Steering Rack issue on 2006 XC70

[fontoledo]

Hello all! This is my first post in the forum. I didn´t find a solution to my issue yet, so I´m taking a chance with the experts

I recently got a 2006 XC70 with 133k Miles on it. Got a high level revision done at GoodYear before paying for it, and no big issues aroused. Since 3 weeks ago, there´s a problems though: When steering, there´s a very bad sound on the steering rack. As the issue is intermitent and no clear rootcause (happens when cold, when hot, when driving a bit, when driving a lot) I´ve recorded a video to provide more context:



Has anyone experienced the same problem? Any Idea what I should be doing?

Thanks!

[fontoledo]

Hello guys, any ideas around here? One update from my end: my wife and I realized that the cranking only starts after the car has been driven for an hour or so. Every morning after the "night rest" the steering is soundless.

Also, not sure if I mentioned this before but there´s a direct correlation between the steering cranking and being super hard, not like your regular assisted driving.

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

[DeadEric]

Strut mounts are bad. Do you sometimes get a spring sounding twang when you turn?

[MacNoob]

Yep. Change the mounts and bearings. Unless you live somewhere with glass smooth roads you are also due to replace the following items if not done yet:

front struts
rear shocks
lower control arms (bushings)
ball joints
sway bar (bushings)
sway bar links

[fontoledo]

Strut mounts are bad. Do you sometimes get a spring sounding twang when you turn?

Thanks DeadEric. No spring sounding twang. It´s usually that sound you heard on the video, like a cranking. And it usually only happens after i´ve been driving for 40 minutes, an hour.

Any recommendation on whether (1) just going to the mechanic to get the full change done, or (2) maybe find the parts by myself, and then go? Also, any recommendation on which parts to use for this specific Year/Model volvo? I'd love to go with original parts but i'm assuming they will be super expensive.

Yep. Change the mounts and bearings. Unless you live somewhere with glass smooth roads you are also due to replace the following items if not done yet:

front struts
rear shocks
lower control arms (bushings)
ball joints
sway bar (bushings)
sway bar links

Thanks MacNoob! Would you be able to help me prioritize all of this in Urgency order? I haven't quoted pricing yet, but it does sound like an expensive list of components. Thanks in advance for your help!

[MacNoob]

1a) You need to take the front struts and strut bearings out to replace the spring mounts. No point putting old ones back in. Sachs is the OEM for Volvo, so get the Sachs struts from your favourite supplier (I use fcpeuro or eeuroparts).

1b) You will also have sway bar links disconnected to do this. They are cheap to replace and don't last long. Likely yours are bad.

2) Lower control arms (the bushings tear) and ball joints, and sway bar bushings can be easily inspected while the struts are removed and a decision made on replacement. Replacing these adds significant labour to the job - especially the sway bar bushings - so you can let the inspection guide your decision on whether to replace.

3) Officially, you need to replace the whole sway bar with a new Volvo part as the bushings are vulcanized to the bar and not separately replaceable. There are some workarounds for that. Bad sway bar bushings will make a terrible clunk over bumps. Replacing the sway bar means loosening and lowering the subframe and is a pretty significant amount of work.

4) Rear shocks are at the other end of the car, are a tough job to replace, and it doesn't save you any money to do it in conjunction with the stuff above. Yours are likely bad unless they've already been replaced. Bounce the back bumper and see if the car keeps bouncing when you stop.

[DeadEric]

Strut springs scare the ever loving s out of me and I work on cars for a living. If you're wanting to do the job yourself, find quick struts or strut assemblies. They have everything put together for you so you don't have to mess with the springs. I know IPD has them, for some models in Sachs.

If you can't find an assembly, find a shop that will assemble them for you and allow you to buy you're own parts (if you want OE or OEM parts.)

Sway bar links are cheap enough to replace and should just be done with the struts. Don't bother trying to get them off the strut, just get them off the sway bar. Have a reciprocating saw with a good metal blade on standby. On the off chance you get them off, they'll probably be damaged or fail soon anyway.

[fontoledo]

Hello everyone

I wanted to thank you all for your replies. You can't imagine how helpful you've been!

Based on your replies, I've found the following parts:

• Front Struts assembly: https://www.1aauto.com/volvo-v70-xc70-s ... 666&y=2006

• Sway bar: https://www.1aauto.com/volvo-sway-bar-l ... 832&y=2006

Which, plus the installation cost I'll have to pay at the garage (probably around 500 USD?) seems like a reasonable total investment at this point.

Based on the initial video I shared, do you consider this to be an urgent fix? Is anything else getting destroyed every day passes?

[oragex]

I would advise against starting to replace many parts at once. You don't know if the previous owner has already replaced some of them.

That noise is a little strange, I think you can try locating it more precisely using a 1/2" hose, one end at your ear, the other near any parts - careful near rotating parts. Also listen to the pump and look inside the reservoir.

Above were mentioned several parts, but again I would rather test each part before going replacing it. The spring seat is known to fail, you can try looking with a flash light like in the video, in between the two rubber plates for any cracks. From the video there is no strange movement. We can see there is some sort of a friction, but not necessarily from the spring seat. Try to depress by hand strongly downwards near the top of the strut, hear for any noise.

This is how to easily check the control arm, see how bad it is www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1QaJbyjr2s

How is the car riding? Does the suspension feel too stiff/harsh? If not, don't replace the struts, even more so if the roads in your area are smooth. The original suspension works for a long time on good roads, and aftermarket options give far less handling.

We prefer to buy from sites like Fcpeuro or Ipdusa brands like Sachs, Lemforder, Bosch. This is the trick, because otherwise, replacing original parts with lower quality brands is what brings the quality down on these cars.

[MacNoob]

Yes, don't replace stuff that doesn't need to be replaced. You're in Chicago, anything you need to order can probably be there next day with cheap shipping. Like Oragex says, stay away from cheap parts of unknown origin, you'll be in there again next year.