my car makes a popping sound during hard cornering. what can that be?

 

Tie rod ball joint? That's what it was on mine. It happened after I spun out during an auto-x run, then just kept getting worse and worse.

As it pops more often, the steering will groan occasionally, feel sloppy, and like to walk around on the road. The symptoms will get worse and worse.

 

yea, as i drive around, my steering feels really light and handling doesn't seem as good as it suppposed to be on a dohc vtec sol. if i got new springs and shocks, would it fix it? or do i need to get that new joint? thanx

 

Another possible problem could be that the suspension alignment is off. If you take it in for an inspection, they can tell you whether or not they can align the car. If the steering tie rod ball joints are loose, then there'll be too much slack for them to get the toe settings correct, in which case they'll tell you and you'll know for sure that the tie rod(s) is/are dead.

New springs and shocks will not cure an ailing tie rod ball joint. The only cure is to replace the offending tie rod. A new tie rod costs around $30 to $35 for an OEM Honda part. Labor rates @ Honda dealerships are usually $65/hour. Takes about 30 minutes to replace one.

 

things to check

1. popping in corners

a. engine mounts
b. drive shaft
c. lower ball point
d. subframe bolts (if there is a subframe)
e. lower control arm links where the join to the frame.


easy way to check for tie rod wear: jack the car up on one side and wiggle the wheel forward/backwards, if it moves at all, replace the outer tie rod.

easy way to check steering links: jack the car up, remove tire and using a crow/pry bar place one end behind the link and using the lower a frame as a picit point apply pressure to the link, it if pops, replace it

ball joint: I would have that professionally inspected as I am not sure how to test that for wear....

 

dealer rate in the twin cities is $95/hr