Suspension replacement?

[BigBadRob]

Evening,
Question about rear suspension on my XC70 for you all.

Been feeling some lateral motion (like an off centre weight on a wheel) for the last few weeks at the rear end of the car. No feedback through the steering column but definitely like the car was being pushed to the side every revolution of the rear wheels. Worse when going round a right hand corner and if I went over a pot hole or similar there was a squirrelling effect as the rear end jumped to the left. Only up to 40 mph though and over that it disappeared.

Had some people in the back on Friday and they both agreed it seemed to be located o/s/r and exacerbated when cornering right. I assumed that it was anti roll bushes that had collapsed and needed replacing or perhaps a warped tyre or weight missing off the wheel.

Car went into local Volvo dealer/franchise in Grantham (feel free to Google that...) and today they called me to tell me that it needed two new rear shocks as the n/s/r one had lost some fluid, new anti roll bar links as the bushes had split, 4 wheel alignment and "Did you know your tyres are getting low? I've priced up 4" and then calmly dropped a "£2350" at the end of the call.

Suffice to say...I don't believe for a second that a suspension strut losing a bit of fluid on the opposite side to the issue would produce a lateral motion with the periodicity of a rotating rear wheel (I had one lose all it's fluid on my V70 and didn't notice until the MOT fail) and am inclined not to trust a word of what 'Sales McGee' said...but I would welcome your thoughts all the same.

In the meantime they have been instructed to do only the ARB and the alignment and I would welcome any information on a good Indy/dealer in the East Midlands to go to in future as we're just about to move up to Newark and getting to Sturgess in Leicester might be a bit of a pain.

[RM955I]

I am new to P3 ownership but it does seem that rear bushes are prone to wear. You don't say the mileage but my car (recently bought) has 112k on it and I'll be replacing the shocks - not because there are any noticeable clunks or noises: it's just that even though they have just passed an MOT, I know they'll be knackered. If I don't do it soon, I never will as I'll start adopting an "it's a high mileage car...is it really worth it" mentality (which of course is wrong - it's a lovely condition D5 with a paltry 112k on it and a damn nice car).

It doesn't really help much, but what you have described is one of the reasons I have an aversion to main dealers - they always seem to tell you "this is wrong, that is wrong, something else is wrong" rather than adopting a sensible approach.

[BigBadRob]

Mileage is 71k on a 58 plate, the 1st owner hardly used it and I'm piling the miles on it now.

If the shock is indeed leaking fluids then that will be an MOT fail (good to know ahead of time I guess as 4C shocks aren't cheap) but I honestly don't think that's the reason I have sideways motion at low speeds.

Agreed on the main stealer mentality but am looking for good quality Indy's and there's not a great deal around our new house.

[RM955I]

I read somewhere else that Monroe have started producing 4C shocks - might me worth a look. As for the lateral movement, the obvious is ARB bushes as said.

[Model flyer]

Hi If the tyres are low replace them first as they will need doing anyway. Ask a local tyre supplier if they can check them out as you may have a faulty tyre . You say the previous owner hardly used the car so a flat could have formed if left standing for long period damaging the tyre. I bought a jaguar some years ago and it had a very similar fault to the one you describe. I got it cheap due to that and found all that was needed was a rear tyre. If the movement /symptom of the fault is in time with wheel revolution then it has to be connected to the wheel , tyre or rear drive shaft . Rubber bushes regularly fail in these due to the ford effect . This would allow some movement or rattle and possible uneven tyre wear but I cant see how it could be timed to wheel revolution . For the shocks to be the cause they would have to be totally shot with none or very little damping and would show up on a simple bump test . Good luck .

[BigBadRob]

Rear ARB's replaced. Some difference but not much.

All 4 tyres replaced for new Pirelli Scorpion Verde. Problem disappeared. Tyre fitter identified a buckle on a front wheel which "Won't be helping your cause" and on removing the existing Scorpions on the rear he noticed something I had completely overlooked - One was a 97V rating and one was 97H. The problems were coming from the lower speed rated tyre and when we stood them up on level ground it was instantly noitceable that the 97H was warped.

Suspension may still need replacing (although I couldn't see much if any leaked fluid frankly Mr Volvo Master Technician...) but Dave Pengelly in Nottingham is an excellent chap who offers decent prices, is extremely helpful over the phone and will now be looking after the mechanicals on HMS Volvo for me!

[CTCNetwork]

Hi,

If it is the same "Mr Volvo Master Technician" I am thinking of, he is a classic. I'll not say more!

Dave is good and mostly very reliable. Say hello to him if you see him before I do!

Des. . .