'90 240DL - Please help: screeching noise
 

Hello all Volvo enthusiasts!

I have a problem and perhaps someone can give me some direction and advice.

My 240 started making screeching noises that seem to be coming from the front and the rear suspension. I am not mechanically inclined so please bear with me. My rear shocks are fairly new (few months old) and the screeching noise happens when I start the car in the morning and go over speed bumps or pot holes in the road. After few miles it disappears. This probably indicates that something becomes lubricated after few miles of driving and the noise goes away. What could it be? I am 99% certain these are not shocks. I also noticed that the ride is more bumpy/stiff, more than it used to be. I asked various mechanics during oil changes and they had no clue. I wanted to add that my car comes from Southern Arizona- dry climate. When I moved to Pennsylvania few months ago, these noises appeared. Could something have dried up during its years in Arizona and now needs to be lubricated. If so, what could it be? Or something needs replacing? Thanks for any help.
Brutt

RE: '90 240DL - Please help: screeching noise
 

Are you sure its not the belts?

I'd wait tilit started making noise then put the rear wheels on jackstands and run it up in gear.

RE: '90 240DL - Please help: screeching noise
 

Thank you for your reply.

If you meant timing/fan belts then I am sure that's not it. The creeching happens only when I go over a pot hole or a speed bump. It sounds like old springs. Could it be them?

RE: '90 240DL - Please help: screeching noise
 

It is obviously something in the rear suspension. It could be the springs but i kind of doubt it. Did this noise exist before you got the new shocks? If not than that would suggest that something happened when they got put in. Can you pinpoint where the noise is coming from exactly? ie. near the wheels or the middle or maybe just one side?

RE: '90 240DL - Please help: screeching noise
 

If the trailing arm bushings haven't been replaced, they're due. Also check torque rod bushings.

RE: '90 240DL - Please help: screeching noise
 

Again, thanks for helping me out with my problem.

Funnyguy44444: Actually, the noise appeared after the new shocks were put in. The noise is coming from near the wheels (above them), on both sides. Also, the front is screeching too in the first few miles of a drive. The noise sort of sounds like sceeching of an old bed. The front shocks were not replaced.

Blue goose: I will check the trailing arm bushings and the torque rod bushings as you suggested.

I'll let you guys know what I was able to find out.