Car still makes poping noises

[z24forlife]

Damn car... i have no idea where these poping noises are coming from.. I also changed my end links last week with moog parts... i did the job myself ( piece of cake ).. think it would resolve the front end poping noises.. but the noises are still there and, my top plates are brand new all four.. Just a funny thing tho i noticed when it rains and, I dirve my car in the rain all day or somthing the noises go away..... of course the water acts as a lube doesn't it.. ??? I wish i knew where to look next.. My car is like in mint condtion but yet doesnt go the way i want it to go. Is there some places that i can put some lube and, what kind of lube might lessen the pops or make em go away..??... If you guys can help, i would appreciate it very much.... sounds like dried up parts.

thanks guys

[z24forlife]

well iv spent the whole day yesterday driving in the rain... and, my car went smooth like a new one.. no noises what so ever... Today again i started hearing some noises coming from underneath. Is this a joke or what.. anyone know where i can spray in some lube somwhere to lessen these noises. Obviously it musnt be to serious, because it would make noises in the rain also. Somewhere enderneath the rain must penetrate, reducing the poping sounds... I tell ya in the rain my car goes great..no matter what bump I hit and, no matter how rough a take a curve.. pretty weird huh.. ??

[OverAllComa]

Could be a few things. Though if its something you feel in the floorboards my money is on either the steering rack itself or the ball joints.

If it were steering rack you'd notice detioration in the steering over time. Maybe a bit more stiff or takes a bit more to get the wheels a given direction.

Ball joints are a different story. They'll start popping when the seals that hold the grease go out. The factory ones are not serviceable, and they're a whole lot of fun to get out. I went through three titanium drill bits getting mine out. Then I forgot to grease them. Now I think I need yet another pair. WOOHOO.

[z24forlife]

alright thanks..but why it doesnt do in the rain..???

[OverAllComa]

Originally Posted by z24forlife

alright thanks..but why it doesnt do in the rain..???

Grease dries out as a result of broken seal, bad popping. Water gets in and rehydrates the grease, could make it work again.

I'm no chemist, though.

[z24forlife]

Ok thanks.... do you recommend a good lube for this.. my car goes great... Id like to tuff it out.. you know at leats wait until it might get worse. Its more of a bugging noise then anything else.. I dont feel like its gonna break or anything.. Just cant stand hearing those noises.. which dont do all the time.

thanks again.

[OverAllComa]

Therein lies the problem. Factory ball joints aren't serviceable, meaning you can't lube them. You'll have to replace them. You can get them cheap or you can get them expensive. With my experience, I'd rather drop the coin on a pair of high-end, low friction, non-serviceable ball joints. But that's just me.

Oh, and if you got to do a replacement, brings lots of titanium drill bits, 1/2". And, dear god, loc-tite those bolts. You DO NOT want a ball joint to come loose or you're in for a world of hurt.

But, if you insist on trying to stick some grease in there, its all pretty much the same stuff under different brand names. Just go to your local parts shop and tell them what you need to do, they'll point you in the right direction. Grease is cheap.

[z24forlife]

hi there... i went out tonight with my girlfriend and yes the poping was very often... practically at every intersection.. but not on the highway..... we just put the music up LOL..... well on my car i guess there are 2 ball joints on each wheel right..?? the top one which is greasable... and then there is another one at the bottom of the table... which one do you think might be the one.. because the top one looks like the tye-rod to me and it is greasable from the top.. because there is a valve for the grease..

[OverAllComa]

Errr, only one balljoint. The other is a tie-rod end. I don't think they're greaseable from the factory, but if they've been replaced, then they might be.

And between the two, the balljoint is the more load-bearing and most likely to make those kinds of noises.

[Classicrocjunkie]

Factory ball joints on my car were greaseable... so were the replacements i found with a lifetime warranty. They also came with lock washers and i got those suckers as tight as i could....

[z24forlife]

alrighty so tomorrow im going to get the ball joints changed.. do you think i should change the 2 sides... because obviously the car will need an alignement, right ???

ok thanks

[OverAllComa]

I guess, in theory, you should get an allignment after that. Then again, my car drove just fine w/o an allignment when I replaced mine. Then I replaced the tie-rods a week later, though, and that obviously required an allignment.

Besides, if it hasn't been alligned in a while, you might as well. They say you need one every six months, but I've found that if you drive w/o hitting curbs that you'll be fine for a year or so.

[z24forlife]

alrighty thanks..ill let you know how it goes..
i dont think ill change them myself... the old ball joints have a cutter pin so they stay in place... are they really hard to change.. and how much torque must i put. ??? Just asking but im pretty sure ill bring the car to my mechanic.

thanks

[Classicrocjunkie]

I did mine not knowing exactly what i was doing... them being rivioted in place threw me a loop hole... I think trying to taking out/ put in the damn control arm bushing was more of a bitch than the ball joints.

[Classicrocjunkie]

tell ya what tho, they make a nice addition. Wouldn't hurt to do em while you got yours out.