on my 87, there is popping coming from the front of the truck on the drivers side. its mostly when i steer. sometimes if i hit a speed bump. i dont notice it as much when the hubs are locked and i dont notice it all when its in 4wd...i can feel the pop on the steering wheel when it happpens. could it be a steering problem? or maybe the drivers CV is going bad??

 

wheel bearings, CV most likely, ball joints, bushings, shocks etc could be lots of stuff.
This link will take you to Online Toyota Factory Service Manuals

 

i recently replaced rotors, so the bearings are taken care of. me and my freind checked to see if my ball joints have extra movement and they seem ok, i cant say that for sure... i would have to agree that its most likely the CV because one of my hubs were broken and left one wheel lock and i didnt notice it. long story short i found it like that after 2 or 3 months of driving it locked on one side.

 

Could be the CV, I also saw a recent thread where a guy was saying the gold bolt & washer in the end of the CV shaft (wheel hub end) was causing his to pop. He said with the bolt out it didn't pop but with it in it did. I have a pop on my drivers side as well with new wheel bearings, new brake rotors & pads, new CV's, new upper & lower ball joints, new shocks, new steering dampner, new idler arm bushings etc. but I also have that bolt....some say they don't & don't experience that popping sound.

The most common things blamed for that sound are CV's & the steering stop not having the rubber guard on it. My rubber guards are all still intact & a dabbed some grease on the stop just to be sure.....myself I'm beginning to suspect that little bolt & washer is the culprit.


FWIW - I didn't replace any of that stuff to eliminate the popping sound, it's just a coincidence that I have the infamous popping sound & have replaced all that stuff.