First of all, thanks to all of you who helped me with Issue I, horn troubleshooting. The Volvo has passed inspection. Now I am going to start looking into other issues.

The story of this Volvo goes like this: My mom bought the car from someone in December 2009. I bought the car from my mom in December 2010. I don't know anything about the car previous to when my mom purchased it. What I do know is this:

December 2009: Local repair shop, high volume, i don't like them or trust them, but my mom takes her cars there because they do work on account.

Odometer: 144877
New Tires and Balance - Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max
Computerized 4-Wheel Thrust Alignment (see attachment)

September 2010: Local repair shop, low volume, "that guy you know who works on cars" type of shop. I dont trust this guys either but oh well it was Mom's car.

Odometer: 157000

(Exactly as on the shop receipt)

Head Work
Head Gasket
Ex Gaskets
Anti Freeze
Thermostat and Seal
Top Rad Hose
Rotor Button

and on the back of the receipt mom has handwritten:

"same month work done - new thermostat pump & timing chain"

So now you can see my jubilation for people who keep proper maintenance records. (Issue III is going to involve a complete certified Volvo inspection to verify this work when i get tax refund.)

Anyway, the Volvo seems to run very well. No sputtering, smooth, solid ride. Except it pulls to the right. I have noticed this pull at lower speeds and at highway speeds. It is not a small pull...it is a major pull to the right. To drive the car you have to constantly fight the car back to the left.

I am planning on switching out some break pads next weekend and I have three questions:

1. While I am switching out brake pads what clues should I look for as to why the alignment is so out of whack?

2. The car pulling to the right, is it necessarily an alignment issue?

3. If it is an alignment issue then what could have caused the issue in such a short time <20,000 miles?

My guesses:

Mom ran over a curb/ditch/pothole etc...
Crappy alignment from crappy mechanic
Something else wrong in front end making good alignment go bad
-ball joints? (what else?)
Tire pressure (all tires are in the 33-38 psi range when cold)

I hope the alignment report shows up as an attachment. I scan the report and have the jpeg saved on my desktop but I cannot figure out how to put it in this post.

Thanks for the help, sorry the post is sooo long.

 

Do the tires show any sign of wear on the front? The type of wear caused by excessive toe in/ toe out is pretty obvious. Yes, tie rods and ball joints can affect alignment. I seriously doubt it was a crappy alignment by a crappy mechanic. There's not much to aligning 'em...I do it w/ a tape measure. Typically, a front end shop will advise the customer when they spot worn out parts...it's how they make their money. Your Mom probably hit a pot hole..it happens. You'll discover that once you start driving more. Save your money...taking your car to a Volvo dealership for a check out. They deal primarily w/ warranty and late model fwd cars. The average Volvo tech today doesn't know beans about rwd Bricks...I'm serious about that. In the short term, I'd locate a small shop that specializes in imports if you're determined to spend your money. Personally, I'd look at it this way. Your Mom had it for a year and spent upwards of 2k on repairs etc. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Buy a Haynes repair manual and learn about your car. My shop charges $80-90 an hour regarless of the complexity of the repair; many shops charge considerably more. With a few hand tools, a digital multi-meter and a test light along w/ a repair manual you would be amazed what you can fix. Paying retail for repairs on a $1500 car gets old real quick, a fact I suspect your Mom already discovered.

 

You are right swift. and i dont plan on spending alot of retail dollars on the car. that is the point of my post, if i wasnt clear.

while i have the wheels off, i want to be able to inspect the front end myself and look for any issues that may have affected the alignment in such a short period (<20,000). I am assuming that my mom curbed the car or something like it. but i dont want to spend the 50-100 dollars to align the car if the ball joints are bad. the only problem is i dont know exactly what to look for under there.

how do you inspect ball joints on a volvo 940 wagon
how do you inspect tie rods on a volvo 940 wagon

what else should i be looking for while im under there.

how do i put pictures in my post? i will take some pics of things under there for you all to look at.

check out this link to Chilton's Library

ps i was amazed when i was holding my airbag in my hands and the horn finally worked after reseating the ground behind there! yay for multimeters

 

To post pictures in a forum, you need to have a site host them for you. I've had great luck with photobucket.com After setting up your account, upload the photos to PB. Open another tab and go to the forum. Copy and paste the html to the post. It's easy once you get the hang of it. To check the front end, put the front end up on jack stands. Kneel down and grab a front tire on the top and bottom, try to wiggle it by pushing in on the top and out on the bottom moderately fast. Any noticeable amount of wiggle tells you wheel bearing hubs are worn. Grab the tire on the sides and wiggle back and forth; there should be no independant movement of the wheel. Any movement should transmit all through the steering and to the other side. Independent movement of the wheel indicates slop in the tie rods. You have to look to see where the slop is. Outer tie rods are simple, the inner tie rods are under the rubber bellows of the steering rack and are more of a challenge. To check the ball joints, take a pry bar and insert it firmly on the ball joint and see if you can get it to move, again independently of motion transferred to the rest of the steering. I'd do this and then go drop the money at a front end shop for an alignment. That way they can confirm or contradict the basic knowledge you already have. A reputable shop will not align a car with parts so worn it will not keep an alignment. They are real people; tell them times are tough. Ask 'em straight up if/how long is it safe to drive on the parts if they're worn. My 144 has needed new ball joints for a year; I have 'em, just haven't put them on yet. But...I certainly would before I took it on a road trip.

 

A quick and easy check for your pulling to the right. temporarily swap the front tires from side to side and take it for a test drive. If it now pulls to the left, you have a bad tire problem. If it still pulls to the right, you have now eliminated a tire problem.

Russ