Somebody mentioned the control arm bushings, popping when you brake, makes sense to me. ´I've got mine down to one pop now, right lower ball joint, I think. It usually pops when the wheel is turned slightly and I hit a driveway ramp.
If it's a multiple pop it's likely it's the front axle U-joints. If it's a single pop, it's probably a rod end or a ball joint.
With the tires off the ground you can shake the tire top to bottom and see the top ball joint move sideways (and also check for play in the wheel hub). You can lift (I use a four foot 2X4) on the bottom of the tire and possibly see the bottom ball joint move some (maybe). The bottoms seem to pop, with no apparent play, on occasion.
The rod ends (or top trac bar) you can test by having someone twist the steering wheel a few inches left and right, repeatedly (with the tires on the ground). Take your time and look repeatedly, it sometimes takes just the right amount of twist on the steering wheel to make the (up and down) movement in the rod ends become apparent. Tip, don't ask the wife or girlfriend to twist the wheel left and right a couple of hundred times, they have no patience for such non sense. I've actually had my son break a sweat turning the wheel back and forth.
