amcdonal86 Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 Hi, I've had this noise for several months that started out very intermittent but is recently getting much more frequent and repeatable. It is a pretty significant popping "sound" that I can also feel with my feet through the floor pan. It is not rhythmic, and it happens repeatedly if I make a right hand turn. It can also happen at speed when driving in a straight line if I suddenly steer to the right (even before the weight of the car seems to transfer to the left side). It appears to be coming from the right front area of the car, and the noise only appears to happen when I am moving. FYI, the car is a '97 LS400 with about 107,000 miles on it. I have recently replaced the front sway bar bushings, the front strut rods/bushings, and the upper strut mounts. Last time I had everything apart (to replace the upper strut mounts), I checked the resistance of the ball joints on the upper carrier arms and they seemed to offer up a decent amount of resistance. I'm not sure if there are other "ball joints" on the car. Does anyone have any idea what this could be? It almost feels like something is binding up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amcdonal86 Posted November 15, 2009 Author Share Posted November 15, 2009 Also, strangely the popping noise does not happen at all when the car is cold. However, when it warms up, it becomes very frequent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amcdonal86 Posted November 17, 2009 Author Share Posted November 17, 2009 I must be blacklisted. Nobody has any ideas? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amcdonal86 Posted November 21, 2009 Author Share Posted November 21, 2009 Well, I started half of a power steering fluid flush before it got dark outside. This job is a pain in the !Removed!. By the way, how the hell did you guys get that solenoid nut off? I've pounded it pretty hard for a while, and it's getting kind of messed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amcdonal86 Posted November 21, 2009 Author Share Posted November 21, 2009 Well, I gave up on trying to get that solenoid nut off, but I continued to do the power steering fluid flush. Made a HUGE mess. The popping sound is gone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killerFatty Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 I'm not sure if it's related, but on really cold starts i get a popping nosie when I turn either direction. I recently had my PS rack and tie rods replaced. I am thinking the tie rods are the problem, but I am not sure. any idea's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amcdonal86 Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 Not sure. For me, it seemed that since the problem only occurred when the car was fully warmed up that it had to have something to do with the fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killerFatty Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 does yours pop just once when you turn or multiple times as you turn the wheel? It seems for me the more I turn the wheel the more times it pops. Sometimes will driving straight and I try to change lanes or make a sudden turn and It will feel like I don't have PS and its really hard to turn, then after enough pressure it pops and returns to the normal steering feel. Its a little scary sometimes because I have all that pressure on the wheel and then it will pop and turn really quick. This ONLY occurs on below about 40 degree starts and is gone within a few turns of the wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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