I've had my '97 850 NA wagon for about 7 months now. Its got a few problems up front that I'm addressing. Both axles are bad and the brakes are going as well as the struts. But one thing I've noticed that seems to be getting worse is a weird twitching, mainly while turning left at any sort of decent speed. I can't tell which side is causing it or if it's a hardware or alignment issue. When I'm turning left the car will suddenly dart further left like one of the wheels changes its angle or something. It's really pretty scary while traversing on/off ramps. I recently aired up all my tires, they were all a little low and this seems to have amplified the effect. Now if there is a change in the pavement or a line for the tires to follow it will also twitch while driving straight. I finally got under the car to look around tonight and ordered some parts as well. I've got new axles, brakes, and tie rod ends coming. I didn't really noticed anything out of whack but while checking the wheels for play I noticed the right side had a little bit of movement characteristic of a bad wheel bearing. Could that be the cause of the twitch? The local parts store has them in stock so I'll probably go ahead and replace at least the one in question.

Thanks,
Brandon

 

Hi and welcome to VolvoForums.

Please post where you are located so I can steer clear. You have mentioned that 1/2 of your front suspension is dangerously worn, maybe the other half is as well. These cars also have control arms and ball joints that are likely worn out. I suggest that you take it to a suspension shop and let them tell you what all is bad. If you jack the car and try to move the wheel 3-9 and it moves at all, you likely have control arm issues. You can actually look at the control arm mounts, if you see any movement at all they are worn, also you should look at the ball joints at the control arm mounts.

 

Ball joint.

 

Yeah, I've been putting it off for whatever reason. But the car is a beater and I didn't want to have to put money into it so soon. I just checked on prices for control arms/ball joints and they aren't too bad. Based on posts I've seen there seems to be a lot of issues with these.

 

Do what you know how to do and once you have the brakes and shafts done take it to Firestone, Goodyear ... whoever does alignments in your area and have them check your front end. They likely will give you an ugly estimate and it might cost you a checkout fee but then you have a point to start at and an idea of what else you can do yourself or might need help with.

It's one thing if your car doesn't start but it's a whole different animal if it "twitches" you right across the divider into on coming traffic. You know there is something wrong and the problem is you may not get another warning before it breaks. Some things will wear out slowly and give you notice they are going, some things don't !!

Even a beater has to be safe if not for your protection but for those around you. Besides I don't want Rspi to be losing sleep at night wondering where you are

 

Parts are on the way! Hopefully everything is here by the weekend and you all won't have to worry about me on the road anymore. hehe Control arms/ball joints, tie rod ends, axles, wheel bearings, and brakes. Next is tires and an alignment and I'll be good to go for a while.

Are there common spots for oil leaks on these cars? Mine has been going through about a quart a month. I thought it was just eating it because I never saw a spot on the ground but after looking under the car there appears to be a leak. Is there anywhere I should look first?

Thanks

 

Put a large piece of cardboard under the front end to find the source. Then go from there. Hopefully it's not the rear main seal. Leaks there can be caused by a plugged crankcase ventilation system.

Or you could just stop putting oil in it to stop the leaking.

 

When was the last time the PCV system was replaced?

You may not want to hang around here. We'll keep twisting your arms until you make that beater a road eater.

 

I just bought the car about 7 months ago and the only thing I've done so far is replace the radiator so I have no idea about the PCV.

And the car may be a 5 speed but it's also non turbo. I doubt it will be a road eater ever.

 

I mean raching up the miles.

 

The PCV system is what circulates air through the engine block to draw combustion gases and contaminants into the intake to be burned. The main box is located behind the intake.
If your engine is leaking oil around the filler cap or if you pull the oil stick with it running and notice smoke coming out the tube it's likely you're in need of replacing it. Good to do before it builds up pressure and starts to push seals out of place and then your engine really starts to leak oil.

In the picture they call it the oil separator box.

Instructions with photos:
http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/for...ic.php?t=28487

 

As to 4-wheel alignment, I wouldn't take a Volvo to any of the franchise shops, because the guys/gals at those places are often entry-level and may not have the necessary skills & knowledge to calibrate Volvo's set-up.

4-wheel alignment & certain code retrieval (for newer OBD-II with Volvo protocol) are probably the two items for me to have done at a dealer, unless Actron or other hand-held scanner mfgs have come up with a compatible scanner.


JPN

 

I understand your reluctance on going to a franchise shop but some of those guys are good. Either way the recommendation is due to the way the poster asked the question. It's way to hard to try and describe how to properly inspect each item of a front end and having someone even if they are new, they likely have more experience on what they are looking at and how it's supposed to look and feel.
Most offer a free alignment check and you can always try two different places and see if their estimates match. At least it gives you something to look at and a place to start.

 

If anyone searches this later, the culprit turned out to be a bad wheel bearing. It came apart when I took the rotor off. I also replaced the other wheel bearing as well as both control arms and ball joints and while they looked fine they could have added to the trouble. But the wheel bearing was definitly done for.

 

Glad to hear. Nothing worse than sliding off to the side of the road and seeing one of your wheels passing you