First off sorry for long post!

My 98 V70 has presented a new problem. Going down our NC country roads above 50mph it develops a frightening steering issue. The issue is this, on sharp but sweeping corners to the left (mostly, some times right) the car will jump to the direction of the turn. Meaning if you are going through turn, and you have hold to the wheel, it is as if someone reached through the window and jerked the wheel in that direction. The wheel does not move in your hands just the car responds as an over correction. This does not happen at low speeds just high speeds. This issue came to light after I noticed it needed an alignment. I replaced the inner and outer tie rods(per shop diagnosis), new tires, and alignment.

 

You need to check the suspension again or have another shop check it for you. If one shop did an alignment, they should have made sure everything was good. Ball joints, struts, shock mounts, etc., can cause bad steering stress issues.

 

I should have added the car did not have the problem before the work. I did the work, the shop did the alignment. My quote from the shop for 2 tires, 1 inner tie rod, and alignment was almost 800.00. They did the alignment (best shop in this area, most will not do Volvo) returned car to them right away. I really trust the guy, we have been friends for long time. He just did what I asked of him. After looking into it further he says lower ball joint on pass side.

 

To bring this to a close, it was my lower control arms. I am quite embarrassed to say that I completely over looked these very important parts. The bushings warn to the point you could grab them and move side to side. Doing a visual inspection everything looked fine. Up on jack stands with a push and shove, OH Boy! What really makes me upset is that # 1 daughter has this car at college, and I let it out of the driveway like that. Check the control arms people!

 

A reputable alignment shop won't even do the alignment if you have excessive play in ball joints or tie rods, etc. They know it's a waste of money and you won't be happy.

 

And these experiences are why I do ALL my own work. If you're doing your own work, you should be doing your own inspections to verify the necessary repairs. I even do my own laser alignments in the driveway.

Chalk it up to experience - and keep wrenching!

 

On my 99 V70, I had replaced the lower control arm with an integral pressed in ball joint. The trick to getting it tight was to measure the hub to fender height on the ground, remove bad parts, replace the control arm, jack up the ball joint end of lower control arm after replacement so hub height was the same as when on the ground, then torque the control arm frame bolts. Worked like a charm. Firestone said it was too loose and wouldn't align. I found this tip somewhere online, so I'm not originator, but it worked for me.