Driving very slowly, but also around turns at a faster clip, & over bumps, etc. - I am assuming it is my suspension, but if anyone has prior exp w/this, that would be great!

I've a 99 S70 T-5 w/86K miles on it.

Thanks so much!

 

Unfortunatly on these cars this is a very common malady. Clunking could be coming from a number of different areas
1.) Bad spring seats or spring seat bearings(most likely culprit)
2.) Sway bar end links(cheapest likeliest culprit)
3.) Bad lower control arms
4.) Blown up struts
These are just a few but I would start with your sway bar end links, there are a ton of great write ups on this forum and at Matthews Volvo site with pictures that will give you step by step directions for replacing these parts.

98 S70 T-5

 

Hey Meloyler,

everything above could definitely be the culprit, I know as i have replaced almost every component in my suspension! One thing that may be overlooked is the strut mounts(where they connect to the frame, kind of like a bushing) This may be overlooked sometimes but I know on my car it made a world of difference. One way I noticed they were shot is when i had the hood open and rocked the car, the mounts swayed WAY more than they should have. The parts are relatively cheap (e.g. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VOLVO...item1c0d3ba3fe).. Good Luck!

 

how much sway is too much, as I have the same problem and am going to start with the sway bar links, I all ready have the new ones, just waiting for a day off to install

 

Wow, Thank You Jimmy & Dan - I sure appreciate your respective thoughts, and will check out all of the above - I try to do my own work, but unfortunately I do not have all of the appropriate tools, but this gives me a good 'running start' -

Thanks again - have a great week!

 

It's sort of difficult to explain, because even good strut mounts do give some movement. However, when mine were shot, when the car was rocked, you could clearly see that the strut mounts moved up and down at least a good inch- probably more(they looked like they were barely even attached to the frame). This caused major clunking over even the smallest bumps, as well as squeaking coming directly from the site. I hope this helps, if not let me know and maybe i can pull up some pictures that may help!! Good Luck!!!!

 

mine only go up a about 1/4 to 3/8 in. one alittle more than the other

 

Alright that doesn't seem too bad, mine moved upand down more than that when they were completely gone. But as you can see(since yours differ in their movement) this is a problem that may be overlooked but could make a world of difference. If yours seem to be getting worse and you cant seem to find any other problems, you may want to check this out. Try going over bumps with the hood open (carefully in an alley or somewhere safe) and have someone outside watching the strut mounts and seeing if this is where the clunking is coming from. Like i said, mine were so bad (especially one) that my car actually had a lean to one side. Labor may be pricey, but definitely worth it!!!

 

Meloyer,
A easy, simple and surefire way to know if your strut mounts are bad is to try to spin either rubber mount( has the large 16mm bolt thru it) on top of the strut housing by hand in either direction, if you can spin it by hand the mount/bushing is bad, if you can't look elsewhere. If in fact that mount/bushing is bad be sure to replace the bearing as well. The whole strut assembly has to come out for you to replace the bushing/mount and you don't want to have to do this twice(lots of labor) I would suggest IPD or FC Groton or your local Volvo dealer for these parts. Volvo is going to be the most expensive but you are gauranteed that they are OEM and they will last the longest.