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I have a 1997 Chevy cavalier. when ever i apply the brakes i hear a loud clunk or pop sound coming from my car. i think its coming from the passenger side. it only does it when i apply firm pressure on the pedal such as coming to a stop at red a light or stop sign. If i just tap the brakes to slow down a little it doesn’t do it. any ideas on what this could be.
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The lower controle arms have a vertical bushing at the rear of the controle arm. They slip out and will cause the controle arm to hit the subframe, very common on those cars.
Sounds like the brakes are binding up. Try lubricating the slide pins for the front disc calipers, and then for the rear brakes do the same if you have disc, if it is drum lubricate all the contact points within the drum assembly.
When you have it up on jack stands, check for excessive play in your suspension system, as LS1GTO mentioned, and make sure that you dont have anything wiggling around or excessive loose.
It could be a couple of things, the brakes themselves or loose suspension parts. I would start by inspecting the brakes and lubricating all the parts that move as I show in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAviOGXzEUk
If you are missing shims on the caliper this can contribute to a noise like that or it could be that the pads don’t fit well. Not all pads are created equal.
Next check the suspension especially the strut rod bushings if you have them on that car. These are rods that run from the lower control arm to under the core support normally. It’s not a bad idea to check the rest of the suspension as well.
My brother has the same problem on his 2000 cavalier! Except his problem is in the rear brakes. I tried to pull the tire off to look at them but the tire was stuck on like no bodies bussiness! Still haven’t gotten it off. And I don’t have a big sledge hammer like eric does in that one video he made about removing a stuck tire, and I didn’t want to kick it real hard for fear of knocking it off the jack stands.
Quoted From Xyius:
My brother has the same problem on his 2000 cavalier! Except his problem is in the rear brakes. I tried to pull the tire off to look at them but the tire was stuck on like no bodies bussiness! Still haven’t gotten it off. And I don’t have a big sledge hammer like eric does in that one video he made about removing a stuck tire, and I didn’t want to kick it real hard for fear of knocking it off the jack stands.
To get the tire off all you need to do is loosen the lugnuts slightly and then take the car for a quik drive and that should pop the tire loose.
im hoping sometime this weeknd i can jack the car up and check all the steering and suspension componets. my steering has been real loose for about 4 months now. i dont know if these problems are realted and the popping is just a sign thats its getting worse or if there totally different.
Ok quick update sry it took me so long to get back to this ive been busy and havent had a chance to work on it. but this weekend im determined to get to the bottom of it. i just went out side and started turning the steering wheel back and forth and heard the popping coming from the passenger side. so i went over and started pushing on the tire with it still on the ground. and i heard a lound clunk or clank sound. it sounded as metal hitting metal. it seemed almost as if the axle had popped out of the transmission and me pushing on it popped it back into place. im going to go get the floor jack and jack stands and start looking around the suspension. ill keep you guys updated.
Eric just posted a video on suspension noises. I would watch it closely, as it sounds like a ball joint or tie rod issue if it’s that obvious with just pushing on the tire while the vehicle is on the ground. A bit odd that you only hear it while braking though.
i hear the noise whenever i brake, steer, or drive on a bumpy road. it used to be only when i brake but nows it just got worse. i finally got it on jack stands and checked everything out. my tie rod on the passenger side is loose i thinks its the inner. and i may need a new ball joint as well. and then everything on the driver side looked good except for the rubber seal on my outer tie rod end broke and all of the grease oozed out. i just replaced the outer tie rod ends a year ago. im taking it by a shop sometime this week to get it looked at a little closer
Ok new update. i took to the car by the shop to get a professional opinion and they said my clunking and popping sounds from driving was caused by the wheel bearing. so my question is wheter or not all the problems listed above could actually be caused from bearings. the mechanic only looked at my car for 2 min said it was front bearings and then walked away. but that doesn’t explain the excesseve movement in the innner tie rods, or does it? he said the tie rods looked fine. im going to be doing the repair myself. ive already priced out new wheel hub assemblies for both sides at $146 total. i just want to make sure im replacing the right parts. thanks in advance for any advice
From reading all your posts, to me it sounds more like the strut bearings/mounts. If you hear a clunk noise when turning the wheel back and forth lock to lock, like a bung bung bung noise the strut bearings are seized, the noise is the coil spring binding then snapping free when there’s enough tension on it. The clunks could be the mount being separated. Lower control arm bushings are common to separate in these cars like said above and when you brake the control arm could come up and smack the cradle giving you the clunk when you’re braking.
The wheel bearings could cause some popping noises while driving straight down the road, but if their that bad usually they’d be howling so loud you couldn’t hear yourself think in the car. The play you think is in the inner tierod could actually be the wheel bearing being loose and not the inner tierod.
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