turbomoose Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 OK Gang. I need help. I have an odd creaky/clanky noise in my front left suspension. It occurs when turning the steering wheel either direction at a stop, when backing straight out of the garage then I stop to check for other cars coming, and when turning into or backing out of a parking spot.I have new wheel bearings, new spring seats, strut mounts, control arms, end links, axles, brakes, struts. I've removed the end link on the drivers side and it still makes the noise. So I THINK that rules out the sway bar and end link. I've made sure that the weird cross bolt and bump stop bolt at the top of the strut were as tight as I could get them. The 3 strut mount bolts are tight. I've had my dad steer the car while parked, and the noise isn't coming from the top of the strut tower, but from the bottom of the car.There's NO play in my steering tie rods.Any ideas?? I'm completely out of ideas on this one.Thanks!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikv11 Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 you didn't mention if you double-checked the control arm bushings on that side? those can make a click/clunk like you describe if they are not tightened down, fairly common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbomoose Posted October 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 Nope, the control arm is tight, and was tightened correctly when the car was sitting on level ground, so the control arm is not 'loaded' The ball joint is also tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdlc Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 Nope, the control arm is tight, and was tightened correctly when the car was sitting on level ground, so the control arm is not 'loaded' The ball joint is also tight.I needed to re-torque mine after a while after replacement, so it wouldn't hurt to do that. Another possibility is the tranny mount? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper850 Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 Steering column u-joint? Loose rack? Tie rod end? Wheels torqued properly? Have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth while you try to isolate the problem. Double-check your hubs. Jack the wheel in the air, place hand @ 12 o'clock & 6 on tire and rotate slowly. If your wheel rotates smoothly..it's prob not the hub..if your wheel rotates w/ a notchy feel and/or you hear an audible grinding noise, you have a bad hub. New parts don't always = good parts. Also, a new part that's been over-torqued or under-torqued will have a very short lifespan, so be sure not to overlook anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7 VII 7 Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 quick question Nathan..what is NOT oem on your suspensionI have the same creaking from my right strut tower and the only thing that is not OEM is the strut mount... spring seats are OEMi think it is binding at the strut mount bearing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbomoose Posted October 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 quick question Nathan..what is NOT oem on your suspensionEVERYTHING is genuine VOLVO parts. And I've already checked the rack bolts, ALL of the mounts, all of the subframe mounts, And I torque all of my parts, even the wheel lugs to to correct torque, with a dial Craftsman torque wrench. I'm that OCD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper850 Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 EVERYTHING is genuine VOLVO parts. And I've already checked the rack bolts, ALL of the mounts, all of the subframe mounts, And I torque all of my parts, even the wheel lugs to to correct torque, with a dial Craftsman torque wrench. I'm that OCD.Have you tried the partner method I mentioned above? Isolate the problem and attack it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlvinL Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 Jack up the front end and with a large screwdriver between the lower control arm and the strut at the ball joint, try and separate the two to look for play. Worn ball joints that do not show up using the 6/12 method will show up this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikv11 Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 another thing I have read about, not had this problem myself, is that when you put the axle back in it may not seat properly out at the hub. That is why Volvo started using the metal adhesive that make it such a PITA to remove the axle - they were having trouble with the axles staying snug. For example if you carefuly cleaned it all up before you reassembled that might actually be bad, because now there is more room at the outer splines. So anyway the symptom is described as a slight click/clunk with acceleration and deceleration. Doesn't quite fit with your car's making noise when parked, but maybe that is it. Yeah maybe you have already tried it but I'm gonna just post it anyway: put your hand on the hub when your dad turns the steering wheel, see if the click is coming from that area.YES we read that you carefully torque your bolts. A lot of other people do too! But guess what, sometimes they need to be torqued again. In fact it is very common for control arm bolts at the subframe. It won't matter if you are OCD about torque specs, it could happen to you. If you want to save the hassle of fully re-doing the control arm bolts, you can maybe try a large screwdriver or pry bar at the mount sort of like Alvin described for the ball joint, to check for play (looseness) in the bushing. Control arm (bushing or ball joint) is still where I would be looking based on what you have said, ESPECIALLY because you said there is creaking and it comes from down low.BTW, because you tighthened the control arm mount with the car on the ground, the mount IS "loaded." That process is called pre-loading the control arm.gl -oh I know, did you check the end links? JK!! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbomoose Posted October 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 BTW, because you tighthened the control arm mount with the car on the ground, the mount IS "loaded." That process is called pre-loading the control arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryan850-t5 Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 2 questions: is the noise constant or is a single clunk then done? what type of endlinks do you have? my endlink bolts become loose after a couple days because the bolts are the kind that have the teflon locking and arent the ones that are pinched (kinda oval shaped) which tend to not come loose. ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7 VII 7 Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 I get it also... I got it on the side I took the strut out on... I do not have an OEM strut mounts... so I thought that was the reason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbomoose Posted October 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 2 questions: is the noise constant or is a single clunk then done? what type of endlinks do you have? my endlink bolts become loose after a couple days because the bolts are the kind that have the teflon locking and arent the ones that are pinched (kinda oval shaped) which tend to not come loose. ryanThe noise is momentary. I can turn the steering wheel lock to lock, and it MAY only do it ONCE. It usually does it when the car is on an incline and moving slowly. It also doesn't have to be much of a turn, just a few degrees. It NEVER does it when I'm driving. You have to really listen carefully for it. But it's definitely there. It ALWAYS does it when I back out of my garage. It isn't temperature dependent, and it does it every time.I have Volvo endlinks. They have about 5K miles on them. The bolts were included with the endlinks, so they're new. They don't have teflon locks in the threads, but the end of the bolt is oval shaped, so it has plenty of resistance when tightened. I double checked them today, everything was very tight. And there was no knocking or rattle in the endlinks or stabiliser bar when the wheel was turned lock to lock.I also removed the drivers side endlink from the stabiliser bar, and backed out of my garage, and the noise was still there. So I think that rules out the endlinks and stabiliser bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikv11 Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 about loading the control arm sure you have it right, I was just saying you posted "it is not loaded" but you mean "it is properly loaded"nice picslooks mighty clean, sounds like you got it put together well, dunno where the noise is coming frombrake caliper? about the only thing you haven't replaced. or maybe it is just a click you have to live with, as unsatisfying as that is ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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