91 corolla popping noise while driving

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billsif 19 years ago

i have a 1991 corolla with about 140,000 miles on it.

a few months ago a noise started happening and i figured it was just a plastic piece or something loose underneath the car, but now it's getting worse.

the sound i hear is like a popping noise, or maybe like a piece of hard plastic or rubber grinding/popping against the floorpan of my car. sometimes it's just a tap or two when im driving, sometimes (like when i put on the brakes) it's one tap or maybe two, and then (when i take my foot off the brakes) more of a rapid rubbing tap-tap-tap - tap. but it doesnt only happen when i use the brakes, it happens during normal driving. it sounds like it could be something actually hitting against the underside of my car while driving because i can feel the tap through the floor of the car in the area right beneath the brake pedal.

it does NOT only happen when i turn, and it is noticable at all speeds but seems random (doesnt increase with speed). at first i thought it was related to the strut on the front driver's side (just had the back two replaced - the noise was happening before and after this, and the back ones were only replaced because one rusted totally out).

i want to take it somewhere and have it checked but i just moved to a new town and dont want to have some mechanic take advantage of the situation and try to replace every thing on the car. i wouldnt know what to even wiggle or feel for underneath the car and it's kind of hard to get under there (limited space to work with).

i dont know if it could be the sway bar or some sort of other linkage totally lose and flopping around and hitting the floorpan, or if something else could be very loose like that, or what i should look for. if anyone has a picture of the underside of a 91 corolla that would be really helpful, as would any advice on what to try.

thanks.

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billsif 19 years ago

UPDATE: someone suggested I check out the front struts...

I just went outside and pushed down on the passenger side fender a few times.

Nothing, then a hissing sound when the car came back up, nothing, then the same hissing sound nothing, ---> then a quiet pop from the opposite (driver's) side.

Then I went over to the driver's side and pushed down. If I push down and just let go, there is a hissing sound with a quiet pop. If I push down and let go gradually, on the way back up:

POP-POP-POP POP

I guess it's definitely the strut or strut mount. How can I tell the difference? The part that's visible under the hood doesn't really look too rusty, but all four wheel wells are very rusty. The bumper is so rusty that one of the mounts rusted through and it's hanging on one side.

I'd just like to know if I can get the mount replaced or if I have to replace the whole strut. On the rear struts which were recently replaced, the bottom "cup" that holds the spring rusted out and the strut ended up resting on the top of the rear tire! And wore away a lot of the rubber driving it to get fixed.

Now to pin it down to the strut or the mount. And figure out how much it's going to cost to get fixed :(

Is it absolutely necessary or could I keep driv> i have a 1991 corolla with about 140,000 miles on it.

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Comboverfish 19 years ago

As bad as you make the overall body's corrosion sound, I would be worried that the structural points aren't fit enough to keep the car. As far as the Q about replacing the strut(s) at the noisy corners, I would suggest you replace the strut and mount. Of the two parts mentioned, the strut is likely the cause of the popping noise, but the mount is cheap insurance to replace. On high mileage, heavily weathered Toyotas the rubber center section is often cracked and dryrotted. I have seen the rubber completely dislocate on old strut mounts.

I would look at the lower control arm pivot bolts for looseness and the front swaybar bushings for the noises you have described.

Toyota MDT in MO

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jeffcoslacker 19 years ago

Make sure there's no missing, loose or broken subframe/engine cradle mount bolt as well, if nothing else pans out...that and stabilizer bar brackets get looked at first when someone describes popping, especially feeling it through the floor underfoot....

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91 corolla popping noise while driving

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