I took my 98 v70 in for a look over before a trip.
they said it was in good condition except the hand brake was binding and the front motor mount was broken.

How common is it to break a front motor mount? How difficult is it to change it? could a DIY'er tackle this?

Does the hand brake use the outer brake rotor or an inner drum like the older volvos I'm more familiar with?

Car has 132,000 km on it and is a 5 speed manual transmission.

While I'm on the subject, I posted in another thread that under the hood the vin tag indicates the car is made in
belgium, not Sweden. Any differences in the car of note??

Thanks, T.

 

Did they tell you the Hydrolic mount in the front of the car. Or the front engine on the right side of the car?

The and Brake uses the inside of the rotor as a drum.

The cars made in Belguim are supposed to be the best made ones.

 

they did not define it, is only described as front engine mount.

I see looking in the engine bay, there is what appears to be large rubber damper that connects to the
front cross member, which is then connected to the front of the engine block.

I did not realize there as more than 2 engine mounts.

And that is good news if the better ones are from Belgium.....season's greetings, from snowy nova scotia.

 

When I turn the steering wheel, there is this annoying rubbing sound. Sounds like hollow plastic.

I suspect it is something in the cover that surrounds the steering column.

Given all that is electronic in this car and particularly the air bags, is this something I could tackle myself?

thanks, T

 

You can inspect the rubber mount. Look for the pin in the middle of the mount. If the pin is bottomed out then the mount is bad. Or look closely where it meets the Subframe. See if the bottom of the rubber has been hitting the Subframe.
If so it is bad.

The rubbing noise is it at full turn?
If not it could be the contact real.

It isn't that hard to replace.You have to have a long T-30 bit and disconnect the battery.
You can remove the steering column covers and inspect.

 

It occurs while I'm turning the wheel. Particularly loud if I'm trying to make a sharp turn, in a parking lot for example.

Thanks for all your insight...Terry

 

If you have the wheel turned all the way then most likely you have DRY steering stops.

 

I'm not certain this is an external problem.

It really sounds like the noise is coming from the steering column in and around the
where the ignition is located.

As I said, it occurs DURING the wheel turning process.

I'll have a look at it upon return to warmer climes, too cold here now.

thanks, T.

 

I had to replace an upper motor mount and and lower right motor mount at 315km. It appears that the third motor mount is still going strong. I suspect when motor mounts go, they go in tandem. Seems that yours went quite early.

 

iceracer, I read about this on another forum.... the squeaking/rubbing/grinding sound you hear when you turn your steering wheel (my '98 v70xc does it too) is from a worn bushing in the steering column. I've read that lubing it is a decent temp fix or you can try to replace the part which sounds like a half day project.

 

hey man, i had the same problem, and it is deceiving as to were the sound comes from. your best bet is to get some silicone lube and a screwdriver and right at the bottom of the steering coloumn (inside the car) you will see a rubber boot that is fitted inside another rubber boot(rubber on rubber good idea huh)very carefully seperate them just enough to get the nozzle of the spray can in spray it at both extremes of wheel turn and move it around a lot while its still wet, should work for a couple months(much worse in the winter)

 

Thanks for the info on squeaky steering wheel I'll check that out.

I also picked up a cabin filter and will attempt to change on my own, (dealer wanted 85.00 including filter)

I have noticed another glitch. When I first start the car, I notice the headlights dim if I turn on anything electrical (seat warmers for example, which by the way I'm really beginning to enjoy now that it's cold out). It seems to be more noticable when the car is first started. Could this be the battery starting to give up?

It's probably the original battery in the car, although I don't know for sure as I bought the car used.

Thanks, Terry