Lately, I have been getting a weird clunk feeling in the steering wheel of my 95 volvo 855 turbo, usually when i rock the steering wheel back and forth when the steering is centred. It also happens sometimes while turning or stopping as well. Ball joints, stabilizer links,inner and outer tierods are all new.

After seeing a mechanic who specializes in steering racks, the conclusion to the weird steering clunk according to him is the lower steering u joint (also known as the steering shaft I guess). I ordered one from FCP. The mechanic said it is easy enough that I could replace it myself. I would have had him replace it but he lives 6 hours away and we could not get a new part when he checked it.

Before I get into the work, if TECH or someone who has done this can guide me step by step, I would appreciate it. This is my daily driver and the only car I have. I want to do the work properly.

Thanks

 

I havn't replaced it before but I had to Lubricate it due to stiff steering movement in spots, from what I remember It's in a dificult spot to reach If I'm thinking of the same part

Mike

 

You will have to support the motor from under the car and drop the rear part of the subframe to change it out.

 

If you do accomplish the job yourself, let us know how it goes, and if possible, post some pictures of the job.

 

Wow! I never thought I would have to drop the subframe. I thought it was only a matter of removing the 2 pinch bolts and it would come out.

Is there no way of doing it without dropping the subframe?

Thanks for the help!

 

I have never tried. You can try to loosen both and see if is will slide up enough to work it out.
If you try to make sure before you slide it out the steering wheel is locked.

 

Thanks Tech.

I understood why you said I may need to drop the subframe in order to work it out. Hopefully there is a easier way. I will keep everyone posted and take some pics!

Thanks

 

Hope this one would help,

http://volvospeed.com/Repair/power_steering.pdf

Good luck!

 

Im starting to think that it may not be the u joint that is making the sound since most people that I have talked to have said that the u-joint rarely goes bad.

Ihad someone at work rock the steering wheel back and forth while I inspected the u-joint visually since I could not actually reach the joint by hand at the time, and it seems to be fine with no play. However the clicking sound and the occasional thump is there. I also placed my hand on the tire while he was rocking the steering wheel that I could feel the click click feeling in the tires on both sides but the sound seemed to come more from the driver's side of the car

The thump feeling in the steering comes usually when the car starts to move or when coming to a stop and sometimes when turning. The only other thing I can think of is that one of the CV joints is making the noise/thump sound, because I also noticed that recently the steering wheel shakes very slighly upon slow acceleration even though the tires are good. The CV boot are intact though! And can a bad cv joint be felt all the way to the steering wheel?

Thanks guys!

 

I don't think so.
I actually have the same problem on the wifes car and cannot track down the cause.