boeing747arowair

Alright this has been bothering me for months and i cant figure it out. When i hit the brakes hard or go over a bump or somethign i get this poppin noise from the front end like if somethign is loose. It annoys the hell outta me. I thought it was the control arm bushings, so i put those new. The problem continued. So I put new shocks up front and nothing. What's left? Could the Tie Rods be causing this or something in the brakes?

Thanks Dudes and Bettys lol

Chopper

It could also be ball joints,sway bar ends,or the steering rack bushings are loose.

boeing747arowair

The ball joints are also new sry i forgot to mention that ans also the sway bar bushings, but not the endlinks!. they look new though, but i do kept thinking it could be something with the steering!

undecided.steve

Try this:

Go over a speed bump real slow with one wheel at a time and listen for the sound.
IOW drive at the edge of the bump so that one wheel is on solid ground and the other goes over the bump.

Do you get the sound with one, or both wheels?
This stresses the swaybar because the car leaning causes the bar to twist and do it's it's thing.

Other problems could be loose pads that clunk when you put the brakes on.
I haven't done my Mustang brakes yet, but most pads have to have the tab peened down a little so
they fit snug in the caliper.
They will clunk if you don't do this.

Can you duplicate it by bouncing the car up and down?

Like the other guy said, it could be the rack bushings are loose.
Doubtful it's the tie rods because your steering would be real sloppy.

PaintballFreak

I had a similar problem with my previous vehicle but the popping noise occured when I turned sharply. Turned out to be a problem with my power steering. How long since you changed the fluid?

boeing747arowair

well ive never changed the fluid but its mostly (almost always) when i go over a dam speed bump. imm doo that today! So steve after i get which side the sound is coming from where should i go next. I always notice when i drive on rough terrain ( like grass or gravel) something seems to vibrate giving me a weird noise! Once again, control arm bushings, sway bar bushings, ball jointsand shocks are NEW. Thanks guys!

BTRStang

My 04 GT was doing the same thing. I brought it to the dealership (still under warranty at the time) were I had friend who is mech. He said that it is a combination between the rack and pinion bolts to the the frame and the tie rods (real common in dropped cars that are running larger tires up front, my case 2' drop, 18x9.5 on 265 width). The R&P gets loose from steering and then its a domino effect on the tie rods. My 03 Cobra was doing the same thing. The guy that I bought it from wasn`t a gear head and didn`t fix the problem in time I now I have to change the tie rods. So I think the solution my friend is to tighten the R&P (do it on a lift or jacked up) and check the tie rods to see if there loose also, or if they broken. Let us know if that fixes the problem. Good Luck