Loud POP when opening 850's driver side door Topic is solved

moesvolvo · Post by **moesvolvo** » 23 May 2017, 20:42

Hey guys,

So I recently bought a 850 GLT Wagon for a couple of hundred bucks, and have noticed this popping sound after a few days of owning the car. The popping is starting to make me feel like I'm gonna break the door right off!

Does it need to be welded, or possibly drill it and bolt a plate? I've attached a video and a few photos for reference, linked below:

https://goo.gl/photos/jQs8SMSktpncpWUt6

I have no welder friends, unless any of you so happen to be in the Metro-Detroit area!

Post by **theWIFES_S70** » 23 May 2017, 20:57

Hey moe, either way is fine. There are writeups and photos of each on here somewhere. You could run to a muffler shop and see if they'd weld it for you.

Post by **scot850** » 23 May 2017, 20:59

Yes it will need a repair of some sort as there is clearly a crack in the 'A' pillar running below the check strap. The check strap can also cause that noise when it fails, but you have at least a bad crack. There have been a few shade tree repairs done successfully by guys on MVS and have been posted, done without the help of a welder.

If you can get it repaired by a welder, the door takes very little to remove as the wiring harness twists loose after undoing a Torx screw, another Torx screw/bolt on the 'A' pillar holding the check strap in place and a few bolts (can't remember how many 4?) at the hinges and the door lifts off.

Neil.

moesvolvo · Post by **moesvolvo** » 23 May 2017, 21:33

Thanks for the suggestions so far, guys! I'll try asking a muffler shop. Hopefully it shouldn't cost much, yes?

This torx set should be good for removing the wiring harness and bolts on the A pillar, yeah?

https://www.amazon.com/Oria-Precision-S ... driver+set

Post by **erikv11** » 23 May 2017, 22:26

To be clear, you do not remove the hinges to pull the door off. Apparently some of the popular videos show removing the door by unbolting the hinges but that is definitely not the way to do it.

Each hinge has one small external torx (e-torx) bolt that is basically a pin, remove one pin from each hinge and the door lifts right up and off. Leave the hinges bolted where they are on both the door and the pillar, unless you want to mess with readjustments and awkwardly maneuvering the door. I don't know what size that little e-torx bolt is, maybe like E-8, or perhaps you can even use a socket on it. I know I have an e-torx that fits it, I can post up the size later if you need.

For the check strap it is a single T-40 torx screw/bolt. In the torx kit you linked the bits are tiny, the kit is for electronics and won't be of much use for your car. Get something like this, at whatever quality level you are comfortable for tools (any auto parts store will have a set like this, for example):

Be prepared for the check strap to be broken too, inside the door, as that is very common. I'd check it while the door is off, that would make it easy to replace it.

Post by **rspi** » 24 May 2017, 04:46

Replace the check strap first, it broke and caused all of the other issues.

Post by **850 LPT** » 24 May 2017, 05:49

For what it's worth, I have done this repair a few years ago on my XC. If you want to do it right it takes a bit of time because ideally you will want to prime and paint the area when it's all done. As others have said, removing the door is a piece of cake.

You can check it out here:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=58473

I don't know if this is an option for you, but you can by a MIG welder at Harbour Freight for little money. Practice a little if you haven't welded before and then go for it.

Dirk

AKJeeper · Post by **AKJeeper** » 24 May 2017, 10:06

I've got to deal with the exact same problem with my new-to-me 2000 V70. The check strap had failed, which put excessive force on the a-pillar bracket and broke it right off of its original spot welds.

Glad to see that the doors are really easy to take off of these cars. For the time being, I removed the faulty check strap and put the bolt back through the bracket so it wouldn't fall into the a-pillar void.

I don't think there's enough meat there to drill a hole through the pillar and bracket to secure it with a self tapping screw or some kind of nut/bolt.

moesvolvo · Post by **moesvolvo** » 24 May 2017, 13:27

Thanks for all the detailed info guys. The process seems pretty straightfoward. I'll remove the door/panel, replace the check strap, get the A pillar mount welded and hope that this gunshot popping will stop. Thankfully, this is the only major cosmetic repair this car needs, and I got for $900!

And yep, I won't be going the route of bolting anything since that seems like a short term fix/unstable.

Post by **erikv11** » 24 May 2017, 13:59

The drill-and-bolt method works really well if you catch and repair it early, I've done it on two cars now, but yeah that one (OP pics) is probably too far gone.