Front end issues - '05 S60 2.5T

toddb1975 · Post by **toddb1975** » 01 Mar 2016, 18:31

As the title says, I'm having issues getting the front end fixed on my 2005 Volvo S60 2.5T. My son had what I thought was a minor accident in my car recently. He was driving at night and swerved to miss a deer. He successfully dodged the suicidal doe, but hit a standard curb high median on the driver's side. He hit hard enough that it blew the tire and bent the wheel. Luckily the local junk yard had a matching wheel on hand for $30. I purchased it and put a new tire on it, slapped it on the car, and thought I was good. Everything in the wheel well looked ok. I drove the car down the road a few blocks and it felt good. I went to make a quick U-turn, hard a loud 'pop', and the front driver's side of the car dropped to the ground. The ball joint had snapped, and the wheel popped out of the control arm. When this happened the cv axle separated at the rear 'knuckle' *near the transmission). I then had to pay $100 to have my car towed 3 blocks back to my drive way. I purchased and installed a new ball joint and cv axle. I checked the bushings on the control arm and the wheel bearings as best I knew how while I had everything disassembled and they seem to be in decent shape. The problem is, after reassembling everything, the camber is waaay off. The bottom of the wheel is significantly further out then the top. Additionally there is a popping coming from the front left wheel like I would expect to hear from a failing cv joint. The car also creaks and squeaks like something straight out of a haunted house. I'm not sure where to go from here. Could a good alignment to correct the camber fix the remaining issues? Is the bad camber an indication of something else being out of whack? Do I need to look at replacing the spring (I'm assuming that's what's doing all the squeaking)? What else would cause the popping sound other then cv axle and ball joint? Hopefully I don't need to replace the strut since I had them replaced about 6 months ago.

As you can tell... I'm no mechanic, but I'm mechanically inclined and YouTube is my friend...lol Any help to point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Post by **matthew1** » 01 Mar 2016, 18:46

Did the frame get bent? Have him drive it at 5-10mph, and follow behind to view if the car is "crabbing". Look down both the left and the right.

jjc1 · Post by **jjc1** » 01 Mar 2016, 18:59

I'd be very surprised if the strut wasn't bent. Would also be concerned about the frame on that side. Also check the inner/outer tie rods. I'd change the strut, and top strut bushing and bearing and then attempt to have it aligned. If it won't align, you'll need to have a collision shop evaluate the frame.

toddb1975 · Post by **toddb1975** » 01 Mar 2016, 19:19

@matthew1 - It's dark right now, but I'll definitely check this out tomorrow and let you know. My first instinct is to say that the frame is okay simply because the car feels good when driving it other then the fact that it seems to "pull" you into the lane when changing lanes (which I assume is alignment related), as well as the aforementioned squeaks and pops. However, I want to be sure, so I'll do as suggested, and let you know tomorrow.

@jjc1 - I was really hoping it wouldn't be the strut as I just had them replaced, but I'm afraid this may be the case as well. Seeing how the wheel was sitting in the wheel well after the ball joint broke, its hard to imagine how it wouldn't have gotten bent or damaged in some way. That being said, I did visually inspect it for any obvious bends or damage when I replaced the ball and cv joints, and found none. Maybe It's time I throw in the towel and pay a front end specialist to look at it...

Oh! I completely failed to mention something in the original post. In order to get everything back in place, I had to loosen the three top bolts to the strut, up under the hood. When I finished with the ball joint and cv joint, I went to tighten the strut bolts back down, and one of the 3 will not tighten down completely. It tightens to a point, but then goes loose again. The threads on the strut look fine, so I assume the threads on the nut are damaged. I haven't stopped by to pick up a replacement nut yet. Is it possible that by not being able to fully tighten this nut, that its not pulling the strut into the proper position?

Post by **abscate** » 02 Mar 2016, 04:40

I'm guessing either the lower control arm or the steering knuckle is badly bent. You probably have to take everything off and compare to new parts.a small bend in these components, like millimeters, has a big impact on alignment.

Post by **oragex** » 02 Mar 2016, 06:58

As above, try to look again at the lower control arm and see if it has kept it's shape. Hard to see while installed on the car but still. Maybe one of the bolts has snapped. It is in alloy so perhaps more flexible than other steel components. Also look for cracks. A specialist may or may not be honest. They may make you spend lots without pointing to the exact issue. Rather they usually go by guessing. It's good to check first by yourself and take the time; it will help you learn quite a bit and it will be literally priceless in the future

Verify visually if the spring did not break. IF the spring is not broken, I would suggest getting a spring compressor, break loose the top strut bolt (do not remove the top strut bolt at this point), remove the spring/strut assembly, install the spring compressor - read online how to work with it properly and safely, disassemble all parts and inspect one by one. You can depress the strut and inspect the rod for bending.

Inspect the tie rod, perhaps by disconnecting it. I had the same accident and my tie rod needed replacing.

If the steering wheel is not at center, the alignment is off.

The CV joint that separated at the transmission was not necessarily a problem if the dust boot didn't tear. That CV joint can slide out and be put back in, it's not fixed in the axial direction. Do you still have it? Replacement/remaned axles are known to be of poor quality and cause vibrations at highway speeds.