Hello there,
I am new to the Volvo world, so be gentle please. 2004 s40 2.4i with 130000 miles. I have done plenty or reading and searching on this site but am stuck. I have replaced both front drive shafts, both sway bar bushings, both sway bar end links, both lower control arms, and both front strut assemblies. I even replaced the upper passenger engine mount and the front of the car sounds like a bag of bolts over rippled pavement. I suppose I could try lower engine and trans mounts but am I missing something in the meantime? No driveability issues. I try to take very good care of it but these noises are ridiculous.



Thank you!

 

I forgot to add that I changed outer tie rod ends as well.

 

Lift it up, get under there and start (safely) shaking components until you hear what is loose before you go throwing more parts at it. Also check for acorns, nuts etc trapped on the radiator guard under the car.

 

Great advice! We did that last week, even attempting to articulate the suspension (while the car was on jack stands) using a floor jack under the lower control arms. No dice.

 

Well for a 17 year old car it does look nice you have certainly looked after it we also have a 2005 but the T5 which is simmilar to yours , had a similar problem and was the top engine mount on the driver side , but that is the same as passenger for you I assume as we drive on the RHD
To test the suspension one needs to lift the car and then use a crow bar to see for movent , unfortunately that will not show engine/gearbox problems

 

Did you replace the front strut mounts? They're a very good source of rattles if they're worn out.

And did the rattle start with your suspension refresh, or were you hoping to fix it by replacing all those parts?

 

I replaced the entire strut units, albeit from Advance Auto and not OEM. Just don't have the budget for this car to be OEM as it just sits most of the time. In any case, I did a complete front end refresh in order to solve the clunking and increase my longevity as the original parts were tired at best.

 

At least double-check your work, and see if you can detect any looseness at all anywhere (including those struts). It's easy for something to work loose if it wasn't tightened to spec during installation.