First, some history: 2002 MCS with 102K miles still had original suspension except the struts which were replaced with Koni FSD struts a few years ago. Other modifications before problems arose include studs, a Wilwood brake kit in the front, stainless brake lines.
Around April of this year, and probably just after I replaced the brake pads all the way around as I was getting ready for the AutoX season and hopefully a couple of track days this year, my wife was driving the car and told me she heard a loud clicking from the front passenger side wheel while she was making a tight turn in a parking lot. I confirmed a speed dependant clicking on turning left from right hand wheel and less noticeable but still there from the left hand wheel turning right.
I checked the wheel studs, the wheel nuts were correctly torqued, there were no visible "witness marks" on the wheel or the brake calipers. I tried a different set of wheels that have much more clearance to the brake caliper. I tried rotating the wheel bearings and didn't get any binding, grinding or other indication it might be the bearings. So, I did some research on the interwebs, listened to video on YouTube and talked to a couple of local independent mechanics that suggested it was the driveshaft cv joints.
Upon inspection, they did seem to "clunk" when rotated, but I did expect the sound to be evident at all times if it was the bearing or driveshaft, not just when turning. The CV boots where also not damaged. One mechanic suggested that they saw high mileage cars driven mostly on the highway with driveshaft bearings that had worn tracks on a particular axis and that turning would cause the bearings to click as the bearing rotated and hit these tracks. I found this plausible and convinced myself that I needed to replace the CV joints. I ended up buying new driveshafts from the DriveShaft Shop in NC. They seem to be very well made.
This weekend I finally got around to doing the installation on the front end. I replaced the driveshafts, upper strut mounts with Helix adjustable camber plates, control arm bushings, inner/outer balljoints and swaybar bushings. Since I plan on doing some other suspension work by next track season, I left some other parts for then, including the wheel bearings, tie rod ends and swaybar endlinks, all of which can be done without dropping the subframe.
After a drive yesterday, everything seemed ok until last night when I got home and heard the clicking again.
Seems to be only from the left hand wheel turning right. Again, I checked wheel nut torque, and everything else I can reach without putting the car up on stands. Which I will save until I get some suggestions on what to check.Thanks for looking, reading the long post, and any suggestions you may have.
Regards, Ricardo