S40 T5 Suspension control arms.

[Gransav]

Hi,

Just got my 54 plate S40 T5 back from the Volvo garage to investigate a knocking noise from the front suspension when going over bumps/dips. £450 later they have replaced both front control arms (bushes not replaceable) and the rear control arm bushes. The problem I have is the car has only done 32,000 miles. The garage has contacted Volvo who have said due to the car being 6 years old it is probably just the age. Both the garage and Volvo have said that this is a low mileage for these bushes to fail.

Has anyone heard of bushes failing (becoming unbonded, as the garage says) due to age rather than mileage? I did ask to see the failed parts. Got to see one of the front control arms. No great damage to see but some evidence so no reason to suspect any skullduggery.

Any help or information greatly received.

[Alan C30]

Seems very short life for parts that usually last a life time?
I have had anti roll links fail on a ten year old 480 with near 100k but they were 'cheap' at £30. The void bushes were also a fail (not by MoT, just an annoying clunk) but sorted them by replacing the 'void' with a chunk of rubber hose, filled it lovely and I think safe enough as all they do is keep the metal from rubbing!!! :-)

Mk 3? Cortinas suffered badly (but that wasn't yesterday)

[fenton_jd]

I have this knock..... it was an advisory at my last MOT in march on a 05 plate.

£450 though? bit of a rip off could probably do it yourself for free.

[Guru]

Well, it is early at 32k, but it also depends on driving style, wheel size, tyre pressure... ect.

for example, running rock solid tyres on 18" rims and driving frequently on bumpy roads and uneven surfaces at higher speeds will cause them to fail early.

[Gransav]

Hi Guru,

Thanks for the post. All I can say is that wheels, tyres and pressures are all as standard. Yes, I do live in the wilds a bit, but the roads are not that bad.

[Clan]

I have seen these bushes fail and knock on a D5 version after just 8000 miles , but the driver was an absolute looney as it wasnt his car ... a quick test is whilst doing about 5 - 10 mph just dab the brakes on positivly but just for a fraction of a second on and off to shock the bushes , you will hear a deep thud if they are U/S ...

[Gransav]

Further update.

I have now got a rattling noise from the front at low speed over uneven ground. People I have spoken to say it could be anti-roll bar bushes I hope they are cheaper than the last lot.
Also when getting near three-quarters lock on the steering the car tries to go to full lock. I spoke to the garage and they say this is not a normal trait for this car and it could be tracking (which they set up about 100 miles ago????)
It would seem that the suspension etc. of this car is struggling to do the job. I believe the chassis for the S40 is a Ford Focus one. Has it been beefed up to cope with the extra weight of the Volvo. I was enjoying the Volvo but am now having doubts.

[don kalmar union]

I do keep some polyurethane bushings that you might consider on my website which you can order on line here:

http://kalmar-union.com/parts/volvo-...70-suspension/

Regards, Don.