Noisy Over The Bumps

[pfeener]

I have a 98 S70 GLT with 169,000 miles. I get a noise from the front end when I go over a bumpy road. It's a squeaking noise almost like vinyl rubbing against vinyl. I replaced the sway bar links about 20K ago; the struts and ball joints are original. If I bounce the right front end agressively, I can get it to squeek a little bit. I'm suspecting it may be the strut or the strut seat. Has anyone ever experienced this type of noise related to a strut problem?

[Stamperman]

I have a 98 S70 GLT with 169,000 miles. I get a noise from the front end when I go over a bumpy road. It's a squeaking noise almost like vinyl rubbing against vinyl. I replaced the sway bar links about 20K ago; the struts and ball joints are original. If I bounce the right front end agressively, I can get it to squeek a little bit. I'm suspecting it may be the strut or the strut seat. Has anyone ever experienced this type of noise related to a strut problem?

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Yep, that's kind of noises my car made when the spring seat was bad.

[MWvolvo850]

I assume that it is the strut seat. I heard a similar sound before I did a suspention upgrade (including the strut seats) and the sound went away.

[prasamin]

if the struts are original with that many miles, then the struts are probably bad also...if the car is bouncing when you put weight on it to test the struts, then they are pretty much shot...i think bad struts, mounts and spring seats combined can be pretty harsh....if you have to replace any one of those, just replace it all!!

[XtremePsionic]

I like to add that, on my car with only 80000 miles or so, I've replaced the spring seats/strut mount/sway bar links and struts in the last 20000 miles, and I still had noises from the front end, like knocking or banging.

It turns out that the sway bar bushings were worn out, and after I replaced the bar with IPD with their new polyurethane bushings, the sound is gone, ride is much better, and the car doesn't crash in/out of potholes and cracks on the road anymore.