it's the joint that connects the idler arm to the steering relay rod. it gets like that after a while because it is not greasable.

 

New Moog Idler arm, greasable joint. Do I need to give it more grease? Have you experienced this problem?

Terrybo3- That's what the guy at PepBoys said, but why would it just start happening?

Thanks!

 

The idler arm could be worn. The links down to the knuckles could be worn too. Considering the ball joints were bad, that is sufficient cause to think that anything in the front end with ball-and-socket joints are worn, including the lower joints and maybe even the control arm bushings.

But after thinking a bit, maybe it's your cup holder? I mean, if you drink coffee in one of those insulated magnesium cups, and you're using your right hand, maybe slowing down and turning left is causing the handle from the cup to bump against the holder?

 

idk... maybe more grease would help... you should try it and see if it helps.

i have had the same problem for a while now.. i took the stock idler off and replaced it with a crappy taiwanese one from napa, and the noise went away.. BUT the napa idler arm has really soft bushings, and after a couple weeks it was rubbing my frame and making a gouge.. so i rebuilt the stock idler arm with new bushings and put it back on my truck, and the noise came back. so i have narrowed it down to the joint on the idler since the rest of it was rebuilt, and the idler is what was making the popping noise.

i would assume that the joint had become worn after about 230,000 miles & constant offroading. the tie rod ends could also be a suspect, but mine are tight and i get the same popping noise under the same conditions. i believe that since the tie rods and idler joints arent greasable, that after 200k+ miles without grease, they dry up and wear score marks into the machined finish of the joint and/or get loose.

btw.. i recently replaced my upper and lower balljoints, and that did not help with the noise.. the only thing that got rid of it was replacing the idler arm.

 

by score marks, what i mean is a little confusing to some... i will try to explain..

if you think about how your idler acts when driving and steering..
when you steer, the socket of the joint rotates around the ball horizontally. after 200k+ miles, the grease would have worked its way out of the joint leaving it dry.. so when steering left or right, a very small horizontal step would form around the upper circumfrence of the ball (where the socket ends).. then when you hit a bump while steering (or hit the brakes) the suspension moves, and so does that joint... which would cause the socket to contact the step in the ball at a slightly different angle (due to normal small amounts of play in the steering rack) and make the poping noise.

 

or the joint could be loose from wear.. the same could be said for tie rod joints and suspension ball joints.

 

...if you have a new moog idler arm, then i would expect the noise to be coming from the tie rod end joints for the same reasons.

 

OK, JCM, I think you're right about the Idler arm... I'll have to put the stocker back on and see if the noise goes away. If it does, maybe I'll just rebuild it and keep the Moog as a spare.

I should list out for everyone what I've already done (Within the past 1000 miles, and not solely because of this noise).

New Moog Idler Arm
New Moog Tie Rods
New upper and lower Balljoints.

Every one of these has a greasable zerk that I've have pumped what I thought to be the appropriate amount of grease into.

Again, the noise started when I replaced the Idler arm.

Abecedarian, after your post, I thoroughly inspected the cupholder, and found nothing wrong with it (aside from a little spilled coffee...). Is it really possible for it to make a noise that would reverberate throughout the vehicle. Maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way though... Please explain more. Is this a problem you have had?

Thanks for all your help!