A bad TRE or ball joint will cause a loud "BANG" too.

 

what is a tre?

 

Tie rod end

 

I have this issue as well im thinking its a TRE or ball joint but i just had an alignment so i figured they would have caught the bad ball joint and had me fix it first but who knows.. Going to jack it up after work and check into it

 

to test the ball joints, jack up the front axle and put it on stands. then get a long pry bar of some sort, stand in front of the tire and slide the bar under it so you can pry straight up. It will help to have a chock or fulcrum of some kind under the bar to push down against. When you try levering the wheel straight up from underneath, if they're bad, the ball joints will have visible play up and down as you lever the wheel up and down. Mine were way shot (and way old) and I could see all 4 moving up and down. They even made the clunk noise I was chasing. Not hard to see when you pry the wheel straight up and down if they're no good. Once I saw that, I knew right away that was the noise I was chasing.

But while you're under there, definitely check the tie rod ends and sway bar links, bushings etc!