one from RAXLES for $149. They are MUCH better quality, brand new joints, not remanufactured like the local autoparts store sells (or most mechanics)....

 

so, he said both your CV axles were bad?? And how could the "left knuckle" be bad? I'm not even sure what that means - the spindle assembly? the control arm/lower balljoint?

Did he do the work yet?

 

ya, both cv axles are bad, i saw it when the car was lifted up...the left knuckle pretty much is the wheel hub and bearings and etc....it was cheaper to get the whole knuckle....it's my dad's friend, so he's giving me a good deal....but yeah, my wheel on the left side was just hanging pretty much about to fall off....