1999 V70 Front Suspension noise

paredown · Post by **paredown** » 12 Mar 2015, 11:40

I purchased the full front end kit from FCPEuro and got the beater Volvo back together last spring around this time.

This was a first time adventure for me, so not without its mishaps, but I was able to get the car aligned, so it tracks, handles and steers decently.

Unfortunately. I am still getting some clunking in the (mainly passenger side) front end--occasionally it is the 'reset' kind of noise like when the strut tower changes direction, and definitely some clunking/rattling when I hit the connected potholes that New York calls roads.

First (and idiot) question--how tight should the top of the strut tower look? On the passenger side (where I hear the noise) I can actually see a gap between the top washer--actually a little on both sides...

Other than that--where do I begin?

paredown · Post by **paredown** » 13 Mar 2015, 09:29

I dug out the FCP front end kit details:
*spring seats
*control arms
*bump stops
*dust boots
*swaybar links
*outer tie rod ends
*OEM struts and XC strut mounts--I splurged for the OEM Volvo HD seats that I no longer see on the FCP site

I also replaced the upper motor mount

Gonna recheck the endlinks per this thread:
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=33170

I have had the wheels off once and checked for loose bolts etc, but I am about to do some brake maintenance, so I will have a chance to check things.

Any assistance is appreciated.

Cees Klumper · Post by **Cees Klumper** » 13 Mar 2015, 11:48

I don't see the upper strut bearings in the kit list and from the photos it seems you didn't replace them. If so, that might explain the issue.

paredown · Post by **paredown** » 13 Mar 2015, 12:06

Cees Klumper wrote:I don't see the upper strut bearings in the kit list and from the photos it seems you didn't replace them. If so, that might explain the issue.

Sorry--I called them "mounts"--those were the XC heavy duty ones...

mika · Post by **mika** » 13 Mar 2015, 12:23

Keep in mind, city roads are bad.... noise is OK from a car, even with stock suspension.
A lot of my "clunking" from the front end cleared up when I installed IPDs subframe poly inserts.

Don't ever lower your car if its a daily driver in the city.
It sounds like you replaced the entire front end suspension and some steering components, this might be the best it will get with the car. Might be the dash too and all the trim around that area.

*your pictures look good, doesn't look like anything is off

Post by **JRL** » 13 Mar 2015, 13:11

Not spring seats the BEARING PLATES
You also could have a bad strut

I had a nasty clunking noise on my 06, replaced everything... noise was still there! (*^#(&*^(#*$&#
Finally traced it down to a bad strut at only 63K miles

And some front end clunks are NOT "OK"

Post by **dosbricks** » 13 Mar 2015, 13:29

JRL is talking about strut mounts (steel top plate with bearing in it), not the XC rubber spring seats with the molded in steel bushing. These terms get confused all the time.

Agree that a healthy suspension should not make noise. I'm replacing struts right now because a Sachs OEM failed at 47k. It was making a loud "guish-guish" noise going over bumps.

There's a catastrophic-Koni-failure thread concurrently on the front forum page.

Confound these winter roads!!!

paredown · Post by **paredown** » 13 Mar 2015, 16:28

dosbricks wrote:JRL is talking about strut mounts (steel top plate with bearing in it), not the XC rubber spring seats with the molded in steel bushing. These terms get confused all the time.

...

It's confusing because of the way FCP bundles parts--but the actual item listed was "Volvo Strut Mount and Spring Seats Kit-OEM" and this included the OEM XC spring seats and new strut mounts (the metal piece). Sorry for the confusion.

So I have essentially all new parts in the front and have been disappointed it didn't make all the noises go away.

Now there are other random rattles/noises--the passenger seat headrest, and the passenger seatbelt retainer. And I'm getting some random noises from the belly pan that is damaged (and rubs)--this car was driven hard and put away wet.

Aside from the 'reset' kind of noise (very occasionally), I will get a knock/rattle only on the passenger side and pretty much only when I hit a series of depressions in the road where the wheel kind of oscillates a few times, and I hear a knocking that does seem to be suspension related.

So my question remains--if I scrutinize my work what should I be checking?

Thanks all!

IG-88A · Post by **IG-88A** » 13 Mar 2015, 19:13

I did a suspension refresh on my wagon last year, sans shocks and struts. All was fine for a day or two. Then I started hearing a clunk when going over uneven pavement. Turns out that one of the swaybar endlinks wasn't fully seated. I was able to tighten it down to where I thought it should have been good, but it wasn't because the bolt wasn't in as far as it would go. Sometimes those things can be a pain to get flush again. Just a thought.

Post by **dosbricks** » 13 Mar 2015, 19:24

If you can't replicate the noise by bouncing the car up and down, then when you have the wheels off and the car on jack stands, jack up the suspension unit with a floor jack against the bottom of the ball joint (I pad it with a little circle of plywood). Then let it down quickly, listening all the while for any noises that shouldn't be there.