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!

 

If all your bushings are fine... Have you checked that the spring is seated correctly on the shock? And then check if the top mount on the shock is seated correctly to the strut tower - maybe it's rubbing there now? Torqued everything to spec?

 

I'm hoping the guy that installed the struts properly seated the springs when he put them back on. I replaced the bushings there and bump rubber/boots on all 4 corners. I'll take a look at all of the bushings I can find and see if there is anything there. He checked all bolts and nuts and said everything was tight. Are you or anyone aware of a place where the body could break in an accident that could cause a popping sound when put in a bind like in a turn or on acceleration? Thanks for the ideas!

 

BUMP. Removed the front bumper cover to see if there were any welds that may have broken when it was hit and couldn't see anything broken. Any ideas guys?

 

Check to make sure that your front two front crossmembers (1 under the radiator support and one with the streering rack in it) are good and tight. Next I would look to make sure that your radius rod bushings in the front cross members are in good shape and tight.

 

Will do. I replaced the engine not too long ago and maybe I didn't get everything tight. It seems to be coming from the side of the engine that the tranny is on. I had the guy that installed the upper and lower ball joints, cv axles and struts check those rods and bushings and he said everything was tight. Also ssaid the rack was tight, too. I'm almost thinking it has something to do with the steering since it really only does it in a turn or coming from a dead stop. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check it.

 

Well hell!!!!! I've checked everything and it all seems to be tight. Blows my mind that there is a popping sound and nothing is loose. Are there any body panels that get rivited together that I'm missing? Maybe when it got hit it broke a body panel loose at the rivets?

 

BUMP. Anybody have any suggestions other than what has already been mentioned?

 

this has been a problem with macpherson pillowball joints on the newer dumbified sus. honduhs.... and the solution was to lube up the pillowball joint or the top mount with silicone/wheel bearing grease. It worked for that so you might wanna try to lube the top mount on the double wishbone application or it could be how your spring is seated...

 

I believe I have the same thing happening in my 95 DC. I've searched everywhere and so far have not located anything that is causing it. It happens all the time, usually when hitting bumps in the road, but also on slow suspension movement.