dbailey

Guys, I've got a real problem that I can't seem to figure out. I have a 90 Civic LX sedan that was hit in the passenger side front fender right at the wheel before I bought it and I think the collision must have jarred something loose and I can't find it. It is like a ball joint pop sound. I've replaced the upper and lower ball joints and the struts on all 4 corners and it's still there. Everything checks out tight (rack, torsion rods, etc). This mechanic I asked said he thought that maybe the body was broken somewhere and that the parts are rubbing/popping against each other. Can anybody suggest any place to look to try and determine where this pop is coming from? It is for sure coming from the front end and typically happens when you take off from a dead stop and when you go into a sharp seim-low spped sharp turn. I have 17" wheels and 40 series tires on it. Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks all!

dbailey

BUMP

408wdy

radiator support core is loose and when u turn kinda hard it pops right.. if so thats your problem.. pretty sure its radiator core IMO, hope this helps

dbailey

Hmmm. Where do you look to confirm that?

408wdy

well you dont have to take off your bumper (8 screws roughly) but it would help and make it a lot easier to locate the problem.. radiator core is spot welded to the front of the car which bolt up to the fram rails..look up from the back side see if the core has ripped off or if a spot weld has broken.. and when you make a semi hard turn the front flexes and thats where that pop comes from the loose front radiator core..

dbailey

OK big guy! Thanks a million for the tip! I'll check it tomorrow first thing.

408wdy

how'd it turn out mr. bailey

dbailey

Haven't had a chance to pull the bumper and look yet. Been wrapped around the axle non stop. Hope to either do it tonight or this weekend. It totally makes sense what you said and I really hope that is what it is. More of an annoyance than anything else. I'll post as soon as I confirm. Thanks for asking dude!

dbailey

Well I pulled the front bumper cover and didn't notice anything that looked like a weld was broken. It still pops and I wonder if it could be the rack or something? Is there anything in there that could pop?

importslife

is your car lowered? if so you mite want to check to see if the top of your suspension is not hitting the middle weld in the fender well. i had to cut out about 2"x1/2" so the upper swing arm can move freely up and down with out hitting. but as far as i know about my rex it has been ditched before and i hit a BMW from the back and no new noises. you mite want to check all of your bushings on the LCA and rods that run to the front cross member from the LCA


good luck

d15hatch

Try the cv joints.

dbailey

Not lowered and have replaced the cv axles, upper and lower ball joints and struts on all 4 corners. It still sounds like a ball joint pop and if you guys have ever heard that you know what I'm hearing. Also kinda sounds like a screw that isn't tight and running it up and down and the threads rubbing along the edge of the hole the screw goes into. Blows me away that I can't find it. Any other ideas would be worth the search to get rid of that annoying pop. Thanks guys!