1995 850 2.5 20 valve auto saloon (sedan) 95k miles (lotso f it on he motorway - interstate) - original suspension + strut brace (volvo)on 16" t5 rims 205/50 r16 avon z3 tyres

im getting a double clunk sort of clunk-clunk on rough road surfaces, bigger cross the road issues (sleeping policemen, filled in raised trenches etc)dont seem to generate it its only on wither just 'rough' surfaces (i.e where the top level of tarmac is a bit broken) and i think when the drivers side is unloaded or the passenger wheel hits a 'wave' in the road surface...I think its from the drivers side...

i have bounced (repatedly) on all 4 corners - no evidence of shocks not performing
no repeated bounces and no evidence of leaking fluid....

cant get it to do it if i bounce on the car at all except (perhaps) when i bounce on the paseenger front i may be hearing it slightly from the drivers front....

the spring seat 'look' - who can really see! - fine. the rubber circle with 4 downward points towards the top of the font suspension towers sits maybe 5 or 6mm OFF the metal under it and you can see it occeassionaly 'drops' to meet the metal.

All nuts seem tight....

anyone got any ideas (im liking anti roll bar links but im not sure why!)

well thanks guys did it today, the drivers side antiroll bar link rod had lost its dustcap on the lower end (looks like a stone or something had smashed it) and as aresult it was loose as anything!

bear to gtthe old one off (ended up drillign the top bolt out of the centre of the nut and just cuttiong through the lower bolt withtdrinder then gringing it back to the antiroll bar)

back to being a silent ride... btu i found a torn steering rack gaiter so im goign to have to go back in to fix that! Its not bad just the small end desintegrated and its still pretty tight on the rod so i wodged it full of grease to stop anything geting in for now!

anyway thanks for the help and advice!

thanks guys wentunder this morning, chocked the car first! grabebd hold of the drivers side front anti-roll bar link and yanked....sure enough i can feel movement and a sort of 'click' the passenger side feels fine so i think i have my culprit!

going to change both (figure if ones creamed the other cant be to far away) and the bushings - well im there so it seems a shame not to!

as the upgraded (r???) rollbar isnt much money anyone got opinions on if its worth doing while im there?

Antisway bar for front is a PITA...you have to drop the subframe...Unless you really want to do it, I'd just change out the endlinks. IPD sells a heavy duty one that's only a couple of bucks more than the regular ones...you'll have to call them as they aren't listed on their site. Also a guy called "Slater" on VolvoSpeed.com sells some beefed up ones that have an even better reputation. You'll probably have to IM him to get a price...I have no idea. Swaybar bushings are usually pretty strong and don't go bad unless you have really high miles and the bad endlinks have been yanking the rollbar around for awhile. Good luck, and I'm glad you found the cause of the "clunk."
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon. My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.

i figured getting it out would be the fun bit (well lets be honest not really a angle grinder would assist it comming out in several peices but getting the new one IN would be entertaining) well ordered new links and bushes today - if the bushes are easy i wil ldo them, if not i will put them on the shelf until they need doing!

links cost me about £25 the pair ($50??) so if they do a 100k like these i wont complain!

Swaybar end-links. The clue to me why I say this is the uncertainty of exactly where it's coming from and from my own experience on my '98 S70. They may be tight at the swaybar but worn at the top end. The only way to really know is to take the lowers off completely and drive around the block...over some sligtly rough surfaces. No clunks then you know this is the problem. Replace with heavier duty ones....IPD sells them for just a couple of bucks over the regular ones...you'll have to call them about it...they don't advertise them on their website that I know of.
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon

thanks swaybar(american)=anti-roll bar (english) so we have the same theory!

unfourtunately IPD is a bit out of hte question as im in the UK, and by the time i have paid shipping, import tax etc its just no economically viable!


down the stealers i go (not that im bitching its a 10 y/o car and im pretty certian they are original, and rather do them FIRST then do the shocks o nthe grounds these will be cheaper and easier!)


thanks foro the comment

Even with "normal" end-links, you should get rid of the problem (is my thinking). But "normal" ones will wear out sooner. That's why I said heavy duty...but at least see if this is the problem...I'm guessing it is.
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon

I futzed around and replaced just about every suspension bushing before I actually broke down and decided to replace the struts. When I broke down the strut, GUESS WHAT I FOUND?!??!?!

The spring seat had dissentigrated where the strut was inserted into it. You cannot really tell, but a good way indicator is if there is rubber dust in the strut well (on top or on bottom). Just pop off the little cap and have a looksie.

can you be a little more specific about where to look and which cap to 'pop' please..?

(im not really a suspension type person but i have a feelign im going to be!)