What i have:

tokikos (unsure about pillowballs)
ebay special front strut bar
everything else that it could be is stock.

what it isn't:

the hood
the struts themselves

I haven't had a chance to get under the car since it's started making the noise so i don't know if its the tower or not.

It sounds like something isn't lubed properly, but i've searched, and had a body shop search for anything to lube -nothing-.

It's almost a metal stress popping sound when i go over speed-bumps or pot holes or even when i turn the car. It stays away for maybe 15-20min after it rains, usually takes longer to get noisy when the weather and car are cold.

Suggestions?

 

Coil springs twisting in their seats can make that sort of noise - the fact that it goes away when it's wet is a clue that may point to that. I don't remember if there is supposed to be some elastomeric cushion under the springs to prevent that - maybe someone else knows.

 

There is. Look at the lower end of the spring - there is a $12 rubber sheet that can crack and dry rot and allow metal-metal contact.

Another thing to consider - chewed thru swaybar bushing.

 

A start would be to figure out what the car is doing when the noise occurs.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, is there any way that i can check the springs w/o putting the car on a lift?

Any time there is weight transfer it makes noise. I could be on a pristine stretch of glass flat road- when i brake there is noise, when i turn there is noise, bumps- noise.

 

Have you put it on jacks (a lift would be safer) and checked things for play?

Is it a auto-->manual conversion? Did it need mounting adapters of any kind?

Reason I ask is that I had the same problem with my FC after manual conversion. The mount adapter arms stressed the original sheet metal mounting points. They cracked the sheet metal and it would pop/scrape at the crack under similar conditions. It was impossibly hard to diagnose... drove me crazy.

 

-I have occasional access to a lift (dad's house/on base), it's do-able but not atm/ this weekend.

-Not to my knowledge, better not be.

I think it is the spring perches but i'd like to be able to check stuff w/o inconveniencing anyone.

 

I used to have the same noise, either clicking or a sudden thump when I brake or go over uneven pavement, and it turned out to be the bushings on the lower control arm. so you might want to check the bushing on the lower control arm, they were like 65 bucks a piece when I last bought them.

 

I had a similiar problem not too long ago - "popping" sounds as I was turning and going over something irregular. Turns out it was the front end links for the sway bar.

 

I just realized FD's don't have mounts anyways. I think svelte is onto something. I've had sway bar bushings to the same thing too.

 

I should have new front end links in a box, they better still be there.