Hey, just signed up here. i have an 04 S60 with about 49xxx miles on it. The front drivers side wheel is doing something weird and I can't determine the problem. Basically when we hit bumps it throughs it makes like a grinding or rattling sound, it's a really heavy sound like one of the arms or something. Next, whenever there is rain or snow/ice at all, it sways left and right pretty bad, not uncontrollably but also not safe. Anyone have any ideas? I don't see anything lose or worn out just looking at it or tapping things. Thanks a bunch!

-Steffen

 

Do you have access to a rack? Or a good set of jackstands? There are a whole lot of links and parts in each side of the front suspension/drive axle. CV joints, tie rod ends, multiple bushings, strut mounts, etc. Something is loose, worn out, or broken. With the front end (safely) up in the air, you can begin to isolate what's wrong. And compare how each part feels versus its mirror image on the other side to sort of give you an idea of what's good and what's bad.

The problem is, even if you hit upon the correct diagnosis, there may be more than one bad part. And, if you know what the problem(s) is/are, can you fix them yourself? I'm personally a little leery of suspension work myself as there's just too darn many parts connected to other parts. If part A is worn, does that mean bushing B should also be replaced?

Your problem could become a real bad problem if something lets loose at 70 mph on the highway. I wouldn't wait too long to get it fixed.

 

Yes, I have agarage and jack stands to get it up. Like you said I don't have a lot of susp experience. i've been working on an older Civic for a while so I have a decent understanding of what goes where. If I can figure out what is for sure wrong with it, I'd be glad to get the parts and learn how to replace them, I just wanted to attempt to narrow it down a bit. Thanks for the reply!

 

probably the end links but as malaka said, lots of stuff in there that could cause these symptoms