Loud Rattling in Volvo 850 Wagon
 

Hi, newbie here and so far, Ive gotten so much info from this forum - thanks all!

I bought a '95 Volvo 850 Wagon a few weeks ago and I have a couple of issues. The most serious one that just started a few days ago is a loud rattling, clunking sound coming from the rear passenger wheel area. It sounds like a lug nut has come loose from the tire and rolling around behind the rim, but I know its not as simple as that. But thats how loud it is, and other drivers can hear it when I drive. When I bounce the car by the right rear bumper while Im parked, I can hear it as well.

The other issues are: there is no heat (Im thinking heater core?) and the most odd issue is the driver's side windshield wiper does not touch the windshield from the middle of the glass to its farthest position. Luckily since I live in So. California, these two issues are more an annoyance than anything. But the rattling sound scares me. I just want to get an idea of what are the causes and how much cost Im looking at to get everything fixed. Thanks!

@#%$&

Worn Rear strut mount might be the case. Behind the rear seat you can get access to it, theres a cover surounding it, remove it and youl see the strut mounts. If not probably the struts. also check for play in the rear suspension.

id be more worried about no heat! That can mean low antifreeze. Check the levels right away. If its not low, and you cant smell antifreeze then it could just be the thermostat stuck open.

If it is low, then you could have a leak...again, you can usually smell it. Check the oil if you cant find a leak...but hopefully antifreeze is not in there!

On my rear shock I found a rubber (bump stop?) loose inside the coil spring. It looks like it should be attatched to the underside of the shock by a bolt which broke. Thus it can bounce around inside the spring. If thats the case on yours, it will be easy to spot. just get the rear of the car off the ground and look at the coil spring.

Most likely they Probably bypass the hoses to the heater core so coolant wouldnt get on it. Cheap way instead of replacing the heater core.

Thanks for the quick replies! Gabyman: Strange thing happened when I took a short trip to the mailbox - the rattling stopped for about 5 minutes, then it started up again. Im not comfortable digging around, so I made an appt at a Volvo mechanic. Ill yall know what it was.

Nitrosport, I don't smell antifreeze and the fluid is level. Im thinking its either the thermostat or the heater core. And 058, my car did level off and that guy WAS creepy! :)

Ill come back later this week with the mechanic's findings and costs. CYA!

I bought mine with a knocking in the rear no one could find. It's easy to pull up the floor to take a look. At worst you might need to remove two or four nuts with a socket.

If one is bad, trust me do them both. I did just the one and within six months the other side blew out too :(

The first two pictures are with the vehicle jacked up so the metal plate is sitting down on the mount. The second two are with the vehicle on the ground and the shock sticking through. A good mount should be like the first two except you should see some rubber actively attached between the metal plate and the base with the bolt holes in it. Last photo is a new mount and the metal plate gets reused and rests on top of the rubber.

It could be your strut tower bearings or it could be as simple as a rusted exhaust hanger that has broken off of the muffler so that whenever your driving its constantly bouncing around hitting the muffler... Your muffler sorta loud? Smell fumes? Check your exhaust underneath then check your strut tower bearings.

Good point too^^!

Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to let everyone know what was going on - the rattling was the rear strut mount. The part cost me $35. The windshield arm was bent from where it was bolted down so a new arm cost me $24. I decided to wait on getting the heater to work, but it is the heater core and that part would have run me about $116. So all in all, my mechanic fixed everything else for $120. Not too bad, huh? But if I hadnt let him know what I thought was rattling, he probable would have tried to change out the whole strut. So thanks all!

My 850's former owner had a mechanic ride in the rear of the car to try and find the knocking with no luck on pinning it down and I have to confess I took the door panel off the side with the blown out mount because I was pretty sure it was coming from inside the door. That noise is hard to pin down. :D

I know, Kiss - if you read my original post, I thought a lug nut had came loose from the rear right tire and was rolling around behind the rim. But reading this forum luckily pointed me in the right direction and Im really grateful for it!

Hi Lexxi1129 and all, glad I have read this thread , as I have just posted a similar thread, wish I had read yours first though, my wagons symptoms are the same , but i am having trouble removing the rear child seats (7 seater wagon ) to get access to the strut housing beneath, could anybody put me straight on this please, many thanks, glad You got your problem sorted Lexxi.

Hi Matchman - thanks! Yeah, I have the rear child seat too but I have no clue how my mechanic got to the strut mount. Apparently it wasnt that hard because I cant even tell that the carpet was even pulled up - maybe he went in thru the bottom??!?! Wish I could give you more info...:)

I'm not sure but it may be under/behind the side seat piece. Kiss will tell you soon.

Sorry but you can't get at it from underneath and you also don't need to disturb the rear child seats.
The top shock mounting is easy to get to by removing the lower side carpet panel directly behind the main rear seat back rest.
Fold these forward, remove lower side panel and roll back floor carpet....the rest is straight forward;)