2000 S70 Possible Strut Problem? Help diagnose

[Eddienorgard]

Hello all,

I'm wondering if someone could help me diagnose my issue. My 2000 Volvo S70 has been acting weird with braking, steering, and turning. When im driving at high (50+) and begin braking even slightly, the car shutters. The engine mount is fairly new (1.5yrs old) so I don't suspect its that as some threads suggest. I know I need to change my brakes as they are almost completely worn, but could this be the issue? I have suspicions that the right strut is broken or something. when you look at the back of the car from a distance you notice the the whole car is tilted towards the front passenger side. also, the alignment seems to always be off. Even when i align the wheels, it still slightly pulls to the right. In addition, when i turn the wheels, i get a squeaking sound that i can hear if im going at slower speeds and have the windows down. Something else thats been happening for quite sometime, is that the whole dashboard shakes and when i hit a bump a very loud click sound happens which i think comes from the dashboard (wondering if this is connected to the above symptoms). Additionally when I hit a bump a clanking noise comes from under the front of the car.

All of this has led me to believe it could be the strut (either both at the front or just the right one). Anyone have any experience with any of these things? Any advice would be helpful. Car is at 209,000 and runs great. Thank you!!

-Eddie

[bmdubya1198]

I think it's probably the struts. It's a known problem on these cars.

[RussB]

I think it's probably the struts. It's a known problem on these cars.

Really? I just pulled the 15 year old original factory shocks & struts from my ''
00 S70 and the struts were still serviceable, although quite rusty. It was the peripheral parts that were junk

Warped rotors, worn ball joints, torn spring seats, worn strut mount bushings, worn sway bar end links will all have an effect. It's time to service your 15 year old car and replace the worn parts.

[scot850]

+1 on the struts, but there are many things it could be:

1) Struts are worn out - Look for signs of dampness where the shiny shaft comes out of the body of the strut (about half-way up). When a strut fails, you will get a knock every time you go over a bump on that side.
2) Check the ball-joints on the front control arms. Worst case when these fail you could destroy the front suspension, drive-shafts etc......
3) Check the control arm bushings for wear and movement
4) Check the springs for a crack and the spring seats top/bottom for failure. Tops are normal to fail with age and worst case when they go completely can come up through your hood!

Brakes:

1) Rotors could be out of straight/warped causing vibration when braking. Do you feel a pulsing from the brake peddle when applied?
2) A front caliper could be seized, or the pads stuck in it if not lubed recently.

Engine Mounts:

You say you replaced one recently? There are 4-5 engine mounts depending on the car. The 2 main failures are the top torque mount to the firewall, and the other is the one under the crankshaft pulley.

There are possibly other things, but these need to be checked first.

Neil.