Control arm bush
 

Hello folks, just seeking a bit of advice please.
I have a rattle that seems to be coming from the front os. It happens sometimes when I go over a rough bit of road, otherwise it just seems to happen totally randomly on smooth road. I have checked all drop links and track rod ends (replaced last year) and all the rubber is in good shape with no abnormal play. What I did notice is that the inner wishbone bushes on both sides are split, I guess my question is could this be the cause of the rattle? Steering is unaffected as of yet so I'm assuming there isn't major play in them?

Next question is it feasible to replace the bushes or should I just buy the control arms?

Lastly I have the timing kit to change the timing belt & aux belt this weekend along with associated pulleys / tensioner, is there anything you guys recommend doing or checking while I'm in the area and have access?

Thanks for your help 😊

The first thing is to use only the good brands. If this is the original belt, I would not do the water pump. For the belt use Contitech or Gates. For the control arms may try Lemforder or get the rear bushes from Volvo and have them pressed in - best option. Front ones last longer, but you can try some polyflex for those. I would say, this split in the bush may knock but not rattle. Rattle may be torn spring seats (Sachs or CRP/Rein), or maybe the end links, anti-roll ball bushes or more rarely the shocks (but I believe the genuine ones are less likely to rattle).

faster to replace the whole control arm tbh especially if you are doing 2x

while you are in the wheel arch, degrease + lube up all the bolts ready for the control arm removal

I have the same issue, mot advisory said control arm bushes both sides need doing at some point, are you sure you could be mistaking the sound for a rattle when it is really a knocking, a rattle is many, where a knock is normally 1 on 1 bump, best way i can explain it, if its multiple bumps then it could be mistaken for a rattle i spose

Thanks for your input everyone, very helpful.

- I definitely could be mistaking it, I'm kinda hoping that I have now and the replacement fixes the issue. If it doesn't I guess I'm going to have to tear in to strut mounts, spring seats and all that good stuff.

Front crank and oil pump seals and gasket. :thumbs_up:

Update
 

Sorry to drag this post up again guys. I have replaced the timing and aux belts and have removed both control arms and strut assemblies with the intention of replacing both control arms and any bits that need done on the suspension to hopefully rectify the god awful knocking noise I've been hearing this last while.

Although both inner bushes in the control arms are showing wear at full stretch there is absolutely no abnormal play in them, and I've tested this with a 6ft wrecking bar between the subframe and the control arm. The springs and struts are all in OK shape with the strut mount bearings and spring seats in passable condition with no major play in them. And as mentioned before the tie rods and track rods are in good shape.

This leaves the ball joints. The ball joint from the offending side seems to be OK but the rubber boot around it has pulled away from the bottom and when I push it to the extreme in any direction there's a notable metallic clunk however no vertical play.

Could you have a look / listen to the attached vid and offer your opinions if the ball joint is bad?

Thanks.

https://youtu.be/E2TYrIsazSg

The balljoint would fail an MOT so needs changing.
The reason would be boot no longer prevents ingress of dirt (or words similar).
In its current condition, water will get in, wash out what's left of the grease, corrode and seize the balljoint and most likely snap.

This is as good as guaranteed.

Thank you for that, do you think the knocking sound it is making is normal or no?