CQ pops

["Eric Renneisen" <renneie@hlthsrc.com>]

Last night I was driving on the Interstate for about an hour, 
using as my rabbit an idiot in an old yrmaC that insisted on 
traveling 100 mph and tailgating everyone in his way. When I 
got onto the surface streets I noticed a strange popping sound 
from the area of the front right wheel.

It didn't seem to happen at all while accelerating, only a 
little when coasting, and mostly while braking -- especially 
when going over rough pavement. I immediately thought CV joint, 
but this was more of a pop than a click, and it was happening 
during straight travel. 

I eased her home and promptly put her on jackstands. I think I 
heard a couple of mild pops as the weight came off the wheel. 
I could not reproduce the sound by turning the wheels in the 
air; I only heard a few very faint clicks from the CVs and/or 
the diff, but nothing alarming. All the suspension pieces 
seemed to check out OK.

I lowered her back down and went for a test run. No more pops. 
Actually, I did get a few pops, but these happened during low 
speed turns and have been present since the coil-over kit 
install. I suspect these pops are caused by possibly ill-
fitting upper strut bearings/bushings that were installed with 
the c-o kit.

I'm taking a road trip this weekend, and I need to know if 
this is a sign of imminent failure, or just a fluke. I plan to 
replace the strut bearings with proper ones ASAP.

Eric Renneisen
'90 CQ 20V  -  my 'popping-iron'  ;^)
Chattanooga, TN