noisy front ends

[fattires]

MY 01' MS XLS HAS 66K MI. ALL THE SUDDEN I STARTED HEARING POPPING SOUNDS WHEN I TURN RAPIDLY BACK AND FOURTH. ALSO DRIVING OVER SMALL BUMPS, I CAN FEEL A SLIGHT PLAY IN THE WHEEL(DON'T FEEL TIGHT).
SO, I GOT OUT AND PUSHED DOWN ON THE FRONT BUMPER A FEW TIMES AND IT SOUNDS , AND FEELS LIKE CRAP. DO I NNED NEW SHOCKS? HAS ANYONE HAD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE?

[brewster]

Please turn the CAPS off. Thank you.

Popping sounds when you turn the wheel. Slight play in the steering wheel. Sounds like bad ball joints to me.

[mji]

Had similar problem couple months ago. Had left ball joint and upper/lower control arms with bushings replaced under warranty which did the job.

[boricua83]

I have the same noise on my 01LS 76k. I installed new shocks all around at 67k and those checked out okay. So how do you replace the ball joints? Any general knowledge on this or information would be greatly appreciated.