Popping left front corner

[Wlepse]

So I am on vacation and have developed a pop in my left front corner. I remember seeing a few cases of this here but only found one thread that seems to tie it back to the strut mounts. The main difference is I have no wobble and mine only seems to happen at low speed maneuvers...and honestly I think only the first time I move. But does anyone have any recommendations on what I can check before I get home? I have limited access to tools but hope to be able to jack it up and check lugs and tie rod ends for play.

 

[LLninja]

Does this happen when you hit bumps, when you accelerate or decelerate, or can you give us any other clues? Most auto parts stores can loan you tools, so you might give them a try. You might even stop at a lowes or Home Depot and buy what you need. Whenever I go on vacation I try to at least bring a minimal set of tools (screw driver, vice grips, crescent wrench, socket set, pliers.

Side question, do you habitually use the parking brake or do you just put it into park?

 

[Wlepse]

Right now it is only slow speed, can be forward or reverse and I don't need to be at the stops for steering angles but I don't think I have noticed it at anything less than say 60%. It happens on smooth surfaces too so not bump induced.

I thought about tie rod ends but typically when these go I can feel a wander before they clunk like they did on my wife's truck before I swapped them out.

I think lugs are very unlikely since I use a torque wrench on mine and would expect if one were loose it would get worse with speed.

Strut mount is a possibility, but when they went on my wife's truck and the Audi I could almost feel the bad bearings as I turned through the entire range with some areas being worse than others. Right now I feel nothing, but perhaps it is still early.
I have a "full set" of tools...I keep one in every car that have metric and SAE sockets, Allen's and screw driver bits but it is really to get me to be able to limp along, not do a full on repair. My bigger issue is a jack and stands, so I really just want to make sure I am safe for the 700 mile ride home.

 

[LLninja]

On one of my other cars I would hear a pop whenever I accelerated or decelerated (lifted the accelerator). The tourX tranny is too smooth so you might only hear this upon takeoff from a stop, not from an accelerator lift. The temporary fix that the dealer did was to torque my nuts (the main nut that holds the wheel/brake assembly to the axle. Eventually they had to replace the right bearing and add a new washer to the nut on the passenger side. But I put many miles on the car when this popping started, and it took awhile for it to get progressively worse to the point I brought it in. The problem here is that most people do not have a giant socket and breaker bar to do this repair.

Does braking have any effect on the noise? Sometimes the brake caliper nuts come loose and could cause a pop. So check those too.

 

[Wlepse]

Yeah... nothing in my kit for an axle bolt and my impact wrench is at home. But if I jack it up to check the tie rods I can check the bearing for play too. I don't think it is brake related but since it seems to happen most in parking lot maneuvers I am likely on the brake all the time. I did do front brakes a few weeks back so maybe a quick check of those fasteners is in order just to be safe.

 

[LLninja]

I've been known to install a brake pad inside out, ruining a rotor, and negating any savings from doing the work myself. 🙂

 

[bloomer]

Have similar to what I have going on. Been having same noise for over a year. Dealer said they couldn’t replicate. Well it got very obvious in the last two months. Took it in and said it reminded me of previous car and that was sway bar mounts. I was correct. Some more food for thought. Happy Motoring.

 

[Wlepse]

Have similar to what I have going on. Been having same noise for over a year. Dealer said they couldn’t replicate. Well it got very obvious in the last two months. Took it in and said it reminded me of previous car and that was sway bar mounts. I was correct. Some more food for thought. Happy Motoring.

Interesting...your noise definitely sounded like the corner not pseudo center? When I had bar bushings go bad it was more of a clunk and sounded like it was more in the center but can't say I have paid much attention to where these mounts are.

 

[mikegett]

Could it be a CVT joint starting to fail? It’s been about 20 years since I had one replaced, but I thought it was similar. On my accord two years ago I had a pop that was at slow speed when turning. And typically in reverse. It turned out to be an inner axle bearing. But that car was a hybrid with no transmission. So it was far beyond what I’m use to seeing.

 

[LLninja]

So we've pretty much nailed it down to every moving part in the brakes, wheel assembly, suspension, and drivetrain outside of the engine/transmission. Maybe a quick stop at a Buick dealership is in order, let them diagnose and give you their opinion on whether driving will make it worse or whether the repair can wait.

 

[mikegett]

So we've pretty much nailed it down to every moving part in the brakes, wheel assembly, suspension, and drivetrain outside of the engine/transmission. Maybe a quick stop at a Buick dealership is in order, let them diagnose and give you their opinion on whether driving will make it worse or whether the repair can wait.

Lol. I guess your saying we aren’t mechanics and it shows.

 

[Jack GS]

^lol pretty much @LLninja. We can stab at the problem for months but without getting hands on we're all just guessing.

I doubt worn CV joints would be the culprit as they usually present a constant ticking noise that only occurs with steering input. Who knows though...

My family had a 2010 Taurus that had a very audible front end pop that occurred only once per drive. Usually it happened when pulling out of the garage or into an off camber driveway entrance. Dealer gave the typical "could not replicate" and said everything was fine. Nothing ever was done about it. Never went away but never got worse either, just learned to live with it.

Does it happen multiple times per drive cycle or just once?

 

[LLninja]

Lol. I guess your saying we aren’t mechanics and it shows.

If course it certainly is harder for us to diagnose without having it on a lift, looking at it with a flashlight, and giggling things

 

[Jmlo96]

I have the same clunk. It sounds like someone is tapping the floor with a ball peen hammer. Sometimes there is a creeking/groaning noise also. My strut mounts were replaced once 10k ago. My family member is a GM tech and he did the work. The one strut mount the bearing had completely come apart. I'm not sure what the next step is going to be. Everything is tight and the noise only happens when turning the wheel and changing pitch.

 

[Wlepse]

Not sure what to say, I went out a few times today and no noise. I am hoping to have time tomorrow to investigate as much as I can on vacation. I doubt I will find anything but am just hoping to have peace of mind for the trip home.

 

[fng]

I once had a "clunk" from the front end when starting off from a standstill. Turned out to be loose lug nuts. It's worth a look.

 

[Wlepse]

So I got a chance to check the left front wheel and found nothing. But I will pass along this advice to all. First, if you added a space saver spare and jack, you may want to check the lug wrench to see if it fits your wheels. I thought I checked this before, but now I am running aftermarket wheels and the OD of the lug wrench is too big for the wheel bore. Luckily my tool set had a socket big enough. Second, DO NOT TRUST the OEM jack on even the slightest slope. I thought I was ok since the slope was very minor (slab under home we are staying in) but apparently it was not OK. Thankfully I didn't get hurt or damage anything but the jack. Still not sure what happened, it jacked up fine and barely moved when I checked tie rod ends and wheel bearing....thank God it didn't drop when I was checking the bearing as my hand would have been underneath the tire. It wasn't until I started to lower the car that the jack started bending and I mean bending. This didn't tip over, the one side just popped off the pins and it folded. I will be looking for a new jack to be able to stow in the car for the future. Anyone have a suggestion on something that might be stronger? Honestly after looking at how these are made it is a wonder they stay together. I can twist it back together with my hands, not terribly reassuring.

 

[LLninja]

So I got a chance to check the left front wheel and found nothing. But I will pass along this advice to all. First, if you added a space saver spare and jack, you may want to check the lug wrench to see if it fits your wheels. I thought I checked this before, but now I am running aftermarket wheels and the OD of the lug wrench is too big for the wheel bore. Luckily my tool set had a socket big enough. Second, DO NOT TRUST the OEM jack on even the slightest slope. I thought I was ok since the slope was very minor (slab under home we are staying in) but apparently it was not OK. Thankfully I didn't get hurt or damage anything but the jack. Still not sure what happened, it jacked up fine and barely moved when I checked tie rod ends and wheel bearing....thank God it didn't drop when I was checking the bearing as my hand would have been underneath the tire. It wasn't until I started to lower the car that the jack started bending and I mean bending. This didn't tip over, the one side just popped off the pins and it folded. I will be looking for a new jack to be able to stow in the car for the future. Anyone have a suggestion on something that might be stronger? Honestly after looking at how these are made it is a wonder they stay together. I can twist it back together with my hands, not terribly reassuring.

I’m so glad you didn’t get hurt. That said my car doesn’t even have a spare or Jack. Just a can of goo to add to the tire pump

 

[Wlepse]

Yeah, that is all they came with and originally I thought that was ok since I never had a blow out only slow leaks which the slime would be good for. Then a few months into owning it I was driving to work, the road by my house has a bunch of old rock walls from the farm fields. Well I guess an animal scrambled over it and kicked out a rock. I clipped it and blew the sidewall. After that I went out to find a space saver spare and jack so I wouldn't be stuck again. The wheel and jack I got was from a Cadillac.

 

[LLninja]

Yeah I have a spare and scissor Jack from a CTS… still in my CTS. I should probably move it to the TourX for just in case. Good call checking the lug nut wrench… I will do that if I plan on going on a long trip.