Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and I've been searching for an answer to my problem but I'm not having any luck. I bought a '96 Blazer about 6 months ago and from day one it's had a Clunking/Popping sound coming from, what I believe is, the front end. I've had it to three shops and no one can figure out what it is. I've replaced:

Driver side upper/lower ball joints
Idler arm
Pittman arm
Both inner tie rod ends (outer ones seem to check out)
Sway bar links
Sway bar bushings

I've read on the forum that it could be my torsion bar mounts, but my model doesn't seem to have the style that I've seen on this forum. My question is could it be my passenger side ball joints making that noise? I figured it had to be something with the steering, because it only clunks when turning, but I'm running out of options. Any help would be much appreciated!

 

To check the ball joints, jack it up, grab the tire and check for excessive play going north, south. East, west would be hubs. Usually noise while turning is a sign of bad cv joints.

 

How do you check the CV joint? I've never had to troubleshoot one before.

 

2WD or 4WD? 2WD does not have torsion bars so no mounts 4WD 2nd gen does have torsion bar mounts. Is it just one "pop" or is it wheel speed related as the vehicle is moving? How hard of a turn: all the way one direction or the other, or just a partial turn? Does going over bumps make a difference? Ball joints can make noise and so can upper and lower control arm bushings if they're worn or loose. CV joints, (4WD only) usually only make noise while turning.

 

+1, forgot to mention when I do ball joints I do both sides. If one side is bad there is a good chance the other doesn't have much life left either. To check the cv joints you want to inspect the rubber boots for any holes or tears. They can be hard to spot. You also want to look for any signs of grease being thrown in the wheel well, when there is a hole in the boot it alows the grease to be thrown from the boot and the noise it makes is a dry joint.

 

It is a 4WD. It's just one "pop." I can only get it to do it while moving, it seems to do it when you crank the wheel hard most of the time, but sometimes it does it just when pulling away from the curb. Bumps make no difference. I'm wondering if maybe it is the control arm bushings, I've heard that they can be a nightmare to replace on some vehicles, how are they to do on a Blazer?

 

I've never done control arm bushings on a blazer. So can't help you there but I would still check the cv and ball joints.

 

Well I just had it in the shop, one shop said he figured everything was tight, then it had an alignment last week and there were no problems, so I'll check the CV joint. I'm pretty sure it's good though. If it is just the control arm bushings, can I just leave it? It's not like the bolts are going to come off right? I'm just wondering if it really needs to be done?

 

If any of the control arm bushings were worn/loose, (there are 8 of them) the alignment would be impossible to (accurately) complete due to camber and caster angles constantly changing during the alignment. If the shop even had half of their marbles, they'd tell you about it. Dorman has complete control arm assemblies, including the ball joints and bushings for under $100 each.... not worth it to fool around pressing the old bushings out and the new ones in. Uppers are not difficult to replace at all: separate the ball joint from the knuckle and remove the adjuster cam bolts. Lowers can be tricky/dangerous due to unloading and loading the torsion bars but the process is the same as the uppers. Alignment is mandatory after replacing any of the bushings/arms.

 

Hmm, well I think I'm going to try replacing the ball joints first, as they were only $10 each. If that doesn't fix it I guess I'll do all of the control arms. But the question is: is it safe to wait a few months to do them?