Bulldawg

iTrader: (1)

I have a faint popping noise on occasion when I turn the wheel all the way to the left and reverse.(I do this everyday when parking)...ocsasionally I will hear a slight "POP POP" noise...Does anyone have any I dea what this could be?

Sprint

iTrader: (10)

mine pops when i go over bumps.. i am guessing its bushings..

ensure you are hearing poping and not clicking..

PedalKick

Most likely the sound is the strut bearing at the top of the
strut binding. When you turn the wheel, the top of the strut
does not turn for a bit so the spring winds up and then when it
lets go, you get a poppin' sound. The strut bearing is a 3 piece
plastic disk assembly. The grease get dried up and the plastic
pieces stick to one another. You need to take the strut out of
the car and remove the spring to get at it.

optimus1

check ball joints, also ...

Bulldawg

iTrader: (1)

Ok i just went and drove around again, and I is defenitly a pop. very faint, and I can feel it in the steering wheel. The noise only happens when I drive around and then reverse to the left. It won't do it twice in a row. I have to drive around and then come back and reverse to the left, and it does it again. I have JIC's coilovers in the front, but I can't see those making any noise, because the whole unit turns.

Bulldawg

iTrader: (1)

anybody.....How do I check the bushings....does anyone else have any ideas on what this could be

Frank Fontaine

I'm pretty sure mine does the same thing--when you drive the car everyday it's hard to notice the subtle changes. It's only when you get into a new rental car then you're like holy moley......

Anyway I think I started to get the sound over bumps. A couple months later I'm starting to feel a shimmying at 50-60 mph. At 70+ it's not as noticeable. I don't think my rims have thrown any weights because I can see them still glued on.

On a 240 Volvo there are large bushings that hold the front member to the unibody that causes the pop or creak, over bumps and when turning sharply. I'm just not familiar with the 4th gen front suspension to know where this noise is coming from....

BrianV

iTrader: (9)

It's the strut mount, it's worn and your shock is not being firmly held by it. When you turn the twisting action on the shock needs a firm holding from the shock tower. If it's not firm the tip of the shock will actually spin and start to strip the mount further. The popping noise is that grinding from the shock popping out of the strut mount's grip. It's hard to explain, I could easily show you on paper though.

The strut mount's hole is like the letter 'D'

It's round and then flat on one side.

The shock tower is also shaped like a 'D', but this D is smaller.

The smaller D fits through the strut mount's larger D. If the shock and mount are in good shape they move together. The strut twists and the flat edge of the D prevents the inner shock from spinning; the D holds the D inside of it. However, if the outer 'D' is worn it'll start to get rounded and cannot hold the inner 'D'. Once the inner D starts to turn the outer D can't hold onto it and the inner D starts spinning past the corners and that's where you hear the pop.

Did that make any sense?

Long story short, get new strut mounts (~$40 a piece), get new bearings while you're at it, they're probably gone as well.

BrianV

iTrader: (9)

BTW, I'm 99% sure that's the problem you're experiencing, it's a common problem. Bushings would also create a problem when slamming on the brakes and going straight over bumps, but it sounds like your problem is only when turning the wheel far. Also you'll feel this popping through the steering wheel as well.

BrianV

iTrader: (9)

Didn't realize you had JIC's, they have their own builtin strut mounts. I would look into the condition of where the shock tower meets the strut mount.

The spring could also be not seated correctly. I don't know now that you have JIC's, not familiar with how they're setup.