2000 V40 Front End Pull, vibration & Noise

volvofwin · Post by **volvofwin** » 05 Jan 2011, 18:21

2000 Volvo V40
119,000 Miles
Front end aligned, 2 new tires
Mechanic said "mounts look fine"

Like a number of other posters, I have a front end vibration and noise problem. I had a significant pull to the left and had the front end aligned. The problem was not resolved so approx 15000 miles later I had it checked and aligned by another shop. He stated he thought the problem was the tires and bent rims. (He had checked the motor mounts and said they looked fine). I have not addressed the rims but I purchased 2 new Bridgestones a week ago and the pull remains and a shimmy & vibration has developed and joined the pull to the left.

At 20-30mph I get a "rumble" and vibration. At approx 60mph I get a noticeable shimmy from the front left that sounds and feels like a tire badly out of balance. The vibration through the steering column is pretty significant. It is pretty consistent 60 - 70MPH (a bit scared to go faster). I suspected that the new tires were not balanced correctly but on the way home this evening I noticed the rumbling and vibration appeared worse when power was applied. I noticed when I "stepped down" on cruise control the vibration stopped as the car slowed but as soon as it accelerated the rumble and vibration began again. So I tried accelerating and then dropping it into neutral and sure enough the pull, vibration, and rumble was bad when accelerating and virtually disappeared when I dropped into neutral. I'm a car dummy but it seems this suggests that the problem is in the drive shafts or power train rather than the wheels/rims. However, the noise and vibration has worsened since the two new tires were added. Any thoughts to share with my mechanic would surely be helpful - thanks in advance...

RODNEYLOVER · Post by **RODNEYLOVER** » 30 Jan 2011, 13:55

hi it's like i wrote your ? have you solved any part of the problems i didnt see any replys

volvofwin · Post by **volvofwin** » 07 Feb 2011, 19:53

I went to a local frame shop that straightened two of the four rims, and replaced a third rim with a refurbished OEM rim. The rim had to be replaced because the lugs were not properly tightened and vibration in the wheel elongated the mounting holes on the rim to the point the lugs could not be tightened down properly. I guess my good luck was the 4th wheel was okay. $340 later I no longer feel the vibration in the steering wheel and the rumbling has disappeared to a large part. It is not as quiet as past vehicles I've owned and I still have a strong pull to the left - but hopefully that gets addressed with an alignment this week.