any ideas what this sound is? its a popping sound while turning. and for some reaosn the steering wheel also doesnt completely straighten itself after the turn. it stays turned a little to the side i made my last sharp turn.

 

Strut bearings. They sit ontop of the front macpherson strut and allow it to rotate when you turn the wheel. They are easy to change and cost about $30/ea.

 

is that the part with the 3 bolts that hold it to the frame?

 

i get the same thing (on slow left turns on right side), but i have coilovers and i'm lowered too much.

as far as the strut bearing, i wouldn't think you'd hear that while driving.

the wheel not straightening itself sounds like a camber/alignment issue.

 

Strut bearings can cause a popping noise, however the most likely cause of a popping/ knocking noise is usually sway bar links. I've never dealt with these on a maxima but they are common on the Fords at the shop I work at. A bad steering rack can also cause that noise and you sometimes feel the knock vibrate right up to the steering wheel.

 

swayy barrr end links!!! get them replaced and you have a huge chance of getting rid of the popping.. had the same problem on my maxima and i got new links and its really quiet up there now.. replace endlinks first before you replace anything else.. only 35 bucks or so..

 

If it only pops while turning you need new strut bearing mounts.

 

Yea I have that as well. THe mechanic who put on my KYBs said I would need new ones b/c the old ones wouldnt conform to the new sprint springs. You should of put new ones in when you put on the Teins. It isnt a huge deal just a little popping noise.

 

i got it too......only when im turning right tho

 

On Maxima's the stut bearing IS the most likely cause. Pretty common.

 

I just got the k-sport coilovers installed and hear that on the right side every blue moon when I turn at slow speed. is the strut bearing an additional part in there or do the coilovers have their own bearing on it?

 

Why not the CV joints? Isn't that a typical answer of the whole clicking/popping thing?

 

You have a different problem than above. I can almost 99.9% garuntee that you can fix that by tightening the lower bolts on the coilovers. Ive done it many times with my D2s.

 

thanks, I'll check that out this weekend.

 

Just grease the pillow ball mount and make sure there is preload on the spring. That the problem I had with my D2s. Fixed it now by tightening the preload and greasing.

 

I don't have any odd noises when turning but I have the same problem of the steeringwheel not returning to center after making a sharp right turn, I have to keep the steeringwheel turned a bit to the right to keep the car going straight. When I make a sharp left turn, then it goes back to center. And I have had the alignment checked 3 times, and they say it's fine.. any ideas? I already had the inner tie rod changed and going to change the outer tie rod to see if that helps any, but my mechanic says that it still shouldn't cause the steering wheel to be off that much.. Could it be a loose steering rack?

 

Follow the diagnosis:

Check your CV boots first, if they are bad, they start to pop when turning during movement.

Check/Replace strut bearings, if they are bad, they pop once when you turn, no matter if the car's moving or not.

Check Rack and Pinion's Tie End. When the Max get old, these connections tend to wear out and become a burden to the rack and pinion assembly, in this case, you'd have to replace the whole rack and pinion, it's a PITA without a good lift.

-Peter-

 

Ditto on the tie-rod ends. I had a wicked popping / thunking coming from the right-front. After a new endlink bushing, lower control arm & ball joint, we found the problem - one inner tie rod end was shot, and the two outer ends were sloppy. The strut bearing is a common source of this kind of noise, but isn't always the problem.

FYI, three tie-rod ends (two outer, one right-side inner) and an alignment cost me about $325. The pop is gone and my front-end feels like it's one piece again.

Good luck,
TOM

 

CV joints or boots.