Just throwing this out here, but is there any way this could be a ball joint? I know you just had an alignment done on the car, and they said the tire was toed in alot. Shops are not supposed to align the wheels if there are any bad tie rods or ball joints or bushings, but I have seen it overlooked before. Last winter, I took my brothers car ( '99 Grand AM ) up to the local Belle Tire ( very good tire place ) to have new tires put on it. I told them to check the alignment also, because I knew that something wasn't right, there was a lot of clunking coming from the pass. side front area. So, with them checking for alignment, they are supposed to check all the other stuff first to make sure the car can be properly aligned.

Well, they came back and said that everything was fine and the alignment is just a little off. I asked them if there was any bad bushings or anything ( I suspected a lower control arm bushing ) the manager said "nope". I KNEW SOMETHING wasn't right so I insisted that there is something wrong up there and he argued with me. He told me that his mechanics checked it out and that IF there was anything wrong with the car THEY would tell ME!!!! I was PISSED, and then the manager finally got sick of me and decided to prove ME wrong Well, we got a flashlight and one of their mechanics and went under the car on the lift and guess what I found...... yup thats right.... a completly blown out rear lower control arm bushing. I went back up to the manager at the service desk and told him how it was


Like I said, just throwing this out there, I have had ball joints do the same thing to me. When you go to pass people, or switch lanes on the highway, or take a long sweeping turn, is there ever any jerking? like you are turning and the wheel is in one spot, but all the sudden it jerks one way or the other?

Hearing it in forward and reverse, or just coming out of one or the other is a good indicator of a failed upper strut bearing.

I was kinda wondering about that. I just had the mount replaced, and the shop didn't say they noticed anything wrong with the bearing when they put the new mount on for me, not that they would check, but yeah....

I'll look at the brakes and pray that'* all it is.

Okay, I know this is probably getting tiresome... I have now determined that the noise is coming from underneath the car... I can't quite explain it, because due to the nature of how it happens and when, I cannot possibly get out and get under there when it does.

I can tell you that it almost sounds like a small backfire that you might get were you to rev the RPMs w/o any load (in neutral/park). It'* very odd, and it only seems to happen when I go from reverse to drive, but not when I switch gears, just when I begin to accelerate forward. I am going to check the brakes just as a precaution, but I am seriously wandering away from that being the culprit...

I know this thread has been going for a bit, but its starting to worry me. I don't want my car falling apart just when it'* starting to look and drive better than it ever has before.

Check all your motor mounts and subframe mounts and bushings. Any rust on the underside of the car should be carefully inspected in these areas.

Dang, well the subframe bushings all appeared okay, but here'* a little more to try and narrow it down...

When I back out onto an incline and then try to drive forward (uphill), it seems to pop even louder than it was before. God I'm about ready to give up... The scary thing is, I can never seem to pinpoint it. One day it will seem like its right underneath me, the next, under the car, sometimes it sounds like right where the transmission is, and then the driver'* front wheel.

Is there anybody else having issues like these?...

Have we had you check the rear trans mount?

Holy crap... Dammit, it wasn't said 7 times so naturally I forgot!

I'll check ASAP!