I have a pop in the front end on the driver side. It does it when I turn and go over a large speed bump. It's not a click. It is a pop that can be felt in the floor on the driver's side. We put it up on a lift and checked everything. Got a prybar and moved all joints to check for play. About a year ago I replaced the upper and lower ball joints and tie rods on that side looking for the problem. Noise is still there and popping a lot more now. Could it be a binding CV joint? Never heard one make a noise like that.

 

How far do you have to have the wheel turned for it to pop?
Sounds like a steering stop to me.

Fink

 

do you have a pic of the steering stop??!?!?!?!?..i dont have a damn clue what the steering stops are?

are they thick steel?..i figured they would have like a rubber coating on them..lol

 

This is what a bent one looks like:

I don't have a better pic than this, but the bolt above hits the half-moon piece to the right of the lower balljoint:

 

3rd gen 4Runners don't look anything like that pic. My 93 used to have noisy steering stops but I've never heard them on my 01.

As for the original question I occasionally get the same noise on my 01, but haven't figured out what it is. To be honest though I haven't really looked all that hard, nothing has fallen off yet.

 

it used to do it when turned all the way but it does it all the time now.

 

If it does it all the time then it's not the steering stop.
Sounds like a CV or something on the steering linkage.

Fink

 

I have an 88 Yota Pickup... not sure if the steering is the same on mine as it is on yours but mine is popping and it's the CV's... I bought new ones... now just gotta install lol

 

have you tried checking the tie rods? Supposedly on lifted runners, the tie rods are put at a new angle that makes them "pop" when you turn a certain way.

 

I'll bet your front sway bar brackets are getting loose and/or the sway bar bushings (in-between the sway bar and the brackets) are worn. This happened on mine and made a distinct "pop" when turning or going over bumps. I finally found it when I serviced my transmission and had to remove the sway bar brackets in the process and noticed they were just a little loose and the bushings were really thin and worn out. Replaced them, tightened them up and no pops since.

Doubt it's the CVs but to make sure, find an empty parking lot, turn the wheel all the way to one side and slowly do tight circles in reverse on flat ground (no bumps). Then stop, turn the wheel all the way to the other side and do some more circles in reverse. If it continues to pop while you're moving w/ the wheel pegged to one side, it's probably the CVs. Otherwise, my $$ is on the sway bar brackets.

 

well bushings are cheap and easy to replace. Maybe I'll go ahead and do them.

 

I had the same thing on my 96 4Runner and it was a broken sway bar end link hitting the LCA over bumps so I'm guessing it's the same thing for you bro.

 

I'm gonna go ahead and say x3 on the sway bar bushings. I had the same issue and after putting in a new swaybar w/bushings, I have no more problems.

 

When you refer to the sway bar bushings, do you mean the ones that hold the sway bar to the body or the ones that are in the end links? My 99 is doing the same thing, so hopefully its just the bushings. BTW, is it an easy self fix?

 

My end links were shot but you might as well replace the sway bar bushings while you're there.

 

My problem was w/ the sway bar bushings. They don't actually hold the sway bar to the body, but those are the ones you're referring to. In actuality, they are rubber/polyurethane and go in-between the sway bar and the bracket that holds it to the frame. It's easy to do yourself, you'll just need a couple ratchets, some extensions and some 12mm (I think) sockets.

The bushings that are in the end links generally come as 1 piece - the entire end link. These are more $$ and usually produce a rattle when bad, not so much of a pop (in my experience anyways), so I would try replacing the bushings before you do the end links.

The bushings were about $17 and this is one of the VERY few examples of when it's better to go aftermarket than OEM. The OEM rubber ones don't last as long and aren't as good as aftermarket polyurethanes. I went w/ Energy Suspension brand.

 

So, just checked on the energy suspension website and they only have to a 97 4runner listed, I'm assuming these will work (on my 99) but just double checking here first before I spend some money. Are these the ones you used brian2sun?

 

Those are the ones I used on my 97, but I see what you mean, on their website they won't let you pick a year later than 97...weird. I thought they were the same as the 99's, but now I'm not sure. Your best bet would be to call Energy Sus. (949) 361-3935.

 

Ive also been having a problem with my steering, normally in every vehicle I have driven when you go around a turn, after you are done with the turn and want the steering wheel to return to the straight position you can just let go of the wheel and let it "whip" around to its original position. My steering wheel has been rather sluggish and wont whip back to straight, do you think it could be from the bushings being bad?

Another thing, does anyone know what diameter the front sway bar is on a 99 4x4 SR5 4runner?

 

Well I found some front sway bar bushings on autopartswarehouse.com that I don't think are polyurethane, but they did come up for a '99 4runner SR5 4x4 3.4. At the bottom it says it fits '96-02. Here's the link:
http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sk...n+%26+Steering

I also put in a '97 4runner SR5 4x4 3.4 on this site and the same part # came up. So, it looks like they're all the same size. If you want polyurethane, you should be able to use the Energy Suspension ones that come up for a '97.
The part # off my box is: 8.5118G and they are 27mm front s/b bushings. Hope this helps!