Popping and Clicking when braking?

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LS Chazzy J

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I hear more popping and clicking than a refugee from Uganda

It started about a week ago and started off very mild. When I was coming a stop I would hear a small pop/click from my front end and feel it in the brake pedal upon coming to a complete stop. Upon acceleration I would somtimes feel it in the accelerator too. Only from like 0 - 2 mph (in other words, immediately upon forward movement).

In one week it has gotten substantially worse. I don't really hear it other than braking and accelerating. I was thinking a sway bar end link. But I would believe I should be hearing that when hitting bumps, etc - which I do not. It only makes the sound when braking (coming to a stop) and accelerating (just upon forward movement).

Any knowledge as to this problem? Thanks guys
 
I have a similar sound/feel that is very light, but it's there.

Mine happens when hitting bumps as well though. I have brand new sway bar bushings and links. And I have inspected the front end thoroughly. I am beginning to think it may be in the brake/rotor/hub area.
 
Anybody at all? I've headed to my mechanic's on Friday and am looking for a good place to start.

Andrizzle, this is a long shot, but have you ever had the Master Cylinder replaced?
 
One good place to start is checking the slider pins on the brake caliper.

If you don't find that those are stuck, check wheel bearings for play, check sway bar bushings and ball joints. May also be a sign that your shocks are wearing out.
 
Mine has been doing the same thing for over a year now. Most of the time it only happens when the brakes get hot and the hotter they get, the popping becomes louder.
I inspected the brakes/rotors/pins and they all seemed fine. The car stops fine, so I just ignore it now.
 
LS Chazzy J said:
Anybody at all? I've headed to my mechanic's on Friday and am looking for a good place to start.

Andrizzle, this is a long shot, but have you ever had the Master Cylinder replaced?
Click to expand...

Nope.

I have almost all new suspension except shocks... But this doesnt sound like messed up shocks, plus it is in the front - and the only shock I can remember being weird was one in the back when I did springs.

I too inspected the brakes and everything seemed tight.

It is annoying becuz I am sure it is easy to pinpoint from down below when driving, too bad that is impossible.
 
Could be rust from your rotors hitting as the wheel rotates. I used to have the clicking and crunchy sound as well... especially when it was hot out. I have replaced the hub/bearing assembly and done rotors and pads and it went away so its one of those or a combination.

Just a ramble here but the bearings suck. Not only can they be impossible to remove (especially on cars used in winter), but they are ball bearings, not needle bearings so the force is very concentrated and they wear quicker.
 
I appreciate the help guys. My rotors are about 10K miles old. The pads are literally about 1000 miles old (pretty much brand new). I'm very light on my brakes, so I don't suspect problems w/ the rotors. Rotors are good quality, Pads are Akebono Premiums w/ all new hardware/clips too

It is definitely more proficient when it is hot outside - ambient temperature is definitely a factor. Yesterday it was 95 outside and it was horrendous when braking. Today it was 75 outside and I think I may have noticed it twice -- once was after very heavy braking on the highway.

Everything looks to be in fine condition down there. I guess I'll find out once I get it on the lift and see what is going on.

I'm going to guess its in the hub/bearing assembly. In my 10+ years of working on my own cars, I have NEVER had to do anything related to that area. Should I be aware of anything certain to look for? Will a bearing issue be noticable, or are those tricky to diagnose?
 
I, fortunately, haven't had such problems on any of the cars that I've had or worked on, so take all of the following with a grain of salt.

1. If you really feel it through the gas pedal and you have a gen I LS, then I would check the motor mounts. I can't think of anything else that would move the pedal (assuming the engine is running well). If you have a gen II, then it is your imagination.

2. If your hubs seem to be good, then check the ball joints. The only wheel bearing failures that I've had have all made enough noise to notice them before any other symptoms showed up.
 
I don't know if this would be the same thing but I just had a noise on the front end of my car taken care this week. For a long time I had what sounded like a clicking or rattling sound on the front end of my car. I mean it was constant for the most part and if the road was bumpy it sounded like the front end was going to come off. One day I decided to put my hands on the calipers and they moved a little. Took it to Firestone because they were the last ones to do the brakes and told them what was going on. They put new brake shoes on but most importantly they put new hardware kits on the calipers. The sound is gone completely and the car is quiet again. So check to see if your caliper is moving when the car is moving. If it is then you need new hardware kit for your calipers.
 
well i have two guesses, 1 could be the shock mount being slightly loose, and also the second guess would be some part of your suspension being loose, seeing how you mentioned being new, something could have came loose
 
Joe (and others),

I appreciate the reply. It's a 2004 V8, so probably not motor mounts.

I definitely feel it in the accelerator. Not as frequently as the brake pedal, but it's definitely there -- I could only wish it was my imagination. I've had this verified from my sister while her car was in the shop. She borrowed it for the day w/o me saying anything and brought both the brake pedal and accelerator issue to my attention upon returning it.

As for suspension wear, I took it to my mechanic to give it a look over to see if I might have missed anything. Everything checked out fine. It happened to be a cooler day, so the car wasn't misbehaving. But like I said, it's temperature dependent for the most part. Real bad on hot days -- barely noticeable, if at all, on cool days (less than 75 degrees roughly).

Regardless, it's just a very annoying problem that wasn't there a month ago. About 3 months ago I changed out the brake pads to Akebono pads. They've worked great. Brand new clips too. I believe I've exhausted about all of my options at this point. The car brakes fine, and everything works top from a functionality standpoint.

Thanks for the help and pointers. I appreciate it guys.
 
By feel it in the accelerator, do you mean that you feel some roughness or push back in the pedal itself? If so, that's impossible. Alternately, do you mean that when you press the accelerator you feel some roughness in the movement of the entire car? You say the noise is in the front, otherwise I would check the rear CV joints and the U-joint in the center of the driveshaft.
 
When I say "feel it in the accelerator" it goes along the same lines as the feel in the brake pedal. Have you ever had a warped rotor and when it is beginning to warp you have a small amount of "feedback" in brake pedal. It's nothing big and to the average person they probably wouldn't even think twice about it.

So when I refer to the accelerator, its just an ever so small amount of feedback in the accelerator. Upon initial forward acceleration the accelerator has a small amount of "feedback" in it. There's no "force" so to speak with the accelerator. It's not pushing back or anything. Just a small "pop" sound that you feel in the accelerator.

Imagine a small "pop/crunch" in your brake pedal. The pop in the brake pedal goes hand in hand with the "pop/crunchy" sound I'm hearing in the front end. It definitely feels suspension related -- or in better words, front axle related.

I'd love to blame the master cylinder because I know those go bad in these cars sometimes, but I already know about that - This sound/feel I describing isn't the same sound you hear in the brake pedal when the master cylinder goes bad. That sound is more located to the brake pedal itself. This current issue is definitely isolated to the front axle (best way to describe it, I know there's not an actual axle there). However, the resulting sound is felt in the brake pedal upon slowing down, mostly felt in between 25mph - and 0mph during braking. It is then felt in the acceleration pedal upon initial acceleration. The motion of giving the car gas through pressing the accelerator causes it. It's very quick you may only feel one or two "pops" in the accelerator upon initial forward movement. It's just "feedback" to describe it best - There's no "force" in the accelerator pedal.

I'm long winded...sorry for the overly detailed description
 
Be aware that your accelerator pedal is a self contained unit that bolts to the firewall and has electrical connections only to it. The only way to feel any vibrations in the pedal is if they are coming from the firewall/entire car. The brake pedal has a hydraulic connection to the brake pads, so you can feel some feedback from the pedal. The gas pedal on your gen II has no mechanical connection to the engine or anything other than the firewall. I still say imagination on that part.
 
That is good to know about the accelerator. When I have some time next, I will try to get it back up on the lift and go over it again from the start. Thanks for the help --
 
Andrizzle said:
I have a similar sound/feel that is very light, but it's there.

Mine happens when hitting bumps as well though. I have brand new sway bar bushings and links. And I have inspected the front end thoroughly. I am beginning to think it may be in the brake/rotor/hub area.
Click to expand...

I may be wrong but I had the same sounds coming from the front end but only when I'd drive over a bump or on crappy roads. Took it to the dealership and they told it me it was a strut mount. Needed to be replaced.


LS Chazzy, my LS's just started doing the same thing. Not sure what it is. I only hear it at about 5-0 mph slowing down. Then the first 1-3 mph when I start slowly release the brake pedal. So I'm starting to think it may be the calipers or something slightly loose. Just recently had my brakes done also.
 
Guys, it was about 85 degrees outside yesterday which means it was popping and clicking away. I took it to my mechanic because he has yet to hear it. I said, "Pete, this is yours for the day. Drive it anywhere and everywhere and let me know what you think."

Well he calls me back like an hour later and says, "I see what you mean. There's definitely something up. I can't get it on the rack until next week though." He mentioned it sounds like a lower control arm bushing on the drivers side, but he wasn't going to know for sure until he could get it on the rack. He said it should be easy to find since he knows what the sound is. But he said it's definitely suspension related. I had mentioned to him, "let me know if you think it could be a sticky caliper. I don't think it is, but let me know."

It was horrendous yesterday. I didn't even want to drive the car (so I didn't, I gave it to my mechanic). I had some work to accomplish that evening and didn't even start the trek home until 11:30pm. Well at that time it was 56 degrees outside. Not a single pop or click the entire drive home -- though most of it was highway, so that might not be a fair analysis.

I'm glad other people have got this same problem. I find it odd it's never been addressed in this forum (maybe an old thread just got burried). But I'll figure it out - trust me.
 
i've got it exactly as you describe it. if you find the answer, please let me know. PM me!

i've taken it to goodyear and firestone. i've definately noticed it more in warm weather. i also have an 04 ls v8. i'm actually thinking of selling it because of this.

but, i'm going to take it to the dealer and let them have a shot at it. they have a 2 week wait list.

aside note: the conduction of movement is apparent on the brake and the accel. running the wipers can be felt on both.

I find it odd it's never been addressed in this forum
Click to expand...

oh it's been addressed. you and i are the proud owners of a very special limited edition sedan with a custom front end.
 
see my latest post. the dealer told me he had to take apart the suspension... he found it because there was a wear spot on the strut.

noise is gone now. check into this as a potential cause. and post what you find. please.
 
I recently had my front rotors cut and I installed new rotors out back, with new pads all around and I don't get the popping sound any more.
 
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