hi
if i bounce the car on the front wing, i can feel some play on the top
suspension nuts, had it all to bits and re-tightened them , there is 2
nuts on the top, 1 locking one and another star shaped.still has
slight knocks when driving, dealer says he can replace both front
shocks and mounts but he cannot say if will cure, says most s80's do
this,
any ideas?
col
Hi there. This problem is hard to spot, but easy to fix. (I'm
presuming your lower ball joints and steering joints are good.)
In short, the TOP SPRING SEATS on the front suspension struts need
replacing. These are the hidden cause of all those knocks and rattles!
Note that you will have to compress the spring before you remove that
star shaped nut. It's the only thing holding the force of the spring
back.
Here's how to do it.
You need to remove the front suspension struts from the vehicle,
complete with springs. This is not difficult, just 3 bolts through the
inner wing (surrounding the two nuts you mentioned), and two bolts
down near the wheel hub. There might be a brake pipe clip or ABS
wiring clip which needs releasing.
Remove the centre-bolt for the driveshaft, so that when the hub hangs
loose you don't pull the driveshaft CV joint out of it's housing
(they're a crap, fragile design).
When you've got the strut on the bench, you can remove the top lock
nut from the shock absorber, remove the rubber-ringed washer, and pull
off the swivel-mount which contains the bolts which go through the
inner wing.
The top part of the shock absorber goes through the rubber spring
seat, and it has a metal bush which the star-shaped nut tightens up
to. ***PLEASE NOTE *** In order to remove the rubber top spring seat,
you will need to compress the suspension spring. Do this carefully,
using some proper spring compressor clamps!! When the spring is
compressed and it is loose on the strut, you can safely undo that star-
shaped nut on the top of the shock absorber. The rubber spring seat
can then be removed, AND REPLACED!! If you look carefully, you will
see that the bonding of the metal bush (where the shock absorber goes
through) has failed. By flexing the metal bush, you will see cracks in
the rubber, or the metal will be completely loose and free. I've
changed these on various V70s.
Conclusion: Don't let your dealer fit new shock absorbers, as that
won't fix the problem. just change the top spring seats. In the UK,
they cost a little over £20 each from the main dealer. My car needs
these, and I'll be changing them again soon. That's twice in 130K !!
If you're located any where near peterborough UK, bring it over and
I'll do it for a fraction of the dealer's price!!!
hope to help. This seems to be a common problem, and is yet another
simple issue which the main dealers can't seem to diagnose. (sorry,
couldn't resist!).
