Poping noise while turning wheel

latief · Post by **latief** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 1:45 pm

When i turn my steering wheel all the way, and drive (like while parking the car), i get a faint pop noise, as if something jumps into or out of place........ it is not metal on metal noise, it is a muffled noise...

I replaced the bushings with the ES kit a couple of months back, I think something is not right, any one have similar issues?

2k1MotorSport · Post by **2k1MotorSport** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:04 pm

i had the same noise on my R/T and some of the noise turned out to be the outer tie rod. But it still makes that noise, so now i'm going to be looking to get the steering rack replaced.

hybrid-Srt2001 · Post by **hybrid-Srt2001** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 3:41 pm

pretty sure its the inner tie rod. my 01 started doing it after hitting a curb pretty hard. the wheel bearing and everything else got replaced and it still does it when coming out of the driveway at an angle.

latief · Post by **latief** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 3:45 pm

Inner and outer were changed 2 years ago.... this is a new noise i am hearing.......

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 4:21 pm

Ball joints? Strut top mounts? Bearings? could be a number of things right at the knuckle.

latief · Post by **latief** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:03 pm

I went through the whole thing a while back, new bushings for all the suspension + new ball joints....

My fear is that the ES bushing for the front control arm pops in and out of place..it looks a bit deformed .......

I should have gone with the prothanes !!!!

Adionik · Post by **Adionik** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:12 pm

Sounds like the ball joint

Prothanes ftw. Why did you go with ES?

02goldse · Post by **02goldse** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 1:16 am

i have the same problem but i racked my car pretty hard bc old people have to pull out in front of me and put me in ditches and have me almost total the poor neon but they supposivly fixed it a the dealership but i think they just jerked me around kinda like every dealer...i kinda have a grinding sound too

Donkeypuncher · Post by **Donkeypuncher** » Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:04 am

It could be the steering wheel linkage making the noise. There was a TSB a few years ago to fix the popping by re adjusting the linkage.

latief · Post by **latief** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 9:17 am

I actually had that done when i first got the car, did not make a difference really.......

I will dig deep into this soon and see what the deal is... it is either the rack or something related,,, looks like i might have to think about a different car soon......

Hudson_Neon · Post by **Hudson_Neon** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 5:03 pm

lol... wow. i love the random guesses.

man, you're gonna have to get it up in the air and check that shit out. there's a million things that it could be. i had a popping noise. turned out to be the ball mount on the coilovers. the list is endless enough that people shouting random steering and suspension parts doesn't help the cause

LilSparkPlug · Post by **LilSparkPlug** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 6:18 pm

Axle or Ball joint would be my guess, but like everyone else said it could be any one of a million things.

speedballer4life · Post by **speedballer4life** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 2:33 pm

Jack up the corner that's making the noise just enough to get the wheel off the ground.

Grab the tire on both sides and try to move it front to rear.

Generally if it moves towards the rear its a tie rod end.

And generally if it moves towards the front it's a lower ball joint.

This is just a quick and easy way to check.

Adionik · Post by **Adionik** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 5:27 pm

I'm getting this noise as well now. I'm thinking it's the balljoint or axle like Sparkplug said.

I'm going to take the tire off and take a look at it...not bad for a 100k car!

thttxboy · Post by **thttxboy** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 5:43 pm

I recently had this noise and it was my ball joint. Luckly I have greaseable ball joints and I was able to just regrease everything.

Adam G · Post by **Adam G** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 10:49 am

from what i heard its the sway bar end links

I got the same problem

2kLX · Post by **2kLX** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 8:34 am

sounds like a CV joint to me. esp since it occurs when turning sharply - worn CV joints will make a knocking or popping noise when turning sharply - like when parking

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 10:38 am

2kLX wrote:sounds like a CV joint to me. esp since it occurs when turning sharply - worn CV joints will make a knocking or popping noise when turning sharply - like when parking

If it happens in reverse with the wheel turned sharply then this would be accurate.

Adionik · Post by **Adionik** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:57 pm

How hard is it to change out the ball joint? Anyone got a how to?

latief · Post by **latief** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:04 am

Unless you want to install prothane/ES bushings, get a new control arm with new bushings and ball joints and save yourself the trouble......

that way at least you will not have to press things in and out.

i did this the hard way and hated every minute of it ...

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 10:10 am

Adionik wrote:How hard is it to change out the ball joint? Anyone got a how to?

Not the simplest thing to do, not the hardest thing either. You do need a press. Ball joints should cost about $40-50 a piece if I remember correctly. shops will want to do the job for about $180. New LCA from OEMdodgeparts.com is $200-ish.

You'd have to press out the old ball joint, press in the new one. The hassle comes from having to remove the whole LCA to do it. Which then when you put the car back together you'd want to look at getting an alignment.

Adionik · Post by **Adionik** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 10:11 am

latief wrote:Unless you want to install prothane/ES bushings, get a new control arm with new bushings and ball joints and save yourself the trouble......

that way at least you will not have to press things in and out.

i did this the hard way and hated every minute of it ...

FUCK FUCK FUCK!!!!!!!!!111111111

I did my lower control arm bushings a few months ago.

I should have done the ball joint, I knew it. Now i'm going to have to pay who knows how much money...the hell if i'm doing that job again. Getting it out is fun, but putting that thing back in is the devil

Adionik · Post by **Adionik** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 4:55 pm

Got the hook up at an exhaust shop. $50 for the labor. SWEEEEEEEEEET

Where can I get the ball joint? Will the ones at autozone work fine?

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 5:07 pm

i got mine at Napa.

Adionik · Post by **Adionik** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 5:10 pm

que tanto?

2kLX · Post by **2kLX** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 2:08 pm

hansken_yo wrote:
2kLX wrote:sounds like a CV joint to me. esp since it occurs when turning sharply - worn CV joints will make a knocking or popping noise when turning sharply - like when parking
If it happens in reverse with the wheel turned sharply then this would be accurate.

happens in forward gears - and does - all the time - - - as the CV portion wear and the balls wear in the sockets - they will pop very very loudly ( I personally have replaced many many 1/2 shafts with this customer complaint ) - best way to diagnose is to test drive the vehicle and many sharp turns at very slow speeds.