Steering and Suspension Diagnosis

[prwood]

I just jacked up the front and checked the wheels. I couldn't get to the wheels to move on their horizontal axis at all. It's quite possible that the mechanic at the shop has stronger arms and a better grip than I do, because when he was rocking it, I could see the tires moving about an inch measured at the top edge.

[tryingbe]

Your control arms and sway bar links are due for replacement. Get lemforder only or you will have to do all them again very soon.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... s60cakit2l

It's clear your car needs parts.

Get them order, https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... 0-30748383

Either replace them yourself or pay someone to.

[oragex]

Haven't read the other's replies, from what I see in the pictures the control arms are clearly busted (the rear bushing shows a shiny surface meaning the bushing has completely failed). I also see some end links dust boots torn so also need replaced. The rear spring is tricky because you want to replace these in pairs. I'd go with two used ones from the same donor car. Removing them takes a special spring compressor that goes inside the spring, Ebay sells such stuff. Quality aftermarket springs are tricky to find for Volvo, reason why I'd go with used ones. I also see the rear shock absorbers leaking a bit, myself I would not replace them just for that unless they offer a rough ride. Blue sticker Saschs are about the only acceptable option to replace the shock absorbers.

I also see some oil leak, possibly from the camshaft seals, which may mean the PCV box is clogged, another not so cheap repair.

Overall the car looks like it needs quite a few repairs... I would be really careful with which repairs to do and which Brands to use, and especially, I would only do the clearly visible broken parts. You may find quickly the bill to grow out of control and still hear mechanics you need to change more parts. Due to the number of repairs, I would definitely go for a Volvo specialist in your area, and a honest one if you are lucky.

[Georgeandkira]

Let's hope the OP is on his way to jonesg's to do this. STILL it's all maintenance!

[prwood]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all of the advice. I know you all have invested way more time and effort into reading and responding to my posts than I would have ever expected.

Unfortunately, due to my timetable and other obligations (my day job, planning for the trip, etc), I decided to take the car to mechanic #4 and have them do the job. It's there now and will be done by tomorrow at the latest. The owner and I agreed on a set price, and since that's the amount I have to spend, that's what I'll end up paying one way or another. The parts probably aren't going to be top of the line and I'll have to replace them again soon, but they will at least get us through the next 10,000 miles. After that we'll assess how things are doing and see what still needs to be replaced.

I feel like I'm letting down the folks here who have done and offered so much to help, but also I feel that it's the right decision for my family at this point.

If this had been taking place a month ago I would have made totally different decisions. I would have done it myself or with the help of friends and family. It's definitely going to cost me a lot more than DIY, and there's the chance I'll be paying for things I don't need, but at this point on the calendar and for this particular work I've got to just hand it off to someone else so I can focus on everything else that needs to be done pre-trip. It goes against my normal approach to car repair, but there are other factors in play that are much bigger than the car.

I have definitely looked into long-term rentals, but for the size of car we would need to accommodate four people and all of our camping gear, we were looking at $2,000 per month with a MINIMUM of two months rental - more if we rented it only for the time we need. I'd rather spend that kind of money on a car I get to keep at the end.

I think the biggest mistake I made was not having the alignment done sooner. Had I just done that at the beginning, someone would have seen all of the issues and I would have had more time to react. I knew well in advance that there were issues with vibration and steering pull, and I was advised by my local diy-home-mechanic-in-law to get an alignment to fix them. I just put it off until now because I had a ton of other things to work on with the car, and I figured I would get an alignment before we left and that would be that. I didn't realize the issues behind it were so serious. In fact my in-law insisted up until yesterday to just take it to mechanic #4 and insisted that they would be able to do the alignment without replacing all of the parts. Yeah, not so much. In his defense however, he has been away all summer and hasn't actually worked with our car since this spring.

That's the most FRUSTRATING part of this, in fact: It's not like I have been ignoring the car all summer and just decided to start looking into it now. With the exception of one week we took off for a trip to Canada, I have spent almost EVERY evening and weekend working on this car. Since May I have (with much advice and thanks to MVS folks):

* replaced thermostat and ECT sensor
* tested for coolant leaks and head gasket failure
* found and fixed coolant leak (inadequately tightened hose clamp)
* replaced the accessory belt, alternator, and power steering pump
* replaced the timing belt, water pump, tensioner and idler pulley
* replaced air filter, oil filter and changed oil
* replaced the transmission torque rod
* replaced the PCV breather box and all hoses, and as part of this also:
** removed and cleaned the intake manifold and ETM, and replaced gaskets
** serviced the fuel injectors
** cleaned all grounds and electrical connectors in the engine bay
* paid jonesg a visit to get a report on the computer's codes from VIDA (side note: I really was thinking on the one hour drive home from his place how smooth and lovely the ride was...)

I still have a few things to do for which the parts have already arrived, and I should be able to do those easily in the next few days:
* replace the gasket and seal on the turbo oil drain pipe, which I believe to be the source of the oil leak
* replace spark plugs
* replace ignition coil with cracked casing
* replace fuel filter

Again, thanks to everyone. Sorry I wasn't able to put all of your advice to good use. I'll keep you posted as to how things go with the repairs and the road trip.

Sincerely,

Peter (prwood)

[jonesg]

Just so you don't think volvo has is it in for you, I went through most of these issues too. We all do.
They're all consumables.

If you have AWD , the turbo drain seal is near impossible to reach, FWD is easy by comparison.
It might make things easier , pull the drain pipe, replace rubber seal and stick the gasket to the top flange with indian head gasket shellac, then you can maneuver the pipe back into position without having to keep the gasket aligned.

[prwood]

Just so you don't think Volvo has is it in for you, I went through most of these issues too. We all do.
They're all consumables.

If you have AWD , the turbo drain seal is near impossible to reach, FWD is easy by comparison.
It might make things easier , pull the drain pipe, replace rubber seal and stick the gasket to the top flange with indian head gasket shellac, then you can maneuver the pipe back into position without having to keep the gasket aligned.

I definitely understand that it's routine maintenance. It's just a case of big assumptions and bad planning on my part, combined with a really tight timetable. I have really only been working on cars for five years or so, so I still have a lot to learn.

Speaking of learning, I really appreciate the attitude that folks here have towards it. I did a bit of work on my father-in-law's Mercedes '01 E320, and in the process I visited a Mercedes forum. The folks there didn't seem to have much tolerance for newbies. Even though there was no disclaimer on the board that you were supposed to be a pro, the basic response I got was that if you have to ask the type of questions I was asking, you probably shouldn't be working on cars.

I have FWD and actually already attempted to do the turbo drain seal. I got the drain pipe/pressure pipe clamp ok. The issue was that I didn't have a good sharp Torx socket to get a grip on the rusty old heads of the screws holding the top flange and gasket in place. I have one now but I have delayed doing anything else on the car until I see how these suspension problems play themselves out.

Suspension? Play? Get it?

[jonesg]

If you break or lose the seal or gasket for the turbo drain pipe it costs less than $9 at any dealership, I get many parts from my local volvo, prices aren't bad on everything, just most.!

I shouldn't be working on cars either, but I choose to.
I've worked on my sisters Merc, really stupid over engineering,
a rear shock is priced at $1100, thats just one shock absorber. Then it requires a scanner to set the height.

[prwood]

Got the car back today. Everything seems in order. So far I have only driven it across town, but will be taking it out for an extended test drive shortly.

[prwood]

Have done several highway and city drives since the last post, and everything seems to be good.