98 V70 Amazing Road Noise

v70dave · Post by **v70dave** » 04 Jan 2007, 14:10

I have a 98 V70 T5 with factory 5-speed. It has 101,450 miles on it, and I would like to take it to 250,000. Do they still award badges for that?

My real question is about road noise. In December '05 I replaced my trusty Goodyear Eagles with Kumho All-Season ECSTA ASX tires. They were louder and had noticeably less grip when cornering, but they were quite a bit less expensive. I expected that they would handle any snow we might get, but so far we haven't had any. Now if I'd bought another set of Eagles . . . but that's another story.

The Kumho tires ran OK for the first year, but in the past month, road noise has become extreme. Anything over 25 mph generates sympathetic vibrations in the dash, and above 50 you have to talk very loudly to be heard. My mechanic says the wheel bearings are fine, that it's just tire noise. Is he right? Is there a service/replacement interval for wheel bearings?

Also, there is a metallic clunking noise coming from the right front when the car slows or rolls over even the slightest bump. He lubed the steering lock outs and said it was OK. But the noise is still there!

Any thoughts or ideas will be very much appreciated.

By the way, the car is in Southeast Pennsylvania.

Thanks,

Dave

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 04 Jan 2007, 15:06

Welcome aboard Dave,

From what you describe you likely have a bad spring seat. It as a very common failure. Search the repair database for springseat, there are a couple of very good writeups that will show the problem as well as how to fix the problem.

The only other advice I can add is to replace both of them when you do it and to avoid the Scan Tech replacements if you do find that you have a bad one. Go with the OEM replacements.

Let us know what you find.

...Lee

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 04 Jan 2007, 15:47

Agreed. Happened to have these same tires on my old Protege and they were noisier than the stock Dunlops but I still liked them. That, coupled with the possibly bad spring seats are vibrations, clunking and over-all generally much more road noise and harshness.

v70dave · Post by **v70dave** » 05 Jan 2007, 05:50

Lee and MIJ, thank you. I'm going to check the suspension generally. The inspectable parts pass but it may be the right time to replace the major components as suggested in the repair database. I will keep this thread current as I go through the process.

Another question: the A/C shop says the evaporator has failed, and the dash must come out in order to replace it. Bill will be $1,100, $220 of it in parts. I didn't see this problem in the database . . . do you have any experience with this one?

Many thanks,

Dave

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 05 Jan 2007, 06:59

Another question: the A/C shop says the evaporator has failed, and the dash must come out in order to replace it. Bill will be $1,100, $220 of it in parts. I didn't see this problem in the database . . . do you have any experience with this one?

Fortunately I have not yet had to change mine. In general there are 2 types of Volvo evaporators, those that have failed or those that will fail. It is a huge job, here are a couple of links to some pictures of what is involved. The Swedespeed link has an excellent gallery of pictures. If it were me, I would also change the heater core at the same time, they fail just as often. While the heater core can be fixed without removing the entire dash it is an easier fix with the dash completely out of the way.

http://www.volvospeed.com/Repair/ac.php

http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=8235

...Lee

Post by **JRL** » 05 Jan 2007, 07:00

v70dave wrote:Lee and MIJ, thank you. I'm going to check the suspension generally. The inspectable parts pass but it may be the right time to replace the major components as suggested in the repair database. I will keep this thread current as I go through the process.

Another question: the A/C shop says the evaporator has failed, and the dash must come out in order to replace it. Bill will be $1,100, $220 of it in parts. I didn't see this problem in the database . . . do you have any experience with this one?

Many thanks,

Dave

You don't see a problem in the database???
EVERY SINGLE 850-V70 will at sometime ned an evaporator a very known failure point and at $1100 is a STEAL, most want $1500 to replace.
The noise is either a strut mount, a spring seat or a sway bar link, ALL common failure points at your miles.
If you're keeping it, just bite the bullet and replace the front suspension, it's due. New struts, inner and outer tie rods, new strut mounts and spring seats and it will feel brand new again.
As for the noise, Kumhos, Sumotumos and Toyos (along with many others) will get VERY noisy after 10K miles. JUNK tires, you get what you pay for

v70dave · Post by **v70dave** » 06 Jan 2007, 08:48

I drove to Wilmington yesterday and the car howled all the way home. We put it up last night. There is a distinct rumble in the left front wheel when rotated. It's still tight when I pull at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock. The right front doesn't make noise, and is still tight. I'm shopping for a hub assembly.

Thanks for the advice on the A/C. I didn't know about the heater core. I will schedule that repair, as it's probably too much for me.

v70dave · Post by **v70dave** » 10 Jan 2007, 12:49

Wheel hub asssembly was shot. I needed the car right away, so the dealer in the next town did it for $385 including $206 for the part (about $60 more than FCPGroton). I think I could have done it, but wasn't sure if the ball joint had to come apart.

Thanks everyone for the input. Spring seats are next, and the evaporator is after that.

v70dave · Post by **v70dave** » 12 Jan 2007, 12:48

RF spring mount was changed out today and now the metallic clunking noise is gone. My mechanic did the job for $148.40 including $42.50 for the part and then tax. The car has quieted down quite a bit. He advised against changing the struts, etc. until they show more wear.

Last oil change it was down 1/2 quart; this oil change it's down 1 quart. Possibly a PCV clog?

A/C: Evaporator replacement scheduled for early February.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 12 Jan 2007, 16:10

With over 100K miles on your car, change our your pcv system ASAP. It will make a big difference and most likely keep you from blowing an engine seal or two.