It didn't with mine....

 

If the hubs are set to unlock, and they truly are free-spinning (i had a hub that didn't fully disconnect sometimes), then it can't be the CV's. Also, CV pops can be pinpointed by making a u-turn, and them clicking multiple times (from them spinning). Mine (and I think yours) only pops once.

Oh, and my balljoints don't have any play either, but i'm pretty convinced that this is the problem. It might take the weight of a truck pivoting on a tire to make it pop, which is a bit more force than I can give with my bare hands.

 

there is a good chance the weight has to be on the wheels. It sounds like sometihng is binding and releasing suddenly. Do you feel anything in the wheel when it pops?

 

Hey, what about when braking...could something be loose in the calipers?

 

to check a ball joint you have to jack the truck up and put a pry bar under the side of the tyre (truck up pry bar going into the side of it under the tyre handle outwards pry point under the a-arm) and lift if it wiggle then you know you cant really check ball joints by shacking the wheel unless its about ready to fall off the truck

try that and let us know

 

my 87 2wd does the same thing. Only when it's super hard turns and the suspension is flexing like you said.

 

I think PepBoys gave me the suggestion that it was my Brake Pads shifting back and forth. I haven't checked them to see if they're loose, but why would it suddenly start after 15,000 miles on them?

I wonder if the sound I hear is the same as what the others are hearing. It happens almost every time I stop with any force, whether or not the wheels are turned or straight. When I roll back and brake, it sounds like it "resets" and makes a similar sound. This would almost lead me to believe the PB guy.

My guess is still either Upper BJ (Just replaced lowers with no results) or the new Idler arm... Dunno.

 

Have you put it in 4wd? Could be an axle shaft. They've been know to make some crazy noise when they snap!

Or something in the front diff. Pull that 3rd!

 

I don't think that's the same as what we're hearing. I think you're hearing the wheel stops. My truck makes the same nasty grinding/squeeking when at full lock and flex. Just a thought...

 

I get the noise in 2wd, hubs unlocked. There is no difference when I'm in 4wd.

 

Shocks... How old are yours? My shocks had worn so much where the upper bolt part of the shock attached to the frame it would move around and rattle against the mounting area. Tightening the bolts was only a temporary solution. Just $.02

 

That makes sense, and I think I'll leave it at that cause I really don't feel like screwing with it all that much.

 

I've pretty much decided that it's my balljoints. I actually did find out that my right-front upper balljoint has some play in it, so I figure that I might as well replace all four of them. But, which of the balljoints are load carrying?

 

since the torsion bars are attached to the upper arms on the 4wd, I'd guess the upper ball joints support the weight of the truck.
the lower arms serve to locate the bottom of the steering knuckle, little more.

 

They both carry load. When you jack it up most of the load is on the bottom one.

 

true, if you're jacking point is the lower arm. then the weight of the vehicle is transfered through the steering knuckle to the lower arm to the jack, otherwise, the weight is transfered through the tire to the ground

 

OK, well I ordered the Upper Balljoints today, should be here in about a week... I'll keep you posted as to whether or not it fixes it.

I did notice the Passenger Upper Balljoint was oozing grease. Probably a good indicator. 195,000 miles, probably need to be done anyway. I guess we'll see!

 

Well, I replaced the balljoints on the right side about a week ago and the weird popping went away. It still does it a little bit, but only very rarely and only when I'm coming to a stop. But I pretty much found out that my upper balljoint was completely shot. I mean you could literally rotate/move it around it by hand because it was so worn out. I replaced them both with supposed "greased for life" balljoints from NAPA, with good results so far. They'd better last another 240K miles though, for how much I paid for them......

 

I replaced the uppers this weekend and the sound is still there. The uppers were definitely shot, and i could easily wiggle them just as Yotaman could. Not sure where to go now... Probably back to the Idler arm.

 

I had a 2001 Celica, and it "clicked" when I drove it the first time. It happened when braking hard, or when going in reverse and hitting the brake. It was a loud click/pop noise, and the dealer said the brake pads had some play, and that created the clicking noise. I think that may be what you're hearing, Ardent.