Well, two weeks ago I replaced the rear shocks and front struts on our 2007 Volvo S40. Took about 5 hours or so and some busted knuckles but got it done. A few days later took it in for an alignment. Somewhere along the line it created a clunking or snapping noise on the right side, sounding like it is behind the glove box. I have been doing some research on this forum and see there are a couple of items that may be of concern. I went out tonight and pulled the wheel. Checked to make sure the strut was fully seated. It appeared to be. Even loosened up the bolt and attempted to see if i could get it to move any down. No dice. Checked all the bolts and assemblies that i loosened or removed to make sure everything was tight. All good to go. Went to the top and checked the three bolts and found that two of them had a little movement and when I checked the third, it snapped right off! So, no upper mount is on order. I have read that the upper bearing/mount may be an issue to? Didn't have any noise or issues prior other than the original struts were shot. All the bushings, etc looked good. The shop didn't have anything to say about parts being worn. They have done great work for me before and usually are quick to point out that there is a problem (that is how I found out about the worn out struts.) Car has 98,000 miles on it and is a great car. We have only owned it for one year. The next big hurdle is power steering pump issues but that will be another post.

Nick H.

 

Possible sway bar bushing, sounds just like mine, a 2004 S40 (early)

poikaa

 

For me the bumping noise coming from behind the glove box was a bad strut mount. When I broke the sway bar bushing the knocking noise came from down low at foot level and only happened over bumps.

The shop may have forgot the bearing race or installed it incorrectly. Both the bearing and the race are plastic and look quite fragile.

 

So, all new struts, upper mounts, end links, sway bar bushings and lower control arms (left and right) plus bushings.

Still have a thunk/clunk and rattle at slow speeds, especially over bumps. I've pulled out what hair is left trying to quiet this thing down. All was good until we started replacing things.

I notice the sound more to the left side and it seems forward, not near the firewall or floor level. Will a bad CV joint do this?

At wits end.....

 

Could also be the lower control arm bushing(s), sway bar links or bushings. Possible a bolt or nut was not tightened all the way.

poikaa

 

Check the upper main motor mount on the pax side. On my 2005 the rubber was split in two. After awhile the rubber was ground away until the remaining metal bits started bumping together making a thumping noise.

 

Rattle, rattle.
I have the metal clicking / rattle from behind the glove box. After checking several posts I started replacing parts such as the bar links and upper and lower motor mounts. Rattle remains.
How can I check the strut bearing? After reading this post I looked at the strut and noticed the top was not centered in the hole.


How do I check my strut?

 

What year do you have? Is your S40 gen 1 (2000-2004) or gen 2? the strut mount will generally make a thumping noise going over speed bumps/railroad tracks. Its kind of hard to see anything related to the strut mount without removing the strut itself. the gen 1s are rather simple - a metal spring seat, a nylon/hard plastic bushing, and the metal mount. If the bushing goes, it can create some looseness which you hear during large fast compress/decompress. On my Gen 1 the spring seat is eccentric, allowing you to allign the top/bottom seats to adjust the geometry (caster?). there are two 3/8" sized holes on top/bottom that should allign either exactly or spun up to 25 degrees ("sport mode"). Word of caution - on the Gen 1s, the springs are very long and you may not be able to disassemble/reassemble using standard 6 inch "death stick" spring compressors without extra hands. I had to use 2 sets to get the extra inch of compression needed to remove top nut. If you decide to pull the strut out (standard process - 2 lower bolts, 3 top nuts) you can at least do a visual inspection for how the seat/mount fit together and the view the upper lower alignment. I have some pics when I did mine - I just need to figure out how to post up to the board :-)

 

I have a gen 1, 2001 V40.


The sound I have is a rattle, not a thumping noise, so it may not be the strut.