driveslow

car is 94 civic ex coupe d16z6 - I have searched but as I get down to the end of the thread, there is no resolve.

the clucking/poping noise happens when rolling straight back and accelerating from a dead stop. I rember rolling back while in first and the clutch down. Does not happen all the time. When accelerating straight it sounds like pop pop pop pop pop like a machine gun repitiveness then goes away. Also when coming down from a bump in reverse coming out of my driveway I hear a single clunk/pop. I aslo here it when turning left and right so I might have more than 1 issue. I have changed my axles and checked my bottom side motor mounts and they look fine. I am on all stock suspension. What could this be?

btw it sounds like its mainly happening on driver side and somtimes it feels like it coming from somewhere near my clutch pedel. I know this because I can feel the vibration of the pop through clutch pedal sometimes.

civicgsr

It's probably your 15 year old stock suspension. When I was getting ready to do a swap on my buddy's '94 EX coupe, he complained about some popping in the suspension. The front control arm bushings were shot.

If they don't look bad, you may need to go through all of the suspension bolts and make sure they are tight. You may also have issues with ball joints, tie rod ends or wheel bearings. 15 years old does not equal a very fresh car unfortunately.

-Alex

boostpimp

I had this similar problem with my other honda. It was the wheel bearings and front bushings

boostpimp

Oh it was on a 91 civic hatch though if that matters.

driveslow

how can you tell if ball joint is bad, mine just look greasy

94EG8

You pry under them with a steel bar, if theres any play the bal joint is bad.

driveslow

so if the ball joint piece itself has play, its bad? This goes for both upper and lower right?

94EG8

Basically yeah. Its just a ball and socket joint, the ball should rotate in the joint, but there should be no play when you pry on it.

civicgsr

Actually, if the ball joint is greasy, then the boot is probably torn. This is a bad sign. Granted, if the boot is torn and it is dry, this is a worse sign

I've had ball joints and tie rod ends that have noticeable play in them and haven't heard a popping. Usually, I have issues with tracking or handling that makes me check. A very dry and very worn joint will pop.

As for the bushings, if they are worn enough, you will be able to wiggle the suspension and see movement.

As for the '91, it doesn't matter. It could be a '91, '95, or '74...it's all the same.

driveslow

man, i have a lot work then. all ball joints and all lca bushings

Eclpze97

Try wheel bearings too! I just replaced both axels, All motor mounts, All ball joints (upper, lower, and tie rods) and still had a clunking until I decided to just do the wheel bearings! But that dev. covered the problem... But now at least everything up front is new

driveslow

my buddy was telling me i can take it to have it aligned and the computer might be able to tell me exactly what needs to be replaced. I just dont want to replace stuff that doesnt need to be replaced right away.

civicgsr

I wouldn't bank on that. I've had cars aligned with bad ball joints and tie rod ends.

It's possible that if the mechanic cares the problem can be found.

superbean

easiest way to tell...

Jack the car up, so wheel is off the ground

Grab the tire on top and bottom, wiggle top and bottom in and out, if there is slop there, then it's a ball joint problem..

Grab the tire on the sides, wiggle it left and right, if there is slop that would indicate a tie rod/steering rack problem..

If the wheels moves in any direction you move it, check out the wheel bearings.

It really goes downhill from there.. rolling on a bad ball joint causes stress on bearing, bearing fatigues, wheels chatter and clunk, mis aligns the car, eats up tires and puts stress on tie rods :\

d4rk13l4de

i had a buddy of mines ball joint come out of the socket when he was leaving a parking lot, luckly he was only going 5-10 mph. it wouldn't have been a pretty site if he would have been on the freeway. Ball Joints, tierods, hell anything suspenion wise is to important to have good quilty parts under your car. just start fresh replace it all just in case. the parts aren't too expensive, alot cheaper then when your wheel falls off doing 65 on the freeway.

driveslow

yup looks like i will be doing it all, glad i have a daily driver car. Anybody ever use autozone or duralast, ball joints and lca bushings?

94EG8

Not autozone specifically (we don't have any in Canada) but I have tried aftermarket lower ball joints. Its been my personal expirence that if you aren't using OEM Honda you're just wasting your time and money. You guys are lucky, Honda's list price on lower ball joints is $50 US, over here we pay $101.00 plus tax, even with the exchange rate we still get raped.

driveslow

im going to attempt to change out the front lca bushings myself.

Bad_dude

You are right dude, I had my alignment done and the mechanic didn't tell me jack. I found out later but my car drives fine and without problems right now though. 1990 Honda Accord LX 4AT.

b16racereg6

iTrader: (2)

ive used autozone 20 doller lower ball joints and tie rods ect and ive never had any issues with them i put a lower ball joint in my 94coupe about 2yrs ago and still good from autozone...... its prety easy to beat it out with a hammer and back in dont forget about the snap ring tho.... g/l just put all new parts and a fresh wheel aline ment u will like it so much better..

Mrmatt3465

I had the same noise. For me I had lost a nut on my upper A arm. Check and make sure that's tight.