Loud pop/clunk on low speed turning

[SilverST05]

Originally Posted by ligardner

Silver, does the dogbone mount have a rubber bushing that can make a clunk? It is true that there is a forward-backward component to this noise. But because of the need to have the wheel jacked hard I assumed this was in some steering component.

I've replaced the driver and passenger side motor mounts but I didn't do the dogbone. Its probably about time. car has 105,000 miles.

Yes. The "dog bone" or torque strut mount has bushings that can wear out and cause that.

[SilverST05]

Originally Posted by focusauto01

I just solved a problem that sounded very similar. It almost sounded as if the motor mounts were bad. When I would hit the brakes, are make a hard turn, or go over bumps and pot holes. I did the same thing with you. Started at the cheaper tie rod ends and sway bar end links, then went to the cv axle, and control arm ball joint. My culprit turned out to be a busted upper strut mount. I did some research and found that the upper strut mount is common to blow on these things.

To me yours sounds like either a control arm ball joint, and upper strut Mount. Try the upper strut mount first.

This sounds like a very plausible cause as well.

[smurf91]

My 00 se is doing the same. I replaced control arms,end links,tierods only to find it was the strut mount! My car has 109,000 on it. The rubber around the mount is cracked and showing age.

[amc49]

If dogbone then you will catch the clunk on and off power going straight ahead too.

Turning only at full lock says strut mount or balljoint. Sometimes you swear the joint is tight but you cannot replicate the exact forces on a ton and a half car with a crowbar. BTDT.

Not CV, if clunking there is no way you won't catch it going straight or close to straight too. The wear in CVs is mostly in the straight ahead position, once you vary from that even a little you would run into the clunk long before you get to full lock steering. In CV the clunk is the ball snapping from a worn slot to the relatively unused new part of slot towards the ends. There is an edge that develops there from two arguing slot patterns, the ball snaps across it. The edge should generally show around a half turn or so, not full lock only.