Weird popping noise
 

I have posted about this problem before but I still have yet to get any answers from mechanics. They keep telling me everything is fine and they don't hear the noise but you can clearly hear a popping or clicking noise when I break and accelerate and when I turn sharp. It even pops or clicks when I leave my drive way. I have no idea what this could be but I know it can be a number of things. My car is a 2000 v6 RS. I have replaced front wheel bearings and tie rods, along with new brake pads.

Now my next problem is figuring out where this noise is coming from.. It could be anything from the struts and cv joints to suspension. So where should I get started?? Any ideas on what my next move should be. All the parts on my car are stock and haven't been replaced since 2000 so I bet there is a lot of work to do. but im looking for a more common problem. If anyone can help please do so because this is getting annoying. I have already spent 2 grand and this problem isn't getting fixed, I think Im getting ripped off.

There really is a thousand things it could be.

I'd start cheap and go from there. Strut mounts, ect.

Have a buddy on the outside of the car listening while you do some tests.

Visually inspects all the bushings- lower control arms comes to mind.

Yeah, exactly! Look at the lower control arms first, especially the rear bushings. Look for signs of metal-to-metal contact and rusty spots.

I've looked at everything and I didn't see a damn thing. I'm going up to my usual shop tomorrow and I'm gonna have a mechanic ride a long with me to see if he can pinpoint the noise. I have noticed that when the roads are wet from rain it doesn't pop..?

Check your front sway bar end links. Being old, I'm sure the rubber bushings are worn, could be to the point where you have metal on metal at certain times.

If you have original shocks replace them, the stockers are poor even at zero miles, go for some Bilsteins. I had a similar problem, and it was a disconnected shock on the passenger side. Stick with OEM shock mounts, they are better built than the aftermarket ones I have seen.

If you are thinking to replace sway bar endlinks and body mount D bushings, I would just take that opportunity to buy some cheap used SS sways and get all new mounts, check ebay, LS1Tech, etc.

This thread brings back a lot of memories. Mikey is right, it can be almost anything. Mechanics will check all the safety and wear item first and if they are all in spec it becomes a guessing game. These little noises can drive a mechainc crazy even on a brand new car. I can not even guess how many times I rode in a moving car either under the hood or in the trunk looking for a friken noise. Tracking these noises down on a new car is one thing but on a 13 year old car it would be a nightmare. Your car has been thru alot in 13 year it likes talking about it :)

Mechainc, even well trained highly skilled mechanic, hate these type of noises. Noise travel thru steel faster then it travels through air so a noise coming from .002” of play in a outer tie rod can sound like it is coming from the rack. Since a car just making a simple turn puts 1000s lbs of stress on a joint there is no way to reproduce that with the car sitting still. You could spend a lot more money and never find the issue.

I remember one old guy that claimed he had a bad rattle, something was loose and the car was not safe to drive. Took me an hour riding with him to get the noise to repeat then another two hours to track it down. The cotter pin inside the hub of the front wheel bearing was not spread enough so at slow speed you could hear the cotter flopping back and forth. Dude if the car has been check out and is safe don't worriy about it. Most likely a loose brake pad or .005" play in the rack, neither of those items need to be fixed but that is just two of hundreds of things it could be.

^^^ listen to the gorn. if you wish to continue the hunt, to kill a few with one shot look at tubular front control arms. then your replacing upper and lower bushings and ball joints. at a shop just ball joints is the cost of the control arms so if you install your saving money and getting more for it. while you have the control arms out throw some new shocks on and you save again. hardest parts on this would be getting the rusty bolts off and dealing with the spring compressors. other than that an average project as far as difficulty.

So tell us more about the issue.

Is it a pop?
Is it a click?
Is the sound coming from the front or rear?
Is it coming from the Left or Right
When you hear the noise as you turn, which direction are you turning?

Why would you look at aftermarket control arms? Many aftermarket lower A-arms have been known to deform due to insufficient supporting metal for the shock -- the stockers are the most robust. AFAIK, there aren't may reasons for an aftermarket one besides weight loss.

I would ping Sam Strano before going that route.