I've got a 2004 Lexus LS430 (I'm the original owner, 166K miles).
About 6 months ago I hit a pothole while turning out of a parking lot (I didn't see the pothole because it was raining and the entire area was covered with water - I always try to avoid potholes). Maybe a couple of weeks after that my car started making a popping sound when I made sharp right hand turns (I was also making a right hand turn when I hit the pothole). The car wouldn't make the sound when I had someone from our repair shop listening for it (multiple times over the last 6 months). It's gotten progressively worse: it's been popping even with gradual right hand turns and has recently starting popping with some left hand turns. Finally last week one of the guys heard the sound when driving my car. Probably worth noting that we own the garage (not the business) so I trust these mechanics. One mechanic found that the bearings on front right wheel were bad and replaced them (he said he'd seen one other time when a car was making a popping sound and it was the bearings - I know a popping sound isn't usually a sign of worn bearings).
To me it sounds like a joint popping. Since I'm not sure what's causing the sound, I'm not sure that hitting the pothole had anything to do with what's wrong.
The garage put it on the lift and checked the suspension but can't find the cause. Any ideas?
Is it a single pop, or a rhythmic popping that increases as you go faster?
@mountainmanjoe
It's a single pop. As of yet, it has never popped more than once per turn.
I did neglect to say that it popped one time in an intersection (when I was going straight) as I went over the crown of the road.
I also forgot to say that I've checked the motor mounts and the struts have been checked.
It could be a lot of things.
First take it for a drive somewhere safe like a big open parking lot. Do some turns to the left and right. Go over some bumps. Listen as hard as you can. Try it narrow it down to a particular side and front/back. If you can get a helper to stand outside that's even better.
Then I would securely jack up the front of the vehicle, get under, and start yanking on things. wheels, knuckles, control arms, springs, struts, stabilizer bar, steering linkage, axles, the whole motor... until you find it. Listen for pops and feel for excess movement.