First off, I don't know much about this car or its past, nor do I know about suspensions, drive train, or wheels and all that kinda stuff.
Bought this car not to long ago and I've never had a Volvo before.

So, when I first bought it it would vibrate at about 60-70 mph. It seamed to be the right hand front wheel and it would make the whole car and steering wheel vibrate. I choked it up to mid alliances tire. I went to tire shop and had all new rims and wheels put on with all of them balanced and all that good stuff. Then it started vibrating a bit less and at higher speeds. Then one day I started hearing "road noise" or something like a loud tire or thread on the road. Didn't think much of it. But then the wheel started squeaking at low speeds. Then it started to vibrate at high speeds. It made me think I had a bad wheel bearing. So lifter the car and tried to shimmy the tire left and right and up and down and it didn't really move. But as turned it it would squeak. Now I hear almost like a grinding noise as I'm going moderate speed and the other day as I was cleaning my rims I noticed the break pad is almost entirely worn out, the rotor has worn in grooves and almost has a rainbow-ish effect and possible stress/heat cracks. That made me think that maybe the caliper is seized or something like that.

Now when I looked at the other side rear wheel I noticed that the rotor and break shoes on that side look similarly as worn. But the rotor doesn't have the rainbowy color or the cracks. Now here's the weird part. I've never heard Like noise came out of the left side nor does it feel like it vibrates, but I coworker was driving behind me the other day and informed me that my left and right wheels are wobbling on me. He said it looked like my wheels were about to fall off my car! What could it be? What can I check and what do replace?

 

Go back and have the tire shop check the alignment. That will tell you if your wheels are out of whack. But to be bad enough to vibrate and be noticeable to others I would say that car has been hit at some point, or maybe ran over a curb pretty hard.








Also definitely do the pads and rotors. I let my pads run down on the rear too far and the piston locked all the way out. I was able to press it back in and it works fine now, no leaks or anything.

 

I did have the tire shop do that and they got it aligned done just fine although it was a bit out of alignment and it still had the same issue and all that, and my coworker pointed that out after all that. I can tell that there was previous damage to the rear end, like the bumper and trunk. But the rear fender areas look just fine. That, and he had commented that it was doing it on both sides. So I'm thinking maybe worn out suspension parts or bushings or something like that. Also something I just learned about is whatever hubsentric wheels are, maybe the tire shop didn't know about that or what that is and I have the wrong rims on. What is that, and how can I check it? The rim seems to not have any gaps between it and the rotor though... And if it is past damage what can I check or replace?

 

Here is what to do...
Run a Carfax on it, see what it says.
Tell us what these "Rims" are you bought, accompanied by a foto of them. Post up the relevant information on the "rims" too. Backspacing, offset, etc etc etc.
Take it to a real shop. Most tire/alignment shops these days are franchises etc. Not saying they dont know what they are doing, but....

Martin

 

Good advice but some people are difficult/impossible to help. MunkeeBoy bought four new (possibly wrong) rims as a result of one out of balance wheel and wore his front brake pads down to the backing plates without noticing.

 

You can lead a horse to water, but........

Martin

 

Volvo rims are hub centric - if the after market rims don't have the correct center bore, you'll need to buy some hub rings. The lugs are not designed to center the rim. If you have old rims to put back on (or winter wheels) that can confirm. If its not the rims then you need to check for a bad wheel bearing or caliper issue (jack from the center front and spin the fronts by hand to feel if there's any grinding - you may be able to feel it better via the spring).

 

Lack of knowledge and "impossible to help" are two different things. Now, the worn out breaks are in the back and the break shoe isn't worn out all the way. I hear no metal on metal when I break. In fact there is no change in sound or vibration when I hit the break. The worn out rotor is either something the previous owner did or excessive wear caused by heat created from the possibly bad bearing.

I replaced the tires because they were worn out and winter was coming. I got new rims while I was at it because I like to customize all my cars.

Now here is the weird part that I guess I need to clarify, the vibration started in the front with the old wheels, but the noise is coming from the back wheels as well is the suspected break issues and the wobble seems to be in both rear wheels. But the vibration in the front is still there as well but happens at faster speeds.

I am going to the wheel shop that installed the tires today and try to find out a little further about what might be going on.
I want to thank you guys that gave me suggestions. But I'm still stumped at what could cause the vibration in the front. I guess I can start by illuminating all the other issues first.

One of the last posts said that I need to get some kinda spacers if I want to continue using those rims. What are they actually called and where do I find them?

 

I'm out of this one, and yes impossible to help does seem appropriate.
You gave me no answers to the questions I asked. Love it when folks wont help you, help them...
Best of luck

 

All I can add to this is that you should stop messing about and get a pro to look at this properly. I would not be driving that thing very far until the root cause can be confirmed.

 

Thank you for the advice. I am not driving it anymore except to the tire shop. And the other posts made me forget about the question I was asked. I actually know nothing about the rims. I just went to the shop and they did the rest. All I know is that they are aluminum looking, and 18". Not sure how to insert a photo into the post or I would show you. But that is why I am going back to the shop and making a big stink about them putting the wrong rims on.

I apologize for my complete lack of knowledge. Like I had stated in my first post, I know nothing of rims, tires, suspension or anything related to it. But I have learned a lot in the last few days of being on this forum, so thank you everyone.

 

18"s!!! this one I have is on 15's, so that is a big jump
What size tires are they??
The stock tire (on this 2002 anyways) is 24.21" diameter.
If you aren't close to that, it isnt good.
You get the size by a little simple math.,
195/60r15 would be the following equation:
195x.6x2/25.4+15=24.21"
tire width (195) multiplied by the aspect ratio (60%), multiplied by 2 (top and bottom). Divided by 25.4 (mm to inches) then add on the rim diameter (15"). Easy peasy.
Of course, if you just told them to fit the biggest rims they could, all bets are off.

Martin

 

Don't recall any statement on the year or model in this thread. You can certainly run 18s on these cars (both Gen1 and Gen2) although there may not be much of a point - Try matching up 215/40-18s to the 195/60-15s on the gen1s and you'll see they are the same diameter.

MunkeeBoy, back to your noise and vibration problem - it could be the tires have cupped due to a bad alignment or worn suspension part, could be a wheel bearing on the way out (not all bearings go "loose" when they start to groan), could be worn brake pads or a dragging e-brake or even a CV joint problem. Vibrations could be a bad job of balancing (or a lost weight from the original job), a bent rim or wrong fit of the rim or a warped rotor. Usually the first step is to inspect the tires for uneven wear, then rotate front to rear to see if the noise changes. To check for brakes/bearings you can jack up the car and spin the wheels by hand for any odd noises (assuming you have FWD). For the front you will want to lift both wheels at the same time to compare. For the bearing check you can put a hand on the spring while rotating the tire and compare left to right.

 

Thus why I asked for the tire size.....

Martin

 

Ok. I tried to figure out the size and I just don't get it. I got some paperwork from the tire shop it says the rims are 18x7.5 4x100/114.3+38BM. So I have no idea what that means!

The tires say they are 2154018. That doesn't sound like any kinda tire size that I've ever heard of...

Anyways, so update: I went to the tire shop and they looked at my car. Turns out there is a set screw on the rotor that first sit flush with the rotor that kept the rim from laying flat against the rotor, thus getting a wobble.

The shaking is mostly gone now! But it sounds and feels like the bearings are worse now... Right after I started driving home from the tire shop it was way worse. Why would a straight tire make the bearing worse I wonder?

Oh yeah, and it's a 2002 s40 1.9t. They did run at first but I fixed that mostly by seeing the parts that it was rubbing on and bent those parts back. It never rubbed in the front, only in the back. I think they look good... If someone could show me hot to insert pictures I would show you.

 

To decode the wheel specs:

4x means you have a four lug pattern and 100/114.3 means you have two sets of bolt holes - 4 are set 100mm from center, 4 are set 114.3 mm (ie 4" and 4.5"). Gen1s use a 4x114.3 bolt pattern so the wheels will bolt up. The 38 refers to the offset in mm - this is the "overhang" from the wheel's center line to the plane of the hub. This is also a correct value for a gen1 (most Volvos run something around 35 to 50mm offset - older models like the 850s and Gen1s are all 38mm give or take). The 215 refers to the tread width, the 40 refers to the aspect ratio - ie how tall is the sideway in relation to the tread width - so a 215/40 will have sidewalls that are 86mm tall. The 18 refers to the rim diameter in inches. So to keep the same wheel circumference, the taller the rim, the smaller the sideways. To map from the factory size of 195/60-15, there's a set of tire sizes that match. For example, my S40 has 215/50-16 which is the same circumference as the 195/60-15s. for a 17" rim you'd need 215/45s and for an 18", 215/40s match up. If you rub, then that can be adjusted by different wheel offset (ie new rims), a spacer (if rubbing on the inside) or rolling the fender lip if rubbing on the outside.

The last critical piece of fitting aftermarket rims is the center bore. Gen1 S40s use a 67.1mm wheel center bore. The center bore of the wheel must be exact or you risk vibrations since the wheels are centered by the hub. If you rims have something other than 67.1 you need to use hub rings (typically nylon bushings) that match the wheel to the required hub diameter. About the only other consideration is the bolts themselves. Some wheels have tapered bolt holes, others have conical so you need the nuts to match the wheel to get a proper secure hold.

There's nothing you've done that would create or worsen a bearing problem. Either the bearing was bad all along and was masked by the other issues or its related to the brakes or perhaps a CV joint.

PS - to insert a pick, click on the "Go Advanced" and click on the clip icon to attach a jpeg or png file.

 

"Those parts." lol.

 

I have a feeling that those offering genuine technical advise........are wasting their time.
The tires work out to be about the same size though, so at least that is good.

Martin

 

Wow man! That is some serious knowledge! You must have worked at a tire shop at some point. So where can I find a hub ring? I've looked in IPD.com and see nothing of the sort. The center hole in the rim is close to the wheel hub but not exact.
So I probably do need that bushing.

I'm pretty sure the noise is the bearing because when I make hard turns the sound goes away. And when I had the car up on the lift I spun the wheels the breaks made no noise or scraping or anything like that.

I'm going to get a kit with the two rear wheel hubs already put together. Has anyone else done this job? What other material should I have in hand and what tools might I need? Any problems or issues I should know about?

And you other guys talking crap... Why? I'm neither a dim person nor am I incapable of learning. Anyone who's endevour is to collect knowledge should be encouraged and commended.

 

lol, never worked at a tire shop - I own 4 cars (two Volvos, a VW and a Toyota) and have been working on cars since the 70s starting with a VW Bug, then a Camaro, then a trio of BMW 2002s then an Audi Quattro (my favorite...) before moving onto Volvos (wife wanted to go safe, I got to choose the turbo). Accumulated a fair collection of tools along the way too including some pneumatic toys.

If you suspect a wheel bearing, pay attention to which way you turn to create more noise to ID which wheel. Then jack that wheel and hand spin - you should feel some grinding or vibrations on the spring - it may or may not have a loose hub feeling. Most parts stores will sell you a complete hub/bearing assembly- the quick summary of doing the rears is to remove the wheel, remove and suspend the brake caliper out of the way (don't hang by the hose), disconnect the ABS sensor, pull the disk off. Now you will see the hub and the dust shield bolted to the knuckle. You have to remove the four or so bolts. I've never done an S40 but I'd be willing to bet there's some torx bolts so you may need to buy a new socket or two. its possible the spring/shock may get in the way so if that's the case you'll want to remove those as well. On the front, its similar except you need to remove the drive shaft nut first (best done when the car is still on the ground) then you will need to separate the ball joint or remove thecontrol arm bolts to allow the knuckle to swing out to get the shaft out of the front hub and out of the way before unbolting the wheel hub from the knuckle. Again you may need to size up what socket types etc. Also depending on the age, sometimes the bolts can be tough to remove - applying heat from a torch (ie MAPP or acetyline) to the bolt heads then use some PB Blaster can help (if you use a torch shield any non metal stuff like your CV joint boots or brake lines). If your are shopping for parts, my personal top 3 Volvo parts places are FCPEURO.COM, EEUROPARTS.COM and TASCAPARTS.COM (a dealer with great prices on OEM Volvo parts). All are here in New England (I get next day delivery since I'm so close)

Re the hub rings, check out Hub centric ring sizes - HubCentric-Rings.com for parts and how to measure.