1998 s70 Strut Mount/Bearing not sitting flush

JRev · Post by **JRev** » 01 Nov 2014, 14:46

Hi Forum, first time poster and just after some advice as I've had a lot of work done on my S70 by a garage and it passed its MOT with no advisories but there is something not correct with the front suspension.

Over certain potholes I get a severe bang from the drivers side which concerns me. Aside from that the car feels really tight, steering feels great, it rides smoothly but I've attached two photos of the top strut mount.

Two issues are the cracked rubber but what concerns me is that it isn't sitting flush and I've been advised its possibly the strut bearing but before I go about getting the right tools/parts, can anyone possibly offer some advice on what could be causing the strut not to be sitting flush?

Thanks!

JRev · Post by **JRev** » 01 Nov 2014, 15:04

And just to add, if the car sits over night and is used early morning in cold weather, there is a rattle noise from the drivers side which lasts literally 5-10 seconds then doesn't occur again.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 01 Nov 2014, 16:26

The top cap washer is obviously bad and, judging from the shot from above, either the spring seat or the strut bearing is completely shot as well. The cap washer should be, more or less, centered on the strut bearing as you look at it from above.

...Lee

JRev · Post by **JRev** » 01 Nov 2014, 17:16

Ozark Lee wrote:The top cap washer is obviously bad and, judging from the shot from above, either the spring seat or the strut bearing is completely shot as well. The cap washer should be, more or less, centered on the strut bearing as you look at it from above.

...Lee

Cheers Lee. Gives me a better idea. Just can't believe this wasn't picked up on the MOT and just wondering if there was any chance of the strut coming completely loose as after the garage doing work on the car and giving it an MOT, I was expecting to receive a car that had all the key components which effect safety checked for problems.

Post by **scot850** » 01 Nov 2014, 23:58

In the first picture there also looks like a lot of rust in the recess around the top of the strut. It could be a failed strut top mount or bearing, but it could also be a failed/rusted out top strut recess. IT also looks like the strut may have been assembled incorrectly. The top star nut looks like it is missing.

Neil.

Post by **rmmagow** » 02 Nov 2014, 08:45

here's a good pic of the components that make up the the strut. I see you're in the UK. I don't know how shipping works from like say Amazon, but they have a Gabriel setup, strut, spring etc the whole shebang for about 160.00 a side. This pic is from Tasca, their shipping is known to be high.
http://www.tascaparts.com/auto-parts/19 ... nents-scat

Post by **rmmagow** » 02 Nov 2014, 08:48

The Amazon thing:
https://www.amazon.com/Gabriel-G57040-Re ... ut+gabriel

If you do this, be sure to get to Amazon via this site.
Good Luck

JRev · Post by **JRev** » 02 Nov 2014, 08:54

Cheers for the replies. The shocks and new mounts where put in at 95000 miles and the car is now at just over 130000 miles so if they where installed incorrectly then I assume I would have had some major symptoms in-between but really the ride has been smooth and its only recently I've been getting some strange thumps over certain potholes.

I was looking at a strut assembly as I'm wanting to get a whole new setup either side but in the UK they don't have much other then buying seperate, other then this on ebay (ships from germany), but don't know if they are a good brand.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-X-Shock-Str ... 43d1d3f990

This morning when checking the mount, it was now sitting flush but after moving the car up and back through the drive it was back to the positions in the pics posted, will keep this updated with the result incase someone has a similar problem!

JRev · Post by **JRev** » 02 Nov 2014, 12:00

rmmagow wrote:here's a good pic of the components that make up the the strut. I see you're in the UK. I don't know how shipping works from like say Amazon, but they have a Gabriel setup, strut, spring etc the whole shebang for about 160.00 a side. This pic is from Tasca, their shipping is known to be high.
http://www.tascaparts.com/auto-parts/19 ... nents-scat

Forget to mention thanks for that link as gives me a better idea of all the components.

Post by **cn90** » 02 Nov 2014, 14:30

I use Bilstein TC throughout.

FRONT DIY:
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... hp?t=28455

REAR DIY:
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... hp?t=28318