I have a 2001 Dodge Neon. It is all stock, except the CAI. Sometimes, when I turn my wheels in either direction, I hear squeeks and as I turn them back straight, it pops. My co-workers that used to be mechanics did a visual check and they said everything looked alright as far as boots go. They also said that my wheels aren't hitting anything when I turn. I really hate to take it to a dealer to get fixed if it is going to cost a lot of money. I don't make that much money in the first place and the car payment alone almost puts me in debt. Do you guys have any ideas of what the problem is and an estimate to the price I will have to pay to get it fixed? How long can I let it go before I need to get it fixed?

Thanks
Daniel

 

I would say you have some worn bushings.

 

if it makes a poping sound or creaking sound while u are turning its da axles

 

it may be your front strut plates

 

Whatever it is have your co-workers ex mechanics do the work instead of the Dealer. I was thinking it might be the tie rods.

 

What is the cheapest/easiest to replace? Maybe my axles need greased? Can you do that on a neon?

Daniel

 

GO To a parking lot and drive around backwards in a tight circle. if you hear popping sounds then its your CV joints.

 

I just had this same thing happen to me, still is actually because I haven't fixed it yet, and my lower control arm bushings turned out to be completely torn through. I could only tell when I removed the wheel and tire. There is a thread around here somewhere that I started, take a peek. I'd check yours first to make sure, but a polyurethane set from Modern Performance is like $30? I got the motor mount inserts while I was there too.

If they are bad, $30 isn't a bad place to start fixing things...

 

I'll try driving it backwards to see what happens. The only thing is it only does it if I have been driving for about 20 minutes. It doesn't do it if it has been parked at work for 8 hours, but when I pull in my driveway 30 minutes later it pops.

Daniel

 

Yeah, same here. Doesn't really do it until it is "warmed up" so to speak.