Hello friends,



I have a Volvo S40 1.8i 2001 with 60.000 km's on it (37.000 miles). The car has a bonking noise since a couple of days and it sounds like it comes from the right front wheel, i'm not fully sure but when the right wheel takes a bump it makes the irritating noise. The noise is not loud, you can't even hear it when the radio is on so it shouldn't be a big issue yet. The shock absorbers are a little bit rusted and i get the idea that it might be the shock absorber at the right front wheel.

How can i test it and what is the best way to fix this? A complete new shock absorber?

The brake disks are on the thin side and the right brake disk is a little bit bent (not much), could this be the cause as well?

Thanks for your help

 

Guys,

I found out that if I stand still with the car and if I wobble the steering wheel, the noise appears. What could this be? A rubber that needs replacement or something?

 

there is too many possible there. eg. broken spring, shock, spring seat, broken bearing, loose ball joint or tie rod or sway bar link. the easiest lift the car up & get a suspension check. u can't really tell what the problems is/are unless u lift it up & inspect it

 

On my 2001 I've had 2 different thumping noises over bumps. The first was a broken aluminum bushing mount for the anti-roll bar. The 2nd was a worn out strut mount.

With the anti-roll bar bushing mount the thumping noise sounded like it was coming from under your feet (which it is actually). To check, get a torch (flashlight), jack the car up and remove the right front wheel. Follow the ant-roll bar back to where the bushing mount is bolted to the frame. Is it broken, bent, missing? On mine the top aluminum half was broken allowing the anti-roll bar to lift up. When the car hit a bump the anti-roll bar would hit the frame causing a thumping noise (Your bonking noise?). Replacement is simple if you have smallish hands. Mine are not so small and suffered a few scrapes getting my hands in that tight spot. Cost was $25 US dollars from the dealer.

2nd was a worn out strut mount. When hitting a bump the thumping noise sounded like it was coming from behind the glove box. Replacement is the same as replacing the struts themselves so I changed everything when I had the strut apart. You may need a wheel alignment after doing this work.

Let us know what you find, either way.

 

Hey Hudini,

I've checked the bar out a couple days ago. The bar you mean is the bar between the two wheels in the middle of the car? i've already checked it out and i've looked if it's damaged or loose but it looks ok. The car belonged to my dad before and he had a little accident with the car at the right front wheel (been a year ago), the fender was damaged (has already been fixed) but the wheel and bars haven't been checked out. The steering wheel is a little bit wobbly too when i take a corner, maybe it's all related. I will look into it, i'm gonna take the wheel off again tomorrow. Thanks a lot for your information! i will stay in touch.