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Mystery suspension pop still occurring after fixing/replacing LCA mounts and ball joints


Backpacker
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Been having loud pop/clanks I can hear and feel through the floor boards in turns. It's loud. I've addressed the issues I thought it was, both on the more intense side of suspension work but the problem persists. It's only when there's some momentum, I can idle through a turn at full lock with nothing, but once I give some gas it does it and several times throughout the turn. Let's say I make a right turn and it pops a bunch and stops, if I make another right turn immediately after there is no popping. But once I go left it will pop a bunch and settle to the left side then won't pop on left turns till I make a right. So it's settling to each side.

 

At first I though it was my compression/tension/strut rods on the lower control arms (whichever you'd like to call them). Had the classic worn out frame mounts from the lack of bushing cups. Welded some bearing races and installed new bushings, problem persists. Next I replaced all 4 ball joints, since the original 28 year old one were still installed and not looking to good. Only one of the uppers had a lot of play in it. The noise maybe reduced by 10% but is definitely still there. My sway bar bushing look a little rotted, and also look like they could use a good tightening. I'm going to pull it tomorrow and see if that's the culprit. If not, what else do you think it could be? My steering joints look like they could be replaced, but under the circumstances of when and what is happening, I'm thinking that's probably not it.

 

 

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Sway bar link has my vote. Happened to mine the other day, nut was loose and caused an annoying occasional pop. Some links had a hex socket on the stud to help with tightening, but sometimes you gotta get an impact gun on them to really lock them down.

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I am going to vote steering stops since they most likely do not have the nylon cups on them anymore, you then get steel-on-rust rubbing noises. I took some of the undercoat and smeared that on the control arm contact points. It held up quite well!

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Sorry, didn't notice which forum I was in. Changing my vote to the steering stop caps, too. My 98 Frontier uses them, and I hate them. They don't last long, and it's clear as day when they're trashed or missing...particularly when backing out of a driveway and coming off the gutter/curb (which is probably what destroys them). Grease helped a little. They're cheap enough to keep spares. Your p/n is 40039-D0100, though the nylon seems to be a bit thinner than mine (40039-2S400) judging by online pics...guessing different bolt heads.

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I am going to vote steering stops since they most likely do not have the nylon cups on them anymore, you then get steel-on-rust rubbing noises. I took some of the undercoat and smeared that on the control arm contact points. It held up quite well!

It happens at any amount of turning not just full lock. I can just barely swerve back and forth going down a neighborhood street and it'll pop back and forth.

 

 

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It happens at any amount of turning not just full lock. I can just barely swerve back and forth going down a neighborhood street and it'll pop back and forth.

 

 

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Aha... I see. The only other thing that I can think of is a control arm bushing wallowed out but that's all I have.....

 

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Check the body mount bolts? I know you think it is suspension but I chased a pop in the floor that turned out the body mount had come loose.

Good idea I hadn't even thought of that as a possibility.

 

 

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Aha... I see. The only other thing that I can think of is a control arm bushing wallowed out but that's all I have.....

 

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I'm not sure. when I did ball joints the upper bushings seemed pretty stiff with no play. Not sure about the lower arms though, I didn't loosen the torsion bars so I couldn't really tell.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sounds like a bushing on sway bar You only hear the pop at a sudden rotation of the wheels Because that's when it's shifting sides. Mine had a similar clunk that was neglected for some time till I got around to it.

 

Now I click and ding due to the previous owner installing spring adjustments that have long failed on stock suspension.

 

 

Also original bump stops need to be changed due to age and myth that they: suck because of fabrication, age, composite, use, updated, wear and tear might as well if you are down there. I guarantee if you haven't replaced them they'll be pretty beaten up or gone...

 

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Sounds like a bushing on sway bar You only hear the pop at a sudden rotation of the wheels Because that's when it's shifting sides. Mine had a similar clunk that was neglected for some time till I got around to it.

 

Now I click and ding due to the previous owner installing spring adjustments that have long failed on stock suspension.

 

 

Also original bump stops need to be changed due to age and myth that they: suck because of fabrication, age, composite, use, updated, wear and tear might as well if you are down there. I guarantee if you haven't replaced them they'll be pretty beaten up or gone...

 

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My front stops don't look bad. The rears were toast and I pulled some from a yard a while back. The noise ended up being the 4 bolts on the front crossmember that holds the diff and engine(I think?). The bolts right by where the LCA mounts up. Gave them about a half turn each and my noise has disappeared.

 

 

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