Still try it if you want, but it may not tell you anything like you mentioned.

I had the front left CV make a single pop noise when backing out of my old parking spot/ turning hard left. I replaced it and it was quiet. Pretty sure it was an OEM CV so I have no idea why it was doing that.

Did you try spinning the tires w/ the front end off the ground and steering wheel turned? To spin the single tire easier I think it helps if the opposite tire is on the ground, I think. You might feel the CV catch this way if it is bad.

Just because you can't get things to pop when using a pry bar doesn't mean the control arm bushings aren't loose. For a year or so I had a single loud pop from the front end of my '94 when reversing and turning at the same time. I pried every which way on the front end and couldn't duplicate it. Finally, when working on something else, I put a wrench on the LCA pivot bolt on the passenger side, to find that it was only moderately tight. Once I tightened it up to the proper 100 ft-lbs or so, the noise disappeared and has never come back.

Bottom line is that the forces on the front end joints under normal operation are quite a bit higher than you can generate by hand, even with a fairly long lever. Unless you used a pry bar which was long enough for you to physically lift a wheel off the ground, you haven't duplicated the forces those bushings see in normal operation.

Sorry,I meant the Ball Joint,mine were making all kinds of noise.

get a stethoscope and have some steer the wheel back and forth while you listen to each component. you must hit each one, as the sound will travel, and the first thing you listen to, you'll think THATS IT! but, check everything. eventually you will find the one that is louder than the rest.

Had the same popping noises recently, mostly on sharp turns going up a curbed driveway , it was the swaybar endlinks.
Prying at them with the truck lifted didn’t reveal any loose play or noises though.
Replaced them a few days ago and popping sounds are gone. Seems to have removed some slight clunking when going over bumps.

I recently dealt with this issue. I would get a pop from the front left when I backed out going over bumps when the steering wheel was near maximum lock and going forward at slow speeds and changing directions near maximum wheel lock.

It was not the bump stops. I had redone my suspension about 1 year ago. I wondered if something had loosened up.

I took it to the tire place twice and they couldn't find anything. What I have realized is they aren't going to spend the time that it takes to troubleshoot this issue. It isn't worth their time. They won't tell you that, but if it isn't a bushing, ball joint, worn strut, cv joint, or bearing, they aren't going to keep looking for a bolt that isn't torqued correctly.

When I had some time, I went through and re-checked the torque on the strut, upper control arms, the sway bar, and checked the links. One link had a torn boot after just 1 year- Meyle HD. I replaced it with another brand thinking that it could be the problem. It wasn't.

Finally, on another day I checked the torque on the two bolts on the lower ball joint attachment part that the lower control arm ball joint attaches to. Those had backed out a bit.

I swear I torqued everything to spec and used red loctite, but for whatever reason, the bolts loosened up. Maybe I didn't use loctite or used the blue stuff.
Anyways, problem solved on the left side.

I did continue to hear a little pop when backing out of my sloped driveway and turning on the front right, so I checked the torque on the same bolts on the right side. Sure enough, they had loosened a bit. I retorqued them.

When I have time, I will remove and replace these bolts, one at a time, and place some new red loctite.

So check those two bolts on the lower ball joint attachment!!!

I had exactly this problem on my 2nd gen. Same sound, same conditions, same fix.