I started noticing this I guess a couple weeks ago...when I cut the wheel pretty hard on the transition between 2 different slopes (from the road to my inclined driveway, backing out of a parking spot where the front wheels sit in kind of a "dip", etc.), I hear a thumping from the front end...last night I noticed it pretty bad, seemed like it was coming from the front left. It almost sounds like I'm going over a speed bump or something.

I stopped right at the point where I heard the noise, and got out and looked, and nothing was hitting the ground or anything, so apparently it's something binding in the suspension or whatever. I've only noticed it while turning, and I'm pretty sure it's only while turning pretty sharply...also it seems to always be on the transition between a flat area and a slope, so I guess it's when the suspension flexes while the wheel is turned.

I'm gonna try to take a look at it today after work, but is there anything specific I should look for that's probably causing it? Worn tie rod end? I dunno...

 

Check your sway bar end links and your ball joints. I'm betting money on the ball joints.

 

hmm...poly sway bar end links and lower ball joints are all maybe 2 years old. Upper ball joints are original though...I guess it could be the end links or lower ball joints, but upper ball joints are prolly more likely...

 

ok, I have the car in the air, and if I grab the outer tie rod end, I can twist it pretty easily...like if you're looking from the side of the car, I'm twisting in the same direction/axis as the lug nuts go. It's not effortless, but not difficult, even left handed...I'm gonna take a wild guess and say it's not supposed to do that?