front suspension problems
#1
10-11-2013, 07:59 PM
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front suspension problems
Hey everybody. I own a 98 volvo s70 and a couple of months ago I brought my car to a mechanic because my struts were rattling. He told me it was a common problem in s70s and not to worry about it. The driving was ok it was just the noise that was bad at that time. Then about a week ago I could feel every single bump through my floor board. So I decided it wasn't safe to drive anymore and took it to pep boys. They told me that both of my front struts are bad and one rear shock and I had a bad shaft assembly on one side, and since I was driving on bad struts my tires need to be replaced soon too. So I decided to prioritize and start with the struts first, I got them replaced and an alignment yesterday. And my car feels like a whole different car now, I expected the handling to be different (better) but it seems like my brake and my gas pedal got harder to push down which does not really make sense to me. Its possible that I'm just crazy and imagining things since I didn't drive my carin aabout a week but I just wanted to see what you guys think. Also I still have a rattling noise and was wondering if that could be the shaft assembly or something else. The broken shaft assembly is on the right side though and I can clearly hear it out of the driver window where my girlfriend can't hear anything out of her window. Thank you for reading 
#2
10-14-2013, 06:57 PM
You did not mention the mileage... its always a good idea to do that so people have a reference to wear.
The struts should nave no affect on braking or the gas pedal. You may want to look to make sure something did not get pinched when they did the work.
A couple of things about strut and shock repair. The top of the strut has a bearing assembly. It should have been replaced Same with the strut bumper stop. The upper bearing assembly is known for failing. An old bumper stop can deteriorate as well. I experienced this myself but was not able to get a new bumper stop. There is also a spring seat at the bottom of the spring where it seats on the strut. While the parts, including the strut, round up to about $100 per side, they really make a difference.
The rattle may be something they did not put together correctly. They may not have reconnected everything correctly. You could try bouncing the driver side and seeing if you can hear the rattle without the car moving.
The struts should nave no affect on braking or the gas pedal. You may want to look to make sure something did not get pinched when they did the work.
A couple of things about strut and shock repair. The top of the strut has a bearing assembly. It should have been replaced Same with the strut bumper stop. The upper bearing assembly is known for failing. An old bumper stop can deteriorate as well. I experienced this myself but was not able to get a new bumper stop. There is also a spring seat at the bottom of the spring where it seats on the strut. While the parts, including the strut, round up to about $100 per side, they really make a difference.
The rattle may be something they did not put together correctly. They may not have reconnected everything correctly. You could try bouncing the driver side and seeing if you can hear the rattle without the car moving.
Last edited by rspi; 10-14-2013 at 08:56 PM. Reason: typos
#3
10-14-2013, 08:58 PM
Most noisy suspension part is the sway bar end links. They are easy to replace and not expensive at all.
Pep Boys... sounds like they were working hard on the "UP SALE". Not to say it wasn't valid, but you can look at your tires and tell if they need replaced or not.
Go to a specific suspension place or find a Volvo shop to care for that car or you'll be traveling down a lot of roads you don't need to be.
Pep Boys... sounds like they were working hard on the "UP SALE". Not to say it wasn't valid, but you can look at your tires and tell if they need replaced or not.
Go to a specific suspension place or find a Volvo shop to care for that car or you'll be traveling down a lot of roads you don't need to be.
#5
10-26-2013, 12:38 PM
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Thank you for all the replies and sorry its been a while since I was able to get on here. I dId type all of this up about 15 minutes ago but my phone decided it will just shut down so I apologize if this reply is not as extensive as the last. To answer your questions: I hit the 170k miles mark a few days ago. Looking under the hood it does look like the top of the strut assembly was replaced. I aslo pushed down on the sides of the struts to listen if they make any noise, but they didn't. @rspi would the sway bar ends by any chance be the axle shaft assembly? An update on the condition the pedals are back to normal, but the steering wheel also got way looser again, its almost as loose as it was when the struts went out. I'm getting new tires today and I also wanted someone to look at the axle shaft and the struts if they were installed correctly, any suggesuggestions on where to go? Thank you again.
#6
10-27-2013, 09:52 AM
This is kind long, sorry, but it may help with how to diagnose this issue. If you have more than say 140K-160K miles on suspension parts, they are near end of life. Some may fail earlier/later but I find that is about the life of quality suspension components.
First of all, you need to check suspension issues with the car at it's normal ride height. The reason for this is that the parts wear the most in this position. I've checked tie rod ends, etc. when the car was raised and the wheel hanging and everything is great. Yet at normal height the part was toast.
If the struts are new, you cannot test it by pushing down on the fender. They are under significant load with the spring and the weight of the car. However, if you push down on the corner it should move smoothly but not all that much. There should be no groaning (a sign the shaft is binding on the strut tube). You have to know the difference between that and say a bushing that is bad. A bushing sounds more like a sqeak to me.
- Lift the car at the front and support by the control arms (using jack stands) for everything to follow. This will set the car like its still on the tires.
- Generally, joint testing is best done with the joint disconnected. However, they all have *boots* that keep dirt and water out. You don't want to damage the boots; a ball joint fork will most certainly destroy the boots. You can also use a bar or pipe to apply a lot of pressure to the component and rap it's anchor and it will pop the stud out. It's a pretty affective way to separate the joint but you have to be very careful not to hit anything like CV boots and brake parts, etc.
- You can also use a pry bar/pipe and look for movement. Joints should be solid and not move at all.
- If You separate a joint, the ball should not move easily. If you can lightly hold the stud and move it, or worse yet, move it with tip of you finger, it's toast.
- Bushings should be solid as well. However, with enough pressure you can compress the rubber so you have to be wary of that.
Sway bar bushings: You have to disconnect BOTH end links (at 1 end) to check this. The sway bar is under load when either end is connected. You will have to apply pressure downward (on the sway bar "L") to disconnect the end link. When 1 end is off on each side, the sway bar should unload so that the "L" is about horizontal (the end link bolt end as at the same level as the the 90 degree bend. The sway bar should not rotate around the bushing at all. Note: the end link studs have "flats" so you can hold it with a thin wrench during removal.
Sway bar end links: If you did not disconnect them above you can unload the sway bar with a bar/pipe and try to rotate/move each joint. It should be tight and not easily move. They connect between the sway bar and the strut tower. End links are about $10 each on the internet.
Tie rod ends: There are 2 on each side (inner and outer). You can hold the wheel at 3 and 9 o-clock and swivel it and look for movement in the tie rod linkage assembly. If there is, you need to figure out which is worn. The outer: hold the end and rotate it, it should be firm. When you move the wheel back and forth look for movement at the joint. If that is tight and the link moves, the inner joint may be bad.
Ball joint/control arm bushings. You can use a bar to test each but its much more effective to disconnect the ball joint to test it. If you don't disconnect the ball joint, use a bar to pry on the ends, you are looking for movement. This doesn't mean they are good. Bushings can disconnect from the metal, etc. IF you disconnect the ball joint, check it like the sway bar link ends. These are very easy to replace at this point and they are pretty low cost, < $40 each on the internet.
Since you're putting new tires on the car, you want all of this stuff in good shape. All these parts are wearable. Most people (including me) ignore them until things start acting up. I don't advocate replacing the strut (it's dangerous because of the coil spring), but the rest of it is very easy, and low cost, EXCEPT for the rack & pinion.
First of all, you need to check suspension issues with the car at it's normal ride height. The reason for this is that the parts wear the most in this position. I've checked tie rod ends, etc. when the car was raised and the wheel hanging and everything is great. Yet at normal height the part was toast.
If the struts are new, you cannot test it by pushing down on the fender. They are under significant load with the spring and the weight of the car. However, if you push down on the corner it should move smoothly but not all that much. There should be no groaning (a sign the shaft is binding on the strut tube). You have to know the difference between that and say a bushing that is bad. A bushing sounds more like a sqeak to me.
- Lift the car at the front and support by the control arms (using jack stands) for everything to follow. This will set the car like its still on the tires.
- Generally, joint testing is best done with the joint disconnected. However, they all have *boots* that keep dirt and water out. You don't want to damage the boots; a ball joint fork will most certainly destroy the boots. You can also use a bar or pipe to apply a lot of pressure to the component and rap it's anchor and it will pop the stud out. It's a pretty affective way to separate the joint but you have to be very careful not to hit anything like CV boots and brake parts, etc.
- You can also use a pry bar/pipe and look for movement. Joints should be solid and not move at all.
- If You separate a joint, the ball should not move easily. If you can lightly hold the stud and move it, or worse yet, move it with tip of you finger, it's toast.
- Bushings should be solid as well. However, with enough pressure you can compress the rubber so you have to be wary of that.
Sway bar bushings: You have to disconnect BOTH end links (at 1 end) to check this. The sway bar is under load when either end is connected. You will have to apply pressure downward (on the sway bar "L") to disconnect the end link. When 1 end is off on each side, the sway bar should unload so that the "L" is about horizontal (the end link bolt end as at the same level as the the 90 degree bend. The sway bar should not rotate around the bushing at all. Note: the end link studs have "flats" so you can hold it with a thin wrench during removal.
Sway bar end links: If you did not disconnect them above you can unload the sway bar with a bar/pipe and try to rotate/move each joint. It should be tight and not easily move. They connect between the sway bar and the strut tower. End links are about $10 each on the internet.
Tie rod ends: There are 2 on each side (inner and outer). You can hold the wheel at 3 and 9 o-clock and swivel it and look for movement in the tie rod linkage assembly. If there is, you need to figure out which is worn. The outer: hold the end and rotate it, it should be firm. When you move the wheel back and forth look for movement at the joint. If that is tight and the link moves, the inner joint may be bad.
Ball joint/control arm bushings. You can use a bar to test each but its much more effective to disconnect the ball joint to test it. If you don't disconnect the ball joint, use a bar to pry on the ends, you are looking for movement. This doesn't mean they are good. Bushings can disconnect from the metal, etc. IF you disconnect the ball joint, check it like the sway bar link ends. These are very easy to replace at this point and they are pretty low cost, < $40 each on the internet.
Since you're putting new tires on the car, you want all of this stuff in good shape. All these parts are wearable. Most people (including me) ignore them until things start acting up. I don't advocate replacing the strut (it's dangerous because of the coil spring), but the rest of it is very easy, and low cost, EXCEPT for the rack & pinion.
Last edited by kwatt; 10-27-2013 at 09:59 AM.
#8
10-27-2013, 02:13 PM
I like rockauto but I hunt around a lot. Rock auto is cheapest (so far for me anyway) but you pay shipping. If you hunt around sometimes you can find the same pricing and free shipping. many use FCP and there are a host of other sites.
Not counting shipping it will run between $150-$180 per wheel to rebuild everything.
- $50 for the struts
- $20 spring seat
- $25 upper mount
- $25 sring seat
- $15 bumper/bellows
If you deal with the rest.
- $35 for control arm
- $10 end links
That assumes you do all the work yourself. You'll need a front end alignment after taking the struts off.
The hardest thing in the list is the strut. You need a spring compressor for that and its a dangerous operation. I've done lots of them and I get nervous whenever I do that. IF you decide to do it, you will need a spring compressor. Make sur you look at EVERYTHING closely when taking it apart. The seat has to be installed correctly in the right place and the pring has to sit in the correct place.
Not counting shipping it will run between $150-$180 per wheel to rebuild everything.
- $50 for the struts
- $20 spring seat
- $25 upper mount
- $25 sring seat
- $15 bumper/bellows
If you deal with the rest.
- $35 for control arm
- $10 end links
That assumes you do all the work yourself. You'll need a front end alignment after taking the struts off.
The hardest thing in the list is the strut. You need a spring compressor for that and its a dangerous operation. I've done lots of them and I get nervous whenever I do that. IF you decide to do it, you will need a spring compressor. Make sur you look at EVERYTHING closely when taking it apart. The seat has to be installed correctly in the right place and the pring has to sit in the correct place.
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