Two months ago we got our neglected 964. This one's a 98 with control arms in front which differ from the earlier cars. I think the older setup is called panhard rod. It also has the multilink rear axle. I have been fixing up the engine and the next area should be suspension.

I bought some ball joints because at 182K miles ours are original and have torn rubber boots. I did not install them yet, because the clunk we were after was actually the sway bar end links.

Now we have two issues we want to tackle:

The steering feels "floaty" or it wanders a bit. It's the worst when driving over the steel grid deck of a drawbridge. Also, we have a clunk from the rear suspension when the front of the car turns into the driveway (one front wheel goes up a steep slope before the other.)

I know from my other car that the rear suspension can contribute to the tracking/steering problem. Unfortunately I've not looked under the car back here. Is there anything in the rear that commonly wears or should otherwise be checked?

In the front, I've had the wheels hanging and observed the large control arm bushings aren't cracked nor look damaged. I've tried to visibly check the ball joints for movement and didn't see any, but they're not bad enough that I can see them move. Do things go wrong with the strut top mount and bearing, and can I check that without removing the strut?

 

Maybe the thing to do is go ahead and replace the ball joints first. When they are disconnected I can try to evaluate the control arm bushings by trying to move the control arm.

I think that I should assume the shocks are bad, but before I buy them, I should disconnect the strut from the steering knuckle and twist it to feel the bearing, and watch from under the hood to try and evaluate the top mount. I should be able to check the bellows and bump stops through the spring.

Monroe sells struts for about the same price as the internet dealer, but the Monroes have a lifetime warranty like Bilsteins. No billies available for the volvo, but does anyone have any input on how these Monroes feel?