I have a 2000 ford mustang. i just bought it about a month ago and i started to notice a clicking/ popping noise when i turn the wheel all the way to the right. Its speed sensitive not engine speed sensitive. happens any time i turn the wheel

My car is stock so theres no issue of anything hitting or touching anything else
no tierod ends are loose
i can feel it in the steering wheel slightly

i was thinking wheel bearings i haven't had the time to service them yet (do notice a little humm at higher speeds [60ish])
or something with the steering box


What u think?

 

Check the ball joints, stabilizer bar bushings and links. You can put the car on jack stands to check the wheel bearing play front to back and top to bottom but I'd suspect the ball joints if they have never been changed. Just my .02 cents.

 

ya i thought maybe that was what it is but it is speed sensitive

 

Do you have a front end alignment shop that gives free estimates? There's a thread on 2007 front end thunk that suggests checking the stabilizer bar links. Mine got a little loose and it sounded like the front end was falling apart. I had. Bad ball joint also. Found it by opening the door and had my wife rock the car by pushing down on it. While she was doing that I was able to locate the noise.

 

The 60 ish hum you hear may be the same as mine. Right at 60 I hear some noise from the rear of the car like tire or gear noise but only at 60.

 

i work at a dealer ship so can give are alignment guy like 20 bucks and he would align everything up
no the hum keeps going after that
the person i bought it from wasn't exactly car capable but she always got the oil changed

 

Yeah get it up on an alignment machine and they should be able to tell you if there is slack anywhere in the front end. I don't know how the front end is set up on the 2000 model ( I know the 65-66 year models and 2005-2009 only because I have them) but if its the same, a loose component like a link on the stabilizer bar back up to the strut will make all kinds of noise and it would be speed sensitive to a point. I had a ball joint going bad and the stabilizer link on the driver's side mysteriously loosened up. I found play in the lower control arm ball joint so I changed them both. Took about an hour for each side with the right tools. I'd look for bushings on the stabilizer, stabilizer links, lower control arm bushings, ball joints, inner and outer wheel bearings and tie rods which is really everything under the front end as far as steering/suspension components except for the struts and springs. While its on the rack, you should be able to turn the wheel for your buddy and he should be able to find the pop if it makes the noise while sitting still. The only other thing I can think of would be one of the inner tie rods which is inside the boot on the steering rack. Depending upon the problem diagnosis, it might be a good time for a more aggressive suspension setup. The noise above 60 could be muffler drone. Does the car have a different muffler or exhaust system?

Hope this helps some.