my car just started making kinda of a creeking sound when turning the steering wheel left/going over some bumps. makes the sound when turning the steering wheel even when stationary. the sound is sort of... well, in a haunted house, opening that old door real slow. kinda like that.
i just replaced the shocks and whatnot and my bushings are shot, so i ordered some a couple days ago and those will be going in this weekend.
so, my question, what could this be? it just hit 100k, so i know i need to replace the control arms/ball joints/tie rods soon but, for now, i want to know what's causing this specific problem

Is it more of a squeeling sound? It could be the power steering belt.

not squeeling. more lowish pitch than high. and wouldn't that also affect turning right, too?

Um... It can and can't it wouldn't really be very noticeable, it all depends on how much it was slipping.

hmm. just took it for a drive to diagnose the problem best i could and i think it might be the ball joint. which would make since after 100k miles. but yeh, it's making a sort of clunking sound when going over bumps and the like. my jeep was making a simmilar noise before and when i took it in, they swapped the joints and that fixed it.
i seem to remember reading on here before that you can't just replace the stock ball joints? you have to replace the entire control arm? any idea on the price of labor on that? i'm a mediocre mechanic; i've only put shocks/springs on and changed fluids, basically. i've heard control arms could be a bitch and might be a bit much for me