Front End Clunk/Rattle
#1
01-28-2012, 11:45 AM
Join Date: Mar 2011
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Front End Clunk/Rattle
My 1991 740 wagon is acting up again.....
The front end has always had a slight clunk going over bumps since I've had it. I didn't think anything of it because every time I had it on a hoist or jacked up I shook down the front end for slop and never found any that was more than normal. Just a week ago I had a flat tire and while I had the right front jacked up I shook down the wheel and it was perfectly normal.
What causes my alarm is the fact that when I am going down a freeway by my house and I hit a really curvy part. Nothing happens when I turn to the right, but when I turn to the left it feels like the right wheel is going to fall off, bring the wheel back toward center and it completely goes away. When I'm in a sweeping left curve the right wheel makes a pulsing/light clunking sound and the steering wheel responds as well by pulsing. Going to the right there's nothing.
I do have the low-speed shimmy in the steering wheel like worn I-beam bushings. I also am 99.9% positive that it is in the right front because even when I hit bumps I can feel the right front is sloppier.
I'm going to jack on the ball joint and take the load off so I can check it, but I'm kind of leaning toward the I-beam bushing or a ball joint......
Any pointers?
The front end has always had a slight clunk going over bumps since I've had it. I didn't think anything of it because every time I had it on a hoist or jacked up I shook down the front end for slop and never found any that was more than normal. Just a week ago I had a flat tire and while I had the right front jacked up I shook down the wheel and it was perfectly normal.
What causes my alarm is the fact that when I am going down a freeway by my house and I hit a really curvy part. Nothing happens when I turn to the right, but when I turn to the left it feels like the right wheel is going to fall off, bring the wheel back toward center and it completely goes away. When I'm in a sweeping left curve the right wheel makes a pulsing/light clunking sound and the steering wheel responds as well by pulsing. Going to the right there's nothing.
I do have the low-speed shimmy in the steering wheel like worn I-beam bushings. I also am 99.9% positive that it is in the right front because even when I hit bumps I can feel the right front is sloppier.
I'm going to jack on the ball joint and take the load off so I can check it, but I'm kind of leaning toward the I-beam bushing or a ball joint......
Any pointers?
#3
01-31-2012, 02:09 PM
Join Date: Mar 2011
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The right side ball joint was the culprit!
I jacked the car up on the frame and stuck a prybar between the frame and the sway bar and pushed down and the beam/ball joint moved about 2 inches. Getting the old one out was a PITA!!! Well, I should say that 2 of the 3 bolts took 15 minutes and the one bolt that decided to snap off in the flange on the knuckle took a good 4 hours, broke 2 of my Mac bolt extractors and blunted almost my entire collection of drill bits on the hardened part of the bolt, BUT it came out.
Now I'm noticing the left side of the car is making ALMOST the same noise the right side started making a year ago.... I suppose now that I put the fire out on the right ball joint a bunch of other parts will get jealous.
Well, 160k and 21 years on the original Volvo stamped ball joint is pretty good in my book.
I jacked the car up on the frame and stuck a prybar between the frame and the sway bar and pushed down and the beam/ball joint moved about 2 inches. Getting the old one out was a PITA!!! Well, I should say that 2 of the 3 bolts took 15 minutes and the one bolt that decided to snap off in the flange on the knuckle took a good 4 hours, broke 2 of my Mac bolt extractors and blunted almost my entire collection of drill bits on the hardened part of the bolt, BUT it came out.
Now I'm noticing the left side of the car is making ALMOST the same noise the right side started making a year ago.... I suppose now that I put the fire out on the right ball joint a bunch of other parts will get jealous.
Well, 160k and 21 years on the original Volvo stamped ball joint is pretty good in my book.
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