2001 V70 T5 Vibration when suspension under load

DamoV70T5 · Post by **DamoV70T5** » 06 Aug 2013, 12:02

I was thinking of the Sachs kit. The spring seat is the same in both kits though (Boge) and this seems to be first thing to go.

I am going to look at my LCAs. I saw one test on YouTube which indicated the LCA was shot by turning the steering wheel with the wheels on the ground (engine running) and watching the joints flex under load. For these I was thinking Myele HD and genuine volvo ball joints.

Damo

covert24 · Post by **covert24** » 06 Aug 2013, 12:38

If you get up under the car you can tell if the LCA bushings are shot or at least I was before I replaced mine with the Meyle HD ones on fcp. The front bushing (one with the 2 mounting holes on either side) is usually the one to blow out as the stock design is flawed. After I installed the meyle hd's, my front suspension felt brand new again. I got the kit that came with the HD lca's and 2 meyle ball joints although I would go OEM with the ball joints as the meyle ones suck. Ended up having to reuse one of my old ones as the boot popped on one of the meyles as I was guiding it into the hub. The HD lca's come highly recommended by yours truly though

DamoV70T5 · Post by **DamoV70T5** » 06 Aug 2013, 14:18

Thanks. Yep , front LCA bushing driver's side is pretty bad and there is some flex in the front bushing on the passenger side. Might as well take a look at the tie rods as well. "In for a penny, in for a pound" as they say.

Damo

DamoV70T5 · Post by **DamoV70T5** » 08 Aug 2013, 10:23

Just got my CA reigistration renewal and I have to get it smogged to renew. Looked back at the previous smog paperwork that I have from the previous owner. Last smog before I bought the car (120k miles, $6k) it was at the HC limit at 15 mph (50 ppm). So I will wait till I get through the smog test before pulling the trigger on the suspension parts buy.

Damo

DamoV70T5 · Post by **DamoV70T5** » 12 Aug 2013, 18:01

Tie rods seem okay.

Just passed smog - Yay! Still a little high on the HC PPM at 15 MPH. These are the smog data for my car based on the records I have.

I'd like to know what happened to the car between the 87K and 105K tests where the HC at 15 MPH dropped from 50 to 26 (and then back up to 50 for the next smog at 119K) but that's a different discussion / story.

Almost ready to pull the trigger on the suspension components (I get a bit hyper-analytical when it comes to spending money).

Damo

DamoV70T5 · Post by **DamoV70T5** » 23 Aug 2013, 15:42

Just an update. Parts came in from FCP yesterday.

Replaced upper and lower torque mounts last night, both were pretty bad. The top one had been replaced by the previous owner but was shot. The bottom one was a mixed bag, larger bushing seemed okay, but the smaller one was basically not there, almost no rubber left. Both replacements were Hutchinson.

Started on the original problem (passenger drive axle) this morning. 6 hours (!) later I had a new Empire axle, Myele HD LCA and Myele HD sway bar link, Lemforder ball joint and Sachs/Boge spring seat. Although not a stranger to wrenches, this was tough going for me. I have never done much suspension work and never taken a pair of spring compressors to a strut. At one point could have done with a pair or additional arms (preferably stronger than mine) as I found myself trying to man-handle the axle into the wheel while trying to get the LCA (with ball joint) down below the hub, all while basically holding the hub assembly up on my knees. Not a pretty sight. But it all went together eventually.

Quick spin around the block and it definitely is better. Can't say she feels like new because I have never driven a new T5 and I still have the driver's side LCA (which is very bad) to do.

I cheaped out on the struts, opting just to replace the seat and not get the full kit as the struts and mounts seem fine. As it was, with shipping, some filters, and other sundries it came to $720.

Tomorrow I'll get the driver's side LCA and sway bar link in.

Damo

Post by **vtl** » 23 Aug 2013, 16:10

LCA installation goes much easier if you compress strut spring.

DamoV70T5 · Post by **DamoV70T5** » 23 Aug 2013, 16:48

Yep. Might try that on the other side tomorrow. Thanks to the tip.

Damo

DamoV70T5 · Post by **DamoV70T5** » 24 Aug 2013, 17:30

Okay - all done. LCA, Ball joint and sway bar link replaced on driver's side. Nice and solid at the front now.

Vtl, I tried compressing the strut spring, but the compressors I have are quite bulky and were getting caught between the spring and body. Gratuitous use of the jack eventually got the ball joint into the LCA.

Thanks all for the help and the advice.

Damo

2001 V70 T5 Vibration when suspension under load

Re: 2001 V70 T5 Vibration when suspension under load