My sister'* '98 SLE is having issues again. It has been the power antenna, transmission, intake, and now this. When you hit a bump there is a very definite pop in the front end. It is not repetitive, just a single pop. The pop is low enough that you could consider it to be a thud or clunk. The larger the bump you hit and the higher the speed, the more severe and defined it is. It does not seem like it is steering related as I have driven it in tight circles over and over with no noticeable pattern. It did occur occasionaly during this test but not with any consistency. Do you all have any ideas or suggestions as to what it might be? The car only has about 55k miles on it and I do not feel like it should be having this many issues as she maintains it well and reports any problems to me and my dad. Am I unjustly upset about its issues?
Thanks,
Grant

The first thing I'd check (visually) are the front swaybar endlinks. Are they intact? Bushings excessively worn?

Next, jack the front up and play with the wheels. Left to right. Sloppy? Probably a balljoint.

Other than that, an upper strut bearing has also been known to produce that sound.

Thanks willwren. I'll check all those tomorrow when I get under it. I hope it isn't another expensive fix for her.
Grant

Good call on the swaybar endlinks. Replaced a worn torque strut while we were at it.
Grant