2001 S60 Axles and Motor Mounts Bad

[blackguy_with_volvo]

First and foremost, gotta thank you guys for helping me diagnose my last issue with my turbo. Got it changed successfully.

New Issue:

Recently, for the past two months, I have noticed a vibration when accelarating on the freeway. Took the car to a mechanic known as Leo at Signal Hill Foreign Auto in Long Beach. He told me that 2 motor mounts were broken, the top and the right motor mounts. Additionally, he said the axle boots on both the front right and fron left axels were broken.

Question1: What is more important to address, motor mounts or axle boots?

Question 2: 2 seperate mechanics have told me if I am going to replace the axel boots, then I should just replace the whole axle. Should I do this?

Question 3: I'm a college student and my paid internship is almost over. If I am only planning to keep the car for another year, should I get all of these parts used from a European auto parts yard instead of rebuilt or new?

[volvosalvage]

The axle boots, no question. If the axles are still good, than just do the boots. They're very inexpensive.

If you want to buy good used motor mounts, contact me. I could make you a deal on them.

[marshallh]

If the axle boots are bad and have allowed grime and abrasives inside the joint, your CV joint will grind itself down regardless of whether you fix the boot. If it's a very small tear or the grease inside is otherwise clean, you can get away with just fixing the rubber boot surround.

Yes I would just get some remanufactured axles. For something like $80-100 each you can get the entire CV joint replaced, which you'll need to do anyway.

The motor mounts will just cause clunking and annoying bumps/sounds.

[scot850]

I disagree with the view motor mounts are only going to make an annoying noise. The 2 mounts that have broken take a lot of stress over the years and eventually the rubber splits or delaminates from the metal. This allows the motor to move more than designed and can cause the radiator to flex due to the water pipes being pulled further than planned. This can cause the radiator to split.

If you can get the parts used and cheap, then go for it. The top mount is not too expensive, or difficult to replace, nor the one under the crank pulley.

On the drive axles, I rather use good used Volvo ones over re-manufactured parts. I've had to replace too many poorly repaired units that lasted only months. If you have a mechanic you trust, ask them to give an opinion of replace over repair as marshallh says, if they have been split for a long time, no amount of repair will save them. Labor is the biggest cost, so take that into account when making a decision. How much time/cost to repair if you have to do the job twice over, v's using good parts the first time and paying one to have it done right.

Good luck.

Neil.