2001 V70 2.4T Failed MA Inspection :-(

[prwood]

Today I was handed the pamphlet nobody wants to get:

I'm a failure!

The reasons for failure were a bad wiper blade and some play in the left inner tie rod. I had replaced both sides inner and outer tie rods in October 2017, and I haven't really noticed any symptoms of the inner tie rod being loose, so I was a bit surprised that I failed for this. However, I know that I did have some issues getting the inner tie rod boots properly clamped on when I did the replacement in 2017, and this is what the left inner boot looks like today (for reference, the steering wheel is turned fully to the right):

Oh dear.

The inspector said that the right side was totally fine and that the left outer seems good as well. My assumption would be that since the boot wasn't attached properly, and got torn up, that it exposed the inner joint and has led to the failure condition. We also discussed whether it could be a steering rack failure, and he said that if that was the case then we would likely see an issue on both sides.

I bought the Lemforder full inner/outer kit from FCP, so I have free lifetime replacement. My thinking is that I'll just order a full replacement and swap everything out again (since you have to send all the parts back to get the free replacement) and hopefully do a better job installing the boot this time.

Appreciate any thoughts/commentary/encouraging words.

[prwood]

It does look like FCP would let me return just one piece of the kit if necessary, so in theory I could probably just 1 x inner and 1 x boot and just do the inner on the left side, although I'm inclined to replace everything since I have to take the outer off anyway to get to the inner, and might as well do the right side too since I'll have all the tools out and the car jacked up... is that absurd?

FCP Returns Screen

[abscate]

I would probably just do the inner and the boot from a 2017 job, no need to toss good parts

Just do the one side

[oragex]

I had a similar issue, used a zip tie to secure the boot - zip ties are not strong enough and don't always seal properly from humidity, opened the boot after 1 year and the machined surface of the rack was rusted - even though the boot was in perfect condition. Cached it timely and the seal wasn't leaking yet, so cleaned the rust off and sealed the boot properly with a tight oeticker clamp. However, in your picture I see wetness probably from a leaky rack seal. It may still be good for a while but you need to clean the rack perfectly around with a soft steel mesh wire sponge careful not to cause scratches, and hope the seal will last for another while

[prwood]

Hi all, so after spending 4 hours replacing the left inner tie rod this weekend, I took the car back for re-inspection and it failed again for the same reason. He said there was still too much play on the left side and that it definitely seemed to be coming from the inside, not the outside. The inspector said, "Assuming you did everything correctly, then it's probably the rack." This comes after the first time when he told me he didn't think it could be the rack because there was no play on the right side, only on the left side. He did also ask if I used Loctite, which I did not, but I'm not sure how necessary that is, and also whether the inner tie rod could have really worked itself loose after very little driving (I had only driven about a mile after reinstalling it).

So my questions are:
1. Did I do everything correctly?
2. Is it possible that there could be an issue with the steering rack that would result in play only on the left side?

Re: 1, here is what I did:
REMOVAL:
- Jacked up front end.
- Turned steering wheel to right.
- Removed left front wheel.
- Loosened lock nut on inner tie rod.
- Removed nut from top of outer tie rod.
- Removed outer tie rod from steering knuckle.
- Removed outer tie rod from inner tie rod (counted 24 full turns).
- Removed lock nut from inner tie rod.
- Removed small outer boot clamp.
- Removed boot (inner clamp was already long gone).
- Installed counterhold around white plastic end of steering rack.
- Used tie rod removal sleeve tool to remove old inner tie rod.

INSTALLATION:
- Installed new inner tie rod using same tool, torqued to 100 Nm.
- Removed counterhold from steering rack.
- Turned steering wheel to the left a bit to retract the rack/tie rod to make it easier to reinstall the boot.
- Installed new boot on inner tie rod. Inner oetkier clamp in place but not clamped.
- Installed new small outer boot clamp.
- Installed new lock nut on inner tie rod.
- Reinstalled outer tie rod on inner (24 full turns).
- Reconnected outer tie rod to steering knuckle.
- Reinstalled nut on top of outer tie rod.
- Reinstalled wheel.
- Lowered car.

Again, I'm wondering if I missed any important steps or if something I did could have damaged the new tie rod, or if it's possible that there is some issue with the rack that would only manifest on one side.

Thanks!

[prwood]

Just a quick update, I had my father-in-law take a look at things. He disassembled and reassembled the tie rods on the left side without the boot on so that we could try and see where the play is happening. It definitely appears that the play is NOT in the inner tie rod but is coming from the rack.

Here is a movie I made yesterday showing play in the old vs new inner tie rods (note, the video doesn't show it, but we also tested for in-out play and there was no in-out play at all in the old vs the new inner tie rods).

IMG_9978.mov

(9.69 MiB) Downloaded 100 times

Here is a movie I made today showing us testing the play on the left side. This is with things reassembled but without the boot so that we could try to pinpoint the source of the play. Also note the lock nut is not installed for the purposes of our test but it was installed prior.

IMG_9983.MOV

(3.67 MiB) Downloaded 128 times

So I guess I'm still wondering, is it possible to have an issue with the steering rack that would lead to one side having play but not the other? If so, is it something that can be fixed without replacing the rack?

I would like to also confirm on my own whether there is play in the right side. Right now I am just taking the inspector's word for it that there was no play on that side. Will probably have to wait til after the snowstorm before we have a chance to do that. But I suppose there may be a possibility that they were wrong, that there was play on both sides, which would greatly increase the likelihood that the problem lies in the rack.

[Blacklab467]

It's hard to imagine play on one side and not the other. That inner TRE looks ok. The "rack" that they thread into is one piece that goes through the valve body and mates with the pinion so I cannot imagine how there would be play on just one side. Did the mechanic offer any insight as to what the problem might be?

[ljsommar1]

I had a very similar experience. My 2002 V70 T2.4 failed state inspection for the same thing. On my car their was hardly any movement but they failed it never the less. I replaced the inner tie rod end with no change at all. I took it to another shop and it passed without comment. It has now passed inspection 6 times (50K miles) since then at 3 different shops, one of them a Volvo dealer. I asked them about the small movement (after they passed it). The mechanic said he would be fine with his mother driving the car, he saw no problem with it at all.
The original mechanic was very honest, he was not trying to rip me off. He was just very exacting, he said so himself.
I think another shop is worth a shot.

[prwood]

It's hard to imagine play on one side and not the other. That inner TRE looks ok. The "rack" that they thread into is one piece that goes through the valve body and mates with the pinion so I cannot imagine how there would be play on just one side. Did the mechanic offer any insight as to what the problem might be?

When it first failed the inspection, it failed due to excessive play in the left front wheel. He suggested that it could be the left inner tie rod, because when he jacked the car up to test the play, he noticed the ripped boot over the inner tie rod. I asked if it could be the rack, since I had just replaced the tie rods a few years ago, and he said it likely was not the rack since there was play only on one side. He said that there definitely was not play on the right side.

When it failed for the second time, and I said I had replaced the left inner tie rod, he suggested it was probably the rack. But when I asked how it could be the rack if there was really only play on one side, he didn't have an answer.

So I feel like that leaves me with two possibilities:
1. There WAS play on the right side, and the inspector either didn't notice it, or disregarded it due to seeing the "smoking gun" of the ripped boot on the left inner and jumped to conclusions, or maybe he just didn't want to tell me I needed a new steering rack to pass my inspection.
2. There was truly NOT play on the right side, and there is some other mysterious cause of the left side play that doesn't involve the inner or outer tie rods, both of which I feel we've proven to be in good shape.

It seems like 1 is most likely, since from what I've heard, there aren't any other legitimate reasons to have play on just one side, outside of the tie rods. Unless someone knows of something!

Probably the simplest thing would be to put the left wheel back on, drop it, and jack the right side up to test the right side myself to confirm whether there is play there or not.

[ljsommar1]

I had a very similar experience. My 2002 V70 T2.4 failed state inspection for the same thing. On my car their was hardly any movement but they failed it never the less. I replaced the inner tie rod end with no change at all. I took it to another shop and it passed without comment. It has now passed inspection 6 times (50K miles) since then at 3 different shops, one of them a Volvo dealer. I asked them about the small movement (after they passed it). The mechanic said he would be fine with his mother driving the car, he saw no problem with it at all.
The original mechanic was very honest, he was not trying to rip me off. He was just very exacting, he said so himself.
I think another shop is worth a shot.