Hey all, We have a 2010 V70 with approximately 150,000 miles. There's been a noise coming from the front of the vehicle for a few months and I've been trying to chase it. My deep dive on YouTube led me to think it was the front sway bar end links being extremely worn hoping it would be an inexpensive fix, but I have now figured out that the front suspension is in need of replacing. Is there a good way to self diagnose what is in need of replacing? I've replaced the sway bar end links and that was an easy job. How difficult is it to work on more complex suspension components?

Many thanks!

 

really depends on what needs to be fixed. when you say "noise coming from the front of the vehicle", is it something you hear going over bumps or is it consistent or does it vary with speed? Do you feel anything odd in the steering? ie does car seems to go in and out of aliignment or a bit jumpy? Without additional info you can only get a list of possible suspects: Assuming you are hearing a clunk over bumps, my suspect list would include sway bar bushings, subframe bushings, strut spring seats, strut bushings. If you are feeling vagueness or alignment issues in the steering then I'd add control arm bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends, steering rack mounts. How do the brakes feel? Does your noise change when you apply or let off the brakes?. Have you inspected the struts and axles for any signs of leaks?

 

Thanks for the response @mt6127 ! The noise coming from the front is primarily heard going over bumps. Nothing odd in the steering and no additional noise when applying or laying off the brakes. Overall the vehicle drives really well outside of the sound over any bumps. How could I diagnose the sway bar bushings, subframe bushings, strut spring seats and strut bushings?

 

I've put both front wheels in the air and pulled the rims off to unweight the sway bar to get a clear look to check sway bar bushings and end links. with the rims on, you can push and pull the wheels to check for any play in the control arm bushings, tie rods etc. I'm not sure if you'd get a read on the subframe bushings doing this... (never had that problem :-) ) Finally I'd look at the struts for any signs of leaks by the piston rod.

With all that said, in my experience the most common cause of thumps going over things like speed bumps and RR crossings etc is the strut's top mount (actually the spring seat). If there's no vagueness in the steering I'd probably rule out control arms. When I had to replace sway bar end links, they were pretty obvious (I could grab the rod and wiggle it) and you can see the sway bar bushings - if the rubber looks hard and cracked and there's a gap between the rubber and bar, then they need to be replaced.