2005 S60 2.5T engine perfect but vibrates at idle.

[jeljm]

I've just recently purchased the above car with 86,000 miles. Simply put it is in perfect condition both inside and out. The paint is like new and despite the previous owners using it to transport a large dog, the interior smells vaguely of "new car". In comparison to my 1998 v70 GLT with 220K miles the engine is unbelievably smooth and powerful.

So far all sounds well however, when idling after the engine reaches its typical idle rpm a rather strong low frequency vibration develops. It almost feels like the engine is idling lower than it should be (as if it were on the brink of a stall). The idle rpms are stable and the problem is worse while the car is in gear and the steering wheel is being turned especially if to full lock. The moment any amount of throttle is applied the engine is back to being as smooth as silk. I was aware of the idle when the car was purchased assuming there would be an easy fix. Upon inspecting the engine mounts the upper engine mount looks brand new, the lower front mount looks to be in fair shape but I'm not certain its in need of replacement. I have yet to look at the side mount or the lower rear engine mount.

My v70 used to vibrate quite badly so much in fact that the use of the ipd poly mounts actually made the issue much better. I am hesitant to use the ipd poly mounts on my wife's car as I dont want to risk introducing any more vibration than necessary. I was thinking it would be the ever so common etm issue but because the idle is so stable I have my doubts. Another observation I've had is that after the engine has been running for a while the vibrations become much better (provided the steering wheel is not at full lock). This again leads me to think a hardened rubber engine mount is softening up once warm.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has encountered these issues and if so obviously I would like to know what any of you have done to fix it. I'm fairly sure I'm going to be replacing some engine mounts but I'm not sure which one I want to start with. I hate throwing parts at cars. The S60 is my wife's primary car and I drive the v70 however, tomorrow I'll be taking the sedan to work and I'm hoping to do some more troubleshooting then.

Thanks again!

[JRL]

Many do this, nature of the design
Unless everything is new these get that tendency to vibrate a bit at idle.

Replace ALL THREE motor mounts
If that doesn't help then you need to replace the subframe mounts, (not cheap).

I would replace all three mounts first
Many neglect the lower front and lower rear mounts

[jeljm]

I must be honest I'm a bit afraid to replace the front and rear motor mounts as most of what I've read indicates that the engine must be jacked up enough to take the weight off the mount but not so much as to damage anything. I don't think I really know how to go about doing that. The Haynes manual is less than useless with respect to engine mounts.

There really needs to be a regular service interval on these things. It seems all to common for them to just wear out. Not fail but simply lose their effectiveness.

[precopster]

FCP Euro as well as IPD Volvo have a huge range of instrucional videos. I'm quite sure I saw motor mounts in amongst them possibly for the 850 which share a common design with your vehicle. Both companies have YouTube channels which contain all their videos.

Engine/trans mount replacement with the exception of the front and rear hydraulic mounts are one of the easiest repairs to do.

[jeljm]

Yeah I've pretty much done the other mounts on my v70 it's those front and rear mounts that worry me. I found the video from fcp and it doesn't look too bad. I just don't want to mess anything up when I jack up the engine. It should be fun.

[JRL]

I must be honest I'm a bit afraid to replace the front and rear motor mounts as most of what I've read indicates that the engine must be jacked up enough to take the weight off the mount but not so much as to damage anything. I don't think I really know how to go about doing that. The Haynes manual is less than useless with respect to engine mounts.

There really needs to be a regular service interval on these things. It seems all to common for them to just wear out. Not fail but simply lose their effectiveness.

Then have someone do it for you.
They do both, fail and/or lose effectiveness

Upper torque mounts are good for perhaps 40-60K miles.
The lower front mount is junk on an AWD at 100K
The rear tranny mount, about the same.
While that one may "look" OK, the small bushings are probably not OK.

Every single AWD Volvo I buy with miles over 70K the front lower mount is bad or going bad soon (weak)
I say AWD because FWD car mounts seem to last a while longer

[JRL]

Yeah I've pretty much done the other mounts on my v70 it's those front and rear mounts that worry me. I found the video from fcp and it doesn't look too bad. I just don't want to mess anything up when I jack up the engine. It should be fun.

What "other" mounts?
There's only one the upper torque mount

The subframe mounts usually last quite a long time and are not in my discussion
You don't really jack up the engine much, maybe all of a 1/2 inch, hold it in place, no big deal here!

[jeljm]

The others being the easy ones, upper engine and transmission torque mounts. Both are a piece if cake. Thanks for all the advice! I'm going to order the parts this weekend (Hutchinson parts from ipd). As far as lifting the the engine do you just put the jack under the oil pan?

[precopster]

Make sure you spread the load on the sump with a large pine 2' X 4" the longer the better so you don't get a jack shaped impression in your pan. You're lifting around 400lbs so not a huge stress on the jack.

[JRL]

I was going to reply and say the same thing.
My guy uses a piece of hard 1" x 6"