XC60 Metallic Rattle front left over bumps

[macdoni93]

Hi,

I can hear a metallic rattle when going over bumps from the front left area of my 2012 XC60 D3 (96k). I can only describe it as if a spanner was rattling around somewhere in the left side of the engine compartment, but only when going over a bump.

I've had the front wheel off - everything is solid (at first I thought the disc shield was loose), the bottom tray off (nothing there) and checked all of the exhaust brackets and heat shields etc. I've also had the glovebox out to see if anything was rattling behind but nothing.

About two weeks ago there was a loud bang when I drove down a small bump at the end of my drive - I thought I'd hit something in the dark but nothing. It was strange at the time but after giving the car a good check over and then carefully driving it for a few miles I forgot about it, until now. Everything drives, steers and brakes fine so I'm at a loss, although I did read online that it was possibly an upper spring seat.....

Anybody got any ideas?

Thanks

[Deck1ng]

Spring.
Only a thought.

[ideford]

Originally Posted by Deck1ng

Spring.
Only a thought.

Second that. Mine made similar noises when it went (well - all 4 went over a period of 18 months). Didn't notice any different in handling etc. I even pulled a section (about a 1/3 of a turn) from the Front Right and drove 200 miles home. It had been rattling for a good 50 miles before I managed to determine what it was.

[Whyman]

Had exactly what you described on mine. 3 inch piece had broken off the bottom of the spring but was still on the cup in the strut.

Drove OK but did fell not quite right. In the end the bit fell out on the drive. Used a camera on a probe to see the break on the bottom of the spring as you could not see it with the car jacked up and the wheel off.

[macdoni93]

Thanks folks. I had a look at the bottom of the strut & spring when I had the wheel off, but it looked ok. I'll have a closer look this weekend.

Having changed a CV joint on the other side last year, the strut looks like a complete swine to get off the hub (in order to change the spring), as it seems to sit in a socket in the hub. Did any of you guys change the spring yourselves?

Cheers

[JGEM]

I did the front struts recently and did it the tedious way by removing bottom control arm. You do need a good quality spring compressor but otherwise all fairly standard tools. Not being a pro and doing it at ground levelI would budget on a minimum of 2 hours per side

Here's a link to the relevant thread

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showt...60+front+strut

[macdoni93]

Originally Posted by JGEM

I did the front struts recently and did it the tedious way by removing bottom control arm. You do need a good quality spring compressor but otherwise all fairly standard tools. Not being a pro and doing it at ground levelI would budget on a minimum of 2 hours per side

Here's a link to the relevant thread

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showt...60+front+strut

Thanks for the link - that's a great breakdown of the job

I ended up taking the control arm out when I did the CV joint last year, as I couldn't lever it far enough from the hub to separate it - only needed a few mm more movement but I couldn't get it with the car on the deck. I was a bit worried the strut would be corroded into the socket, but that's a good tip on spreading the socket using the screw.

Looks like I've got a busy weekend......