Hey guys, I posted a while back to no avail. I am wondering if anyon can help me with my problem.

When I brake, Imean forcefully, I hear a significant POP come from the left front wheel well. If I ease the brakes down , I do not hear this. Its becoming a niusance really. Its also beginning to make me worry that this is the start of a larger problem. Any ideas>>> Its not the brakes, checked them out, everything is tight. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks fellas.


Will

 

Have you checked to make sure the ball joint is tight? I really can't see that being it but check anyway. More likely I would look in to the upper strut mount. Pop off the black cap on top of the mount under the hood, and bounce on the car ( or if you are a scrawny guy) get a buddy to do it for you. Do you notice any excesive movement in the top of the strut? Jiggle the car back and forth with *** much force as you possibly can without denting something and check again. It could possibly be the bearing is gone in the strut plate and does funny things under load caused by hitting the brakes. Another thing that comes to mind when I try to picture what can actually make that sound is the top strut mount nut being loose. If you were to hit the brakes slowly the transition from the stut going up and down would not be harsh, but sharp stabs of the brake could easily cause a more abrubt movement of the strut causing a popping or banging sound. I am quite confident that this is were your problem is but if everything checks out, put a jack under your a-arm and jack it up while looking for slopp in any components like the ball joint, sway bar link, or a-arm bushings. You should be able to see some sort of deflection or irregular movement if something is loose. Good luck

 

Check your ball joints. My old cavalier made a pop noise whenever I would brake hard or corner hard. After checking it out I found the right lower ball joint bad. Jack up the left side of your car and grab the top and bottom of your tire. Push and pull HARD and feel for play. If you feel any play inspect the ball joint while pushing and pulling on the tire.

 

Please let me know if you find it. I have looked as well and could not find it. I have been thinking about the strut mounts as well for the last couple of days as it has gotten worse. It used to only do it after a brake as the energy in the springs caused to the car to raise back up. You would then hear a pop. Now it does riding too.

 

Its nice to know that I am not alone in this prob. I have not heard one person with a similar prob. I will look into it today if I get a chance and post my findings. Its really a nuisance, because it makes it sound like my car is going to fall apart..... Not good infront of the ladies you know

Will

 

I went through the same thing a while back. I thought for sure it was suspension related. But, I was also told that noise is almost always related to the brake pads. The bend down tabs on the outer pads need to be HAMMERED down and extremely tight on the caliper. I tried it, also inspecting all the suspension. The noise went away!