I hear a single, distinct clunk about 50% of the time whenever I begin to move forward or come to a stop. Sounds like it is coming from the driver side front, but hard to know for sure. Speed, rate of acceleration/braking, seem irrelevant. It only happens with initial forward motion or final seconds of braking to a stop. Speed bumps, potholes, etc don't result in a clunk.

Tie rods, ball joints, struts, shocks, brakes, engine mounts (but not transmission mounts), sway bars have all been replaced within the last couple years and appear to be solid and working as they should.

Any ideas?

 

Strut mounts?

 

not sure what you are working on?

older 240s had girling callipers. they were much better but my 740 has bendix callipers. the bendix ones just push from one side and the force is equalized because half the calliper floats on a guide pin and it isn't a great design in my opinion but also probably not easy to change which type the car has.

You can get a new guide pin but the bore in the calliper itself wears out. You could remove the calliper and re-bush the calliper but it's probably easier just to replace the bad calliper with a rebuilt one. Just check if the new ones are any better and if not, then reject them. take the guide pin to check when you pick them up. there is a rubber boot to cover the pin and keep the grease in. you could renew the rubber boots if you get into working on it, and youll have to bleed the brakes so maybe check if the master cylinder is ok , if not then its a good time to do that at the same time.

first just crawl under and give the calliprs a shake. if half seems to rattle that might be the issue.

If it's not the brakes it could be bad bushings in the front end, or something broken but I suspect it's the calipers just based on my experiences, if they are the bendix type.

try to put your year and model in with your question so others can help better.

i think if the upper bolts on the strut tower were loose you'd see some signs of scratched up paint etc. you could easily check if they are loose they are right on top. youll see them with the hood open. springs can break too but check the callipers and see if they are loose and rattly.

the symptom : mine rattled over bumps and the rattle stopped with any pressure at all on the brakes. I'd hear a noise when I first hit the brakes. If I went over bumps with the brakes on slightly I wouldn't hear it then. You aren't hearing rattles on bumps but it might be the same issue?

replacing the pins and re-greasing didn't help. the problem was the hole that the guide pin slides in was worn.

I don't think it was particularly dangerous, but certainly annoying.

youll know which kind of brakes you have if you change the pads, the girling ones just slip into the grooved area in the calliper once you pushthe pistons back. . with the bendix ones you have to sort of twist the thing open. it's a weird arrangement. a cost saving idea I assume.



Phil

 

Working on a 1989 Volvo 240DL. I had her up on jacks the other day and yanked and wiggled everything I could think of. Calipers are solid. Strut towers make no noises or show signs of movement when doing the "bounce test" or turning (also haven't strayed from the location marks I made when replacing them last fall). Tie rods, ball joints, sway bar links appear solid as well. I did have a look at all the bushings a while ago, but should probably check them out more thoroughly.

The odd thing in my opinion is that the clunk only happens once when beginning or ending motion. Wouldn't issues with struts/suspension likely appear with bumps? Wouldn't brake problems likely appear with any brake use, not just at the beginning/end of motion?

 

Sway bars replaced or just the link pins?

Bad bushings will clunk and so will inner CV axels. You mentioned it happens while braking and accelerating from a stop. I would try having someone in the car to step on the brake while bouncing and pushing the car. Rocking and bouncing it then hitting the brakes to see if you can reproduce the noise.

The key to finding a noise is reproducing it consistently till someone can find what is loose or worn out. Written notes on what you have tried and when it happens can help.

 

It sounds to me that you had a good part of the front suspension apart in the last year or so. Recently I had replaced my control arms on my 240 and had her all tight but I had a small clunk when I would turn and sometimes over bumps. I finally traced the problem down to the front control arm bolt not torqued down properly. The metal sleeve in it was shifting slightly causing the clunk sound. Keep in mind, this was just a small clunk. I would mainly get it when if I swerved left (clunk) followed by a swerve right (clunk). Torquing it down properly fixed this problem. Note that these bushings are to be torqued with the car down off of jacks.

 

Hello, Just picked up my first Volvo - 2009 XC90 3.2 a few weeks ago...got a Wheel Alignment, and 4-Wheel Balance and Rotation and took it to the dealer and did an Oil Change with a Complimentary Inspection - FREE (WOW). The dealer told me everything was - OK which surprised me because I thought they were in the field of making MONEY from us hard working folks....I drove the car to work that day and and the next morning moving out of my driveway, I heard clunk while backing the car out and turning the steering wheel.

I also felt a vibration while driving and took it back to the Wheel Alignment shop and got the Wheel re-balanced. Then the mechanic told me I may conside changing my struts because my front tires JUST started to get choppy...I changed my Front Struts, the Spring Seats and Strut Mounts a few days later... After driving away from the shop, I immediately felt the "CLUNK" again.

I felt it every morning backing out of my driveway...but not when I am driving on a straight road or going over bumps. I can feel it if I stop in traffic and move the steering wheel side-to side.

Can anyone determine what this is...what else I need to look into changing?
Thank you for any insight you may give.

staffy.
Sorry about the length of this Post.

 

um, an XC 90 is not a 240/740/940, you probably should repost this over in the XC90 section, Volvo XC90 - Volvo Forums - Volvo Enthusiasts Forum

 

There have been a lot of good responses for you to consider; here's another. You said you replaced the struts- I assume you mean the strut cartridges that are inserted into the strut tube. Most brands of the newer cartridges are smaller in diameter than the originals, therefore have to be centered in the bottom of the strut tube. If slightly askewed, when you tighten up the nut it will seem to tighten securely. But after installation and driving the car, they slip off the inside and bang back and forth inside the strut tube. It is easy to check on this centering with this car on the ground. Looking at the strut behind the wheel, you can see the cartridge retaining nut inside the spring. Attempt to tighten it using whatever tool you used to put it on initially; I used a cold chisel. Mine took 1/2 to 1 full turn to fully seat that cartridge. If it won't tighten, then you are centered.