2004 V70 2.4 Sudden pull to right after hitting bumps

SOURDOUGHJIM · Post by **SOURDOUGHJIM** » 08 Jun 2023, 07:51

The car does a sudden pull to the right when hitting bumps in the road like pavement joints at bridges. Not big bumps at all. It does this at neutral or decelerating throttle. Under slight acceleration, no issues. When it snaps into the right pull mode, a little throttle will make it come back. Looking at the control arms and related components, this is what I found on the right side. Appears to have an improperly installed ball joint. Looks like they tried to seat it by tightening the bolts. Opinions??

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Post by **Krons** » 08 Jun 2023, 08:43

Definitely want to replace that ball joint, or at minimum seat it properly. If you remove the brake caliper, strut and tie rod a local shop could press new ones in for you for cheap. They are a bear to get seated without the right tools.

That said—I doubt that is root cause unless the ball joint is close to going. A pry bar should point to the issue. Either lower control arm, tie rod end, loose strut mounts or sway bar mounts/linkages. If the car has 120k miles or more best to refresh these anyway as all my P2s needed them and drive a lot better afterwards. Not a difficult DIY job with basic tools besides seating the ball joints and the lower control arm bolts tucked under the driver side that need an offset socket/wrench.

SOURDOUGHJIM · Post by **SOURDOUGHJIM** » 08 Jun 2023, 10:07

I ordered a balljoint. I'll replace that and see how it behaves. I'm more curious to see if that solves the issue than anything else. Thank you!

Post by **jonesg** » 08 Jun 2023, 16:02

SOURDOUGHJIM wrote: ↑08 Jun 2023, 10:07 I ordered a balljoint. I'll replace that and see how it behaves. I'm more curious to see if that solves the issue than anything else. Thank you!

it looks like one of the balljoint bolts snapped , and the other isn't far behind.
I went through that last summer, welded a nut to the broken remnant to extract it.

SOURDOUGHJIM · Post by **SOURDOUGHJIM** » 08 Jun 2023, 18:21

Taking a closer look at my picture, the head of the bolt is at a different angle than the tapped hole it goes into. Yea, not driving it until its fixed.

Post by **BlackBart** » 08 Jun 2023, 18:35

Here's how I've done mine. See that short little plumbing pipe with a cap on it? Cheap from the hardware store. Soft iron so it doesn't damage anything. Make sure you don't pinch the rubber boot. Tap it home. DON'T use the bolts to pull it in.

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Post by **Krons** » 08 Jun 2023, 20:58

BlackBart wrote: ↑08 Jun 2023, 18:35 Here's how I've done mine. See that short little plumbing pipe with a cap on it? Cheap from the hardware store. Soft iron so it doesn't damage anything. Make sure you don't pinch the rubber boot. Tap it home. DON'T use the bolts to pull it in.

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That is a brilliant special tool on a budget.

Post by **jonesg** » 09 Jun 2023, 00:39

SOURDOUGHJIM wrote: ↑08 Jun 2023, 18:21 Taking a closer look at my picture, the head of the bolt is at a different angle than the tapped hole it goes into. Yea, not driving it until its fixed.

it wouldnt surprise me if the bolt head shears off.

SOURDOUGHJIM · Post by **SOURDOUGHJIM** » 09 Jun 2023, 04:56

Blackbart, JonesG,
Thanks for the budget ball joint driver info. I'm mentally prepared for the possibility of a broken bolt or a stripped thread in the knuckle. Neither would surprise me.

Post by **BlackBart** » 09 Jun 2023, 09:34

They’re not in there with a great amount of torque, and it’s aluminum so I doubt any corrosion already. If you’re careful, I’ll bet they’ll back out slowly.