All the repairs I have done were much needed, control arm, ball joint, cv joint drive shaft, brakes, rotors, etc.... , but I would have thought one of them would have resolved the grinding noise that I hear when on rough roads and the car is cold (early mornings). Querying the parts manager at the local Volvo dealership he suggested that I replace the Spring Seat

Anyone have any experience with this?

Below is a link for my latest repair job

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...9&l=8f619bf5e9

Don

 

A broken spring seat will make noise for sure.

 

On Saturday I replaced my spring seat on the front passenger side strut of my S60 T5 and now it drives smooth and noise free.

 

How difficult was this to do yourself? Did you replace both spring seats? How long dis it take to do one? I have a 2001 S60 & I think I have the same problem...Thanks

 

Spring Seat Replacement:

I have only did the one side so far. Because I do not have air tools most of the physical time was spent turning the bolts on my spring compressor. Make sure that you have a 18mm, 19mm and 20mm sockets handy along with star sockets. Be sure purchase a set with various sizes. If you need a decent manual you can always purchase a 1 year subscription from ALLDATADIY.com or buy the activation CD from Autozone for $26.00.

Basically in this order (front wheel):
1)Jack up car and rest on jack stand, block the rear wheel on opposite side set parking brake.
2)Remove Wheel. Do not remove rotor or brakes.
3)Remove swaybar link at the strut. Leave connected below.
4)Remove ABS Sensor (10mm) from spindle and detach sensor cable from strut at clip.
5)Remove the two 20mm nuts then knock out bolts that hold spindle to strut being sure to first measure the distance between the outsides of the spindle and the strut along the top bolt line leaving a marker on the metal to help lineup for the reinstall.
6)Place cloth on top of the cv joint for protection, then loosen 2 of top 3 nuts from within the engine compartment. Do not loosen the center nut unless you like pain and have your Will updated.
7)Hold the strut with one hand while removing the last of the three then remove the strut from the wheel well.
8)Compress the spring, when the spring moves freely at the bottom you have compressed enough to remove the center nut.
9)Remove the center nut and pull off the top bearing
10)Remove the cross nut that holds down the spring seat.
11)Remove spring seat.
12)Clean the spring and all other surfaces. If the rubber boot on the strut is loose have some cable ties handy to clamp it down.

Now you can install the seat and bolt it down with the cross shaped nut.

Definately get the online manual and as somebody previous suggested watch a few youtube videos to get a better idea of what to expect.

Don

 

Thanks for giving the step by stp details... I'll be doing this as soon as I can buy all the parts I need. You've been a great help!

 

How long would this job take? 1 hour?

 

If you are all set up and have air tools and a spring compressor I am guessing you could do it in an hour, but it took me about 3 hours as this was first time for me (learning curve) and did not have power tools to speed up the spring compression process.