As I was driving home today in my 96 Civic (I've babied the thing, shes in great condition), I got a sudden SPANG! sound from the driver's side wheel well. It was loud enough to hear over the music and I felt a very slight vibration. I assumed my shocks had blown, so I pulled over... and found nothing.

On the way home it happened a second time, this time while cutting the wheel hard to the left. I took the car around the school near my house to see if I could figure out what was causing it - but I couldn't get it to make that sound again no matter what I did - slam the brakes, hit a small ditch, cut the wheel in either direction.

I took a closer inspection when I got home. The CV boots look okay and I pulled and tugged on everything I could reach without owning a lift. Anyone have any ideas? I suppose it could be a wheel weight but I don't even know how to go about checking that...

 

Check whether the AC belt may have snapped.

 

That never even occured to me. I'll check in the morning.

 

sure it wasnt just some road debri geting kicked up?
i get rocks kicked up all the time in my civics both of them. but i have a gravel driveway as well. but still every now and then it can kick up some rocks that sounds like they hit really hard but i know its just gravel catching the tires tread and then just gets thrown out and hits what ever it hits

 

the wheel well liner on my ef ripped off while i was on the highway once. it was missing a few of the plastic clips that hold it on, and it would occasionally rub on the tire enough to yank it down and cause a hell of a racket until it eventually got ripped entirely off, bending my fender and ripping the wire harness to my turn signals. check those clips ^^