Hey guys...I've been stumped on this noise for a few months now. The best way to describe it is a "plastic-y" clunk coming from the passenger side front. The weird thing is it doesn't happen all the time. I just replaced the control arms a few weeks ago since the ball joints were pretty worn, and that wasn't it. I took it to a shop to have them inspect the front suspension and they said they saw no problems. They said the struts, tie rods and spring seats were fine. Any ideas? Could it be a body bushing? If so, how could i test it? Its really begining to annoy me and I just want it fixed.

 

When was the last time you replaced the spring seat?
Just looking at it sometimes they wont see the part where the inner bushing has broken out..

 

My vote goes for the spring seat too. I had the exact same problem last year - a plastic hollow clunk coming from the suspension. Everything seemed fine...until I drove through f-ing New Jersey and the strut started banging on the hood. I opened the hood and the strut slowly rose all the way to the top. We jacked up the car, pressed the strut back in and drove the car to a garage - at the garage the strut was in place, like nothing had happened.

Similar thing could be happening to you. If you want to do a really simple test - get some masking tape and tape the hood where the strut would meet it. Drive for a while and see if there are any marks on the tape.

 

I'll give that a try. Is it difficult to replace the spring seat?

 

Not really, It involves removing the entire strut assembly, Compressing the spring, removing the strut mount, spanner nut, and spring seat. Putting it all back together, and possibly getting an alignment if you did not get you marks right putting it back together.
The whole job should take you only about 40min per side if you have the right tools..

If you can spare the extra cash I would go with the Heavy Duty spring seat rather than the cheapo one. and since your there Id replace the strut mount too being that you have to remove it any way.. Kinda like doing the water pump when you change the Timing belt even if its not bad..

 

Thanx!

 

Speaking of, I recall someone here saying the spring seat of the XC90 will fit on the 850 and is heavier duty than the one for the 850. Is this correct?

 

Yes. I used the XC90 spring seats on mine when I did it.

 

Do you need to compress the spring if you're just replacing the spring seat?

 

Yeah, you gotta compress it.

 

Great advice. Key words: RIGHT TOOLS!

 

You do have to take the strut assembly out and dissassemble it to get the spring seat off. It's not that hard though. Advance Auto lends out the spring compressor and you just need to be careful. I have done it twice now and I was always afraid to try it, but watched my son do it once and found it to be relatively simple. Just be patient and do it slowly and evenly.

 

Thanx guys! Just weighing the option of doing it myself or just taking it to the shop to be done. Leaning towards doing it myself, time permitting.

 

Hells Yeah, you'll do it yourself! I just had Firestone do an alignment, and they said something is wrong with my suspension. They quoted 600 bucks for the struts, strut mounts & sway bar links, and another 600 bucks for the labor. I did it myself last year & spent a lot less for the parts, let alone the 600 for labor.

If you're near Glen Ellyn, we could set a time for you to come out and I'll help you do it some weekend.

 

When I seen the title of the thread, I thought you were talking about your wife coaching your driving. I was going to say, kindly ask her to shut up or drive herself.

 

I had a noise that I swore was a suspension sound. I replaced most of the front end only to find out it was the side motor mount.

 

Yeah but there is a distinct difference between a spring seat sound and a motor or sub-frame mount sound..

 

Yeah but both you hear going over bumps. Easy to check mount. Just saying..

 

Hey-o! That was pretty funny!

 

Thanx for the offer, man!

Just pretty much verified that it is in fact either the strut mount or the spring seat. With the hood opened, if I push the car down on the passenger side, I can see the strut cap move. Spoke with a shop near me and they said they can replace it for about $200. Normally, I'd go for it and do it myself but, we're driving it down to Florida in about 2 weeks I really don't have the time between now and then to do this. Plus, I need to get it done ASAP because she's getting new tires and an alignment. I may have to hit you up in a few months when I have to do the timing belt/water pump.

I'm in Oak Lawn BTW.