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Suspension noise

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Old Jun 20th, 2020, 22:54   #1
capt jack
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Default Suspension noise

As is the case I guess with a lot of cars, my S90 hasn't had a lot of use in the past few months, but in the past week or so the mileage has started to creep up again - and it's great to be out and about at last!

But, the front suspension has gotten noisy again. I say again because creaking and clonking from the front end prompted me to get the lower suspension arms and drop links replaced late last year. Once the work was done the suspension was silenced. However, creak and knock it now does again, although not as markedly as before.

I've had a look at the drop links and noted that whilst the top ball joints of both are really tight, there's a fair bit of "in and out" play in the lower joints, while these lower joints swivel very, very easily with absolutely zero resistance. I've ordered some more from the local motor factor, and will fit these as soon as they arrive. I know that drop link noise can resonate through the car quite markedly, so these alone may indeed solve the issue. The problem is that I've struggled to find anyone with stock just now, so I've ended up ordering "Farhen" parts, a brand I'd never heard of. They're only £25 the pair, so if they last even just six months hopefully others will be available in due course. Of the motor factors around here, most are still not open to the general public and will only sell to the trade against a trade order. The others don't have any stock.

The lower wishbones are of course brand new, but I am aware that creaking rear bushes is a feature of this model, and I guess it could be that after the car having been sat unused for quite a period, the recent use has caused them to get noisy again. Is that possible I wonder?

I've had a look at the top mounts, and there is the slightest up and down movement just perceptible when you put your hand on each top mount and bounce the front of the car up and down. Both sides are the same, and there is no noise from either mount. Added to this, I've tried this with the top mounts on the S70 (which along with the struts are brand new), and these also have exactly the same very slight up and down movement when the car is rocked on the suspension. The S70 also creaks a bit when you rock the suspension, but unlike the S90 the noise isn't noticeable in the car. A Google search of various sites leads me to believe that some up and down movement is normal in a top mount. The S90's top mounts look perfect, with no sign of any deterioration in the visible rubber.

From a more general inspection the springs are intact, there's no obvious oil leak from either shock absorber, the car drives beautifully, the steering feels light and precise with no judder at all, and is rock steady right up to 80mph, the brakes pull up efficiently and evenly, with no pulling or juddering.

It does strike me as odd that a noise becomes apparent after a fairly lengthy lay-off, and it's this that's making me think it's unlikely to be major deterioration. I know that rubber doesn't like being left "unused", and that's what make me wonder if the lack of use is the cause. I'd pretty certain that the drop links are contributing, and it doesn't totally surprise me that they're wearing out after only a relatively short time. With both my old V70 and the S70 I've known after-market drop links give up within a matter of months.

So, any thoughts gentlemen please? If possible I'd like my silent S90 back!

Thanks

Jack

(PS: RT - you may have dodged a bullet here!)
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Old Jun 20th, 2020, 23:14   #2
Laird Scooby
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Try spraying various rubber parts on the suspension with silicone lube spray Jack. Do them one at a time or one pair at a time so you know which is the culprit, chances are the lack of use has contributed to some rust forming and/or the rubber drying out so as it starts moving it's protesting loudly.
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Old Jun 20th, 2020, 23:24   #3
capt jack
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Thanks Dave. Yep, I'm going to treat the old girl to some silicone surgery tomorrow! Dried out / unused rubber bushes (plus the drop links) will I hope be the cause, and silicone the cure!

Jack
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Old Jun 20th, 2020, 23:30   #4
Laird Scooby
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Originally Posted by capt jack View Post
Thanks Dave. Yep, I'm going to treat the old girl to some silicone surgery tomorrow! Dried out / unused rubber bushes (plus the drop links) will I hope be the cause, and silicone the cure!

Jack
The drop links can get noisy but it's more of a crash than anything Jack, also the fact they turn easily on the bolt but don't have any other play seems to suggest they're probably ok. I'm being deliberately vague there as i've known genuine drop links fail after 6 weeks on one car and some fake drop links fail in about 6 days on my Volvo.

Silicone is good as it helps to revive the rubber.
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Old Jun 21st, 2020, 11:08   #5
RollingThunder
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CaptJack, I'm still having sleepless nights about it
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Old Jun 21st, 2020, 16:26   #6
capt jack
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Default Update

Had a happy morning chasing suspension noises, and found the ARB bushes to be a bit rough. The attached picture shows one of the bushes starting to fall apart.

The creak has improved, but the low-speed rattle persists. To get the ARB bushes off I disconnected the drop links of course, and one of them in particular does have a really loose ball joint. I'm hoping that when I fit the new ones this will sort things completely. The new ones should be here either tomorrow or Tuesday.

Once I got the ARB bushes off I realised they looked a lot like a set that I've had in the garage since I can't remember when. On checking I found that they had exactly the same part numbers as the ones that came off the car! I can only assume that I must have bought these years ago and then never used them. I guess Volvo must have used the same bushes on different models. The ones I had in the garage would have been bought at some stage for either an 1800ES, a 740, a 940, an S70, a 360, a 240, or a V70!

Jack
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Old Jun 21st, 2020, 16:37   #7
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Use genuine volvo rubber or polybush them, buy cheap buy twice or in this case three times.
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Old Jun 21st, 2020, 16:47   #8
capt jack
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Use genuine volvo rubber or polybush them, buy cheap buy twice or in this case three times.
Yes, the replacements are genuine Volvo. Oddly, when I went to remove the bolts that held the U-clamps to the chassis rail I found that a 9/16" socket fitted better than a 15mm. Could it be that even as late as 1997 Volvo were still using imperial sizes for some applications?

Jack
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Old Jun 22nd, 2020, 20:16   #9
capt jack
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Default Job done

New ARB bushes and drop links and we are back to the familiar silent running.

Out of interest I pulled the old drop links apart. In both the upper ball joints were fine, but in both lower ones the grease had been replaced with soggy rust, even though all boots were totally intact.

But all’s well that ends well, and we’re back on the road again.

Jack
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Old Jul 4th, 2020, 23:25   #10
capt jack
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Default Spoke too soon?

Well I thought I'd cured the suspension noise on the S90, but after a run out today it's clear that I haven't.

New drop links and ARB bushes have certainly reduced the noise very considerably, but there is just audible a very slight erratic hollow knock at low speeds. You can't feel anything through the steering, and there are no funny noises when the steering wheel is turned.

I've checked all the nuts and bolts that I'd removed for the ARB bushes and drop links, and everything is nice and tight, so I fairly sure that these aren't an issue.

Re-visiting the top mounts, both sides look absolutely fine with no sign from the engine bay side of any deterioration. Rocking the car with one hand on each top mount in turn and there is some slight up-and-down movement visible both sides. However, on the nearside mount, when I do this, I can now feel a slight click through the top mount that's not evident on the offside at all. Would I be right in guessing that this is probably/possibly the early signs of top mount failure?

There is absolutely zero lateral movement in either top mount no matter how much I push and pull at the car. I also jacked the car up and tried to find any play in the struts, but can detect none. The struts themselves are clean, with no evidence of any oil leak. The springs are intact, the bottom wishbones are only about 6 months old, and have done maybe 6 or 7 thousand miles tops.

The car drives, steers and stops perfectly.

I'm not really wanting to do this work myself, so it'll be down to the local garage to do if anything needs to be done.

Could I be right about the top mount? Should I get it sorted quickly, or ignore it for now and worry about it at MOT time in November?

Cheers

Jack
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