'02 Popping - CV Joints?

My truck is starting to pop... mostly when making sharp left turns. Would that be the CV joints? If not... what else? What do I need to look for? What would it cost to repair? Need some help! Thanks

Is the popping sound on the drivers side or passengers... If it's on the drivers side, I've seen some posts here and in the C/K forum about a steering shaft problem in 2000 +'s you might want to check out. Otherwise it could be a CV joint or idler arm or pitman arm. Also saw a recent post where the upper control arm bushings were causing a similar problem. Have somone help you by turning the wheel while you observe all the steering linkage to make sure nothings worn out and binding up. Raise up which ever side the sound is coming from and turn the tire slowly and feel for any binding in the CV axle joint. Be sure and check whether the boot is torn. If it is, thats a good indication it may be the culprit. Grab the tire and shake from side to side to check for any linkage play. With the wheel about 2" off the ground, stick a pry bar under it and pull up hard to check for play in the ball joints and control arms. While you got it raised up pull the tire and spin the hub by hand. Sometimes its easier to feel for any binding in the CV or hub if it's not real bad like this. If you find the culprit and do the work yourself, it's not too expensive, the hub being the costliest ($100-$120). There's nothing too hard to do (don't know about the bushings however, I've never had to do them) Pretty much standard tools for the CV joint. (air tools would be nice and a 35mm socket for the axle nut). Don't bother to rebuild the CV joint, it's not worth the trouble, just replace the axle. A replacement axle on exchange is just as cheap as rebuilding the joint. For idler or pitman arm you'll need a pickle fork or a puller like you'd use on a tie-rod end. Ball joints are considerbly more work, but doable. If it's a ball joint or control arm bushings, you'll need to get a front end alignment done afterwards. From your discription, I doubt its a ball joint though. Get yourself a copy of the Hayne's or Childon's manual at your local parts palance. Good luck, I hope this helps.
Be sure to check the steering shaft posts, it could be as simple as greasing the shalf... Rick

If it pops continuously while making a turn, it is most likely a CV joint. If it pops only once during a turn, then it may be the intermediate steering shaft. I believe there may be a TSB on that. Try searching on this board if it pops only once per turn.

Thanks guys. I think it pops once or twice.. on the drivers side. Mostly when going over bumps or hitting pot holes.

I'd definitly check out the TSB that Tidalcock mentioned. I reread over some the earlier posts on this. It is a fairly wide spread problem and apparently GM recommends replacing the intermediate shaft now rather than just greasing it. If thats your problem and GM is fessing up about it, maybe you'll be able to get them to fix under warranty.

I brought my '03 to the dealership for this same problem and they greased the shaft. After the mechanic saw that greasing it did no good, they agreed to order and replace the bushings on the intermediate steering shaft. Right now I am waiting for the bushings to come in from Chevrolet. I will let you know if this helps.

Thanks much. Appreciate it.

So after the dealer replaced the bushings, it still pretty much makes the same noise. When I turn and hit a bump at the same time, it makes a loud bump, squeaking sound. Kinda sound like the wheel is peeling out. I am not sure what to do now, as I have already brought it in twice.