i have a 2001 blazer 4wd v6 4.3 97,000miles.
on the left front tire area i hear a poping noise when i drive on rough roads in town on good roads dont make any nosies. thx for helping..[/align]

 

check ball joints

 

i was afraid of that. so do i have to loosen tbar to change them? or keep a floor jack under the a-arm work?

 

Ah well, I just got your PM on this subject and suggested you post in the forums for a better response.

I too would think balljoints, tie-rod ends (although these usually exhibit more steering issues than noise issues), or a broken sway bar end link. The sway bar end link is pretty easy to diagnose as all you have to do is look underneith and see if it is still connected.

With the ball joints, well, the lowers can be checked by first raising the front of the vehicle and supporting it on either side with jack stands. Then take a 6+ foot long 2x4 on edge under the suspect tire. Lift and listen for a pop or clunk noise. If you hear it, the lower is bad. Next, remove the wheel on the suspected side and pry up on the upper control arm with a pry bar between the steering knuckle and the control arm. Again, if you hear a pop or clunk, the ball joint is bad.

And no need to do anything with the torsion bar to change them.

One other thing that I just thought of is the hood rattle TSB (technical service bulletin). GM has a TSB that suggests that some rattling/popping noises can be caused by the rear hinge of the hood rattling. The solution is a conical washer that gets installed on the hinge bolt to tighten up the joint. There should be a thread somewhere around here with the part numbers. Shouldn't cost more than $2 from the dealer for 2 of these washers.

 

so all the pressure will be off the a-arms just by jacking it up?

 

Yes, tbars are nothing like coil springs. The tbars will have no torque on them when the wheels are off the ground.

 

nice. sounds a bit to easy.

 

Just wait until you're elbow deep in it and can't get the rivets out!! LOL The two biggest pains about swapping out the ball joints are the rivets (if original) and the pushing out of the axle from the drive shaft from the wheel bearing assembly to get enough room to remove the lower ball joint from the steering knuckle.

 

well i took the balzer to chevy service center today to have ball joints put in. swartlkkgot me scared with all the axle work. after there inspection turns out its a shock. so i brought back home going to swap out the shocks myself.

 

i do all my work myself but not ball joints. i did them once and thats it, no more..lol

about that hood noise....
do you think you could mistake that for a doorpin knock?
i load my doorpins with silicone grease and still they knock when i hit bumps. but now im not sure if its the pins or not.