violent popping sound coming from suspension

[jmolina]

my cb suddenly started to give me problems.
first i thought it was the axles, it does not pop when doing turns, only when driving straight on cruising speeds, when i let off the gas and when braking.
the sound is horrible, feels like the wheels are about to pop off, first i thought my lug nuts were loose, but nope.

lifted the car today, the axles seems fine, cv boots are okay, my only concern is that the axles moves in and out, is that normal?

what else could cause this? also the wheels moves in and out when i shake it by hand.

i have searched the site and found few information but i need a bit more.

thanks everybody

[mj213]

busted strut. try bouncing the car up and down.

[nate'sCB7]

Check your ball joints, particularly the lowers.
I had the same simtums turned out, my lower BJ's were toasted

[deevergote]

Ball joints are a definite possibility, and can be deadly if they fail... so be sure to check carefully. Torn boots mean you have to replace them.

The axles should not move in and out. They should clip into place. Did you replace them recently? It's possible to put things back together without locking the axle in place properly. Many people do that.

If the wheel moves, that may be a bad wheel bearing. If what I'm picturing is happening, it's a VERY bad wheel bearing! Put the car up in the air. Grab the wheel at 12 and 6 (clock reference), and try to wiggle it. There should be no play. If there is, the bearing is done, and it has to be replaced before it causes an accident.

[jmolina]

Ball joints are a definite possibility, and can be deadly if they fail... so be sure to check carefully. Torn boots mean you have to replace them.

The axles should not move in and out. They should clip into place. Did you replace them recently? It's possible to put things back together without locking the axle in place properly. Many people do that.

If the wheel moves, that may be a bad wheel bearing. If what I'm picturing is happening, it's a VERY bad wheel bearing! Put the car up in the air. Grab the wheel at 12 and 6 (clock reference), and try to wiggle it. There should be no play. If there is, the bearing is done, and it has to be replaced before it causes an accident.

no i haven't replaced them yet, i have purchased both driver and passenger axles though just in case thats the problem. i scheduled an appiontment on monday for a mechanic to check this problem out, also i found out a torn bushing that connects the sway bar to something else i'll take a pic tomorrow to show you guys exactly what it is, that thing has a rubber thing over the bar, looks like the cv boot but longer, that rubber is torn to shit and the bar turns a bit. i'll try to take a pic of that too, could be a steering control or something.

also, the wheel moves in and out only when its on the ground, i lifted the car, and tried to wiggle it and it had zero play, i mean it was solid; note this is the driver side.

i still don't understand why it makes so much noise, this is my first experience.
so right now i'm not driving the car at all...so you guys have peace of mind

mechanic is charging me $350-400 to replace both axles, does not include part, if its the bushings it ranges from 150 to 300 dollars. how much would ball bearings cost? if thats the problem

thanks

[deevergote]

Honestly, if you have a place to jack up your car, you can do the axles yourself. That's a hell of a lot of money to pay for someone to do it for you!

LadyG94CB7 made a good DIY... and she's like 85lbs... if she can do it, you definitely can!

If the sway bar bushings are shot, that could make some clunking noises. It's not a serious danger, and they're very cheap and easy to replace. Get some Energy Suspension bushings if that's the case.

The ball joints that are associated with steering would be those on the tie rod ends. Also very easy to replace, though you need to get an alignment afterward.

There are radius rods that connect to the front crossmember... They don't usually fail. You can replace them if they're bad... but honestly, I would take that as an opportunity to invest in an ESP traction bar system! As long as your car wasn't hit in the front end (like mine was), the traction bar is VERY easy to install.

The wheel bearings can be tricky to do yourself. Rather than pay a mechanic to do the whole thing, I'd pull the knuckles off and have the old ones pressed out, and the new ones pressed in professionally. It would be a lot cheaper to have that done... removing the knuckles is very easy. If you're going to replace the wheel bearings, you might as well do your brake rotors at the same time.

[jmolina]

Honestly, if you have a place to jack up your car, you can do the axles yourself. That's a hell of a lot of money to pay for someone to do it for you!

LadyG94CB7 made a good DIY... and she's like 85lbs... if she can do it, you definitely can!

If the sway bar bushings are shot, that could make some clunking noises. It's not a serious danger, and they're very cheap and easy to replace. Get some Energy Suspension bushings if that's the case.

The ball joints that are associated with steering would be those on the tie rod ends. Also very easy to replace, though you need to get an alignment afterward.

There are radius rods that connect to the front crossmember... They don't usually fail. You can replace them if they're bad... but honestly, I would take that as an opportunity to invest in an ESP traction bar system! As long as your car wasn't hit in the front end (like mine was), the traction bar is VERY easy to install.

The wheel bearings can be tricky to do yourself. Rather than pay a mechanic to do the whole thing, I'd pull the knuckles off and have the old ones pressed out, and the new ones pressed in professionally. It would be a lot cheaper to have that done... removing the knuckles is very easy. If you're going to replace the wheel bearings, you might as well do your brake rotors at the same time.

oh yes, just looked through her DIY, its simpler than i thought....
for now i want that thumping noise gone and fixed of course, if i was keeping the cb i would invest on more stuff at the same time like the esp traction bar, i just need the cb for few more months.

i found some polyutheran...something energy suspension bushings laying around in my trunk, no idea where it came from..lol

i'll have the mechanic look at it and tell me exactly what needs to be done and i'll do it myself, with the support of this community...thanks

[deevergote]

You're getting rid of the CB? how come?

[mikeyg92ex]

Im 99% sure its a ball joint. My upper ball joint is going bad and its making the same sound as you described. when you jack the car up get one hand on top one on bottom and if it moves the opposite side to side way then its you balljoints. mines my upper ball joint. Sucks too cause they came from the factory sealed shut, so it's not even like you can just pump grease into it to make the lubrication and get more life out of it. Time to get new ones man

[my 9t9d]

what causes the fornt right hand strut to squeek? i got a new upper ball joint but i dont know if that will fix it... thanks

[deevergote]

Im 99% sure its a ball joint. My upper ball joint is going bad and its making the same sound as you described. when you jack the car up get one hand on top one on bottom and if it moves the opposite side to side way then its you balljoints. mines my upper ball joint. Sucks too cause they came from the factory sealed shut, so it's not even like you can just pump grease into it to make the lubrication and get more life out of it. Time to get new ones man

When the boot rips, you should automatically assume that dirt got in, and the joint will fail. These things don't slowly go bad. The boot rips, dirt gets in... and they will fail very soon afterward, once the joint dries out. When a ball joint fails, you crash.

what causes the fornt right hand strut to squeek? i got a new upper ball joint but i dont know if that will fix it... thanks

If it's off topic, why did you post it here?

If the strut is squeaking, it is blown. Replace it ASAP.

[hondaenthusiast]

listen to deev. I had a bad lower balljoint and ignored it until it snapped and put me into a ditch at 45 mph. I luckily just missed a telephone pole. So instead of takin 30 dollars and gettin that takin care of i had to replace the axle, a fender, a corner light, the balljoint, a tire, and payed for the fifty dollar tow. so dont skip out on things like that cuz the some of the cheapest parts can cost you a whole lot if they fail.

[deevergote]

listen to deev. I had a bad lower balljoint and ignored it until it snapped and put me into a ditch at 45 mph. I luckily just missed a telephone pole. So instead of takin 30 dollars and gettin that takin care of i had to replace the axle, a fender, a corner light, the balljoint, a tire, and payed for the fifty dollar tow. so dont skip out on things like that cuz the some of the cheapest parts can cost you a whole lot if they fail.

You're lucky. You could've ended up on your roof! Or you could have hit someone else... or that pole...


We've had a few broken ball joint incidents. Thankfully, all have had luck similar to yours. I'm hoping nobody ever gets seriously hurt, or does serious damage to their car (or someone else's property) in the future!

[jmolina]

i found the problem, its my header system. Yesterday me and my brother swapped out the header and downpipe and the entire exhaust system and instantly that popping sound started on his cb....coincidence..i think not.

header downpipe is the problem, i'll give greater detail later on

[AnewOasis]

That sounds different. Hey you learn some new possibilites everyday.