I have a '00 S70 with 86k on it. Car feels very sloppy and disconnected. When going around turns and hitting imperfections car tends to be very tippy/sloppy. I sometimes have to steer to recover the cars position.

Took it to the dealer and they said that both upper strut mounts are broken and both inner tie rods are worn.
I then took it to the reputable volvo indie that specializes in 850/S70's and was told that it needed new control arms and spring seats. I had them replace the control arms/ball joints. The steering feels much better but car is still sloppy.

I'm a college student and don't want to throw money at the car at this point in time, so am not sure what to do.....

The front end is COMPLETELY squeak/clunk-free from inside the car and everything I have read about spring seats seems to imply that I should hear noises? The suspension is actually quieter than the junky clunky setup on my mom's XC90.

Please help!! Thanks, Joe

 

Ok well you kind of answered your own question.

Your a college student who doesn't want to pour money into your car at this point. So don't.

However if you can't stand the problems your having then get them fixed. You can purchase parts over the internet cheaper then you can from the dealership and I suggest you do and then either install them yourself or have a local mech you trust do it.

 

If your tie rods are broken, when you make a turn the tires will feel like they are kinda "rolling" over on themselves. Fix that and the car will feel much better. My upper strut mounts are cracked aswell, but of the two jobs I went with the tie rods, since i didnt have money for both.

 

You are screwed either way Joe, You can't drive it like it is without it getting worse and you can't sell the car with a loose front end without knocking a grand off the car's value.

So fix it and live on Ramen noodles

 

Oh I know, I will get all of these things fixed this spring. I like to do stuff myself but am in MA right now for winter break. I use the car down in Washington DC. I'm thinking that I should just wait until I come back home and have time/the weather on my side.

I'm just concerned because I seemed to have gotten two completely different answers for a pretty basic problem. The shop that said it was the control arms said the tie rods were "great", yet the dealer said they were trashed....

 

Yeah I think we are in the same situation, it does feel like that....

 

Have a pre purchase inspection done at one more shop and see what they say.
Most shops won't charge for the inspection.

 

Well get the tie rods fixed, those keep the wheel viertical when making turns and going over bumps. The broken strut mounts i ahve been driving on for months, only thing i can tell is if I hit a pot hole it hits back hard. It hit back alot harder when teh tie rods where out since the wheels were not bouncing up vertically, which spazzed out my shocks.

 

I was searching google to find information and found this old post that I forgot I had written haha....which leads me to the same issue.

Within the last 5,000 miles car has had the following replaced:
- Both front struts (OEM)
- Both front spring seats
- Inner and outer tie rods
- Both front lower control arms
- Front sway bar links
- rear shocks (Bilstein Touring)
- different tires/wheels

The handling is still incredibly sloppy, whenever I hit an imperfection while turning (yes...at low speed) the car seems to jolt to the outside of the turn. Just had the alignment checked, and the strut mounts for the 3rd time (all thats left up front?). The steering is incredibly sloppy and unresponsive, is this normal?

I'm really not looking to spend money on aftermarket performance parts right now....I'm just not sure what else it could be?
Any ideas? Thanks, -Joe

 

How about the sway bar inner bushings are they good?
Is the rear swap bar broke?

 

Worn out steering rack? Bad hubs?