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I just purchased a '94 940. When I tested it there was a fairly violent wheel shudder on braking. Otherwise, no significant problem otherwise with the steering and suspension. The steering rack is smooth and easy. The car seems to track straight and true slow and fast conditions.
I assumed the shudder on braking was related to the brakes, rotors or calipers, which I feel competent to correct. However, my experienced friend suggests its much more likely to be suspension related and the braking is just the event that causes it to manifest itself.
When I brake, doesn't matter whether its hard braking, light braking and everything in between, the car shudders and vibrates rather violently. If I hadn't thought it was brakes, I might have been more concerned. If its front end, which I have so far little experience with, I might have bought myself a headache I'm not equipped to handle. But I'd sure like to try.
Bob Franklin
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Trademotion Graphic, 940 Control Arm Stay Rod (Key below)
3 - Control Arm Stay Rod, aka strut rod, radius rod, etc.
4 - Inner Bushing (2) 1329655 (Seldom needs replacing)
5 - Outer Bushing (4) 6819057
6 - Outer Washer (2) 1359606
6a - Inner Washer (2) 1359607
Items 5, 6, and 6a will cause braking shudder when worn out, and should be replaced as a group. IPD's polyurethane bushing kit 8K50058 Ώ per side] is recommended. But note that it does NOT include the outer and inner steel washers 6 and 6a. Mine were trash, so I'm glad I also ordered replacement washers along with my IPD kit, using the part numbers above.
From IPD's bushing installation PDF:
--
Bruce Young, '93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.
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Thanks to everyone who replied. I've ordered the IPD bushing kit. I hope to do the stay rod and related bushings this weekend. I will report back.
Bob Franklin
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Thanks to everyone who replied. I've ordered the IPD bushing kit. I hope to do the stay rod and related bushings this weekend. I will report back.
Bob Franklin
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Bob,
Is this the car I sent you the link on craigslist?
Has this car been sitting for a while?
Gus
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Gus,
(Everyone, Please let me know, if, according generally accepted forum protocol, I should have taken this response to private email or whether it is acceptable behavior to answer as I have, below)
Yes it is the car you sent me. And yes, I would not be at all surprised it was sitting a while. The car was into Pep Boys according to the prior owner and Pep Boys said the brake pads were OK. That is why I'm steering toward the front end.
I can bounce the front end like a yo yo. I haven't jacked it up yet, but I remember seeing the test during inspection for ball joints. Yank the wheel holding it at 12 and 6 o'clock and again at 3 and 9 o'clock.
I'm reading the posts and everything I can to understand how to do the bushings and joints. Getting good schematics is my goal. Lucid sent me an illustration of the strut, but one of the items, and inner washer #6a is referred to but lacking from the diagram. I think I can interpolate where it is, but this kind of missing info makes the work a little frustrating. The second time I do it, will be easy.
Instead of rebuilding my daughter's 95 940 from parts, I decided to use it for parts. Thus the purchase of the car you sent me from Craig's list, even though it has 194,000 compared to my daughter's 130,000.
I spent a couple hours yesterday and about 4 hours this morning cleaning the interior and using Gunk Engine Bright to get the 18 years of accumulated grease off the engine and related parts. What a joy. I know it doesn't make the engine run any better, possibly worse, but getting a reasonably clean start on a project car seems the way to begin.
The remarkable thing about this car is the air condition actually works and seems to work well. No vent/turbo problem. The one thing I do find odd is only one of the center vents lets air through, the other (driver's) must have a separate control because it is stuck shut, no air at all.
Thanks for the tip, by the way. You won't be held responsible for any frustrating surprises. I suppose I should mention, I paid $850. It came with a set of good summer tires on alloy rims. Currently the winter tires on steel rims are mounted on the car, which supports your suggestion that the car may have been sitting a while. The seller also included a nice adjustable roof rack. That's not a reason to buy the car, but the color and air conditioning were. The snows on the car look really good, too. The interior is identical to my daughter's 940. Radio only works for AM, so I'm going to check if the antenna is disconnected. I could be wrong, but I think the FM needs the antenna but the AM doesn't. I happen to have a spare radio of the same specs. The 940 OEM radios were of 2 varieties and they are not interchangeable because one requires a separate amp and the other has the amp built into the radio.
Sorry to roam around in this posting, but I think some of the other brickies might be interested.
All the clear coat is lifting from the front hood, it was visible in the ad. The P.O. said she had been told this was characteristic of a certain period of Volvo's. I never heard this. I am familiar with this problem in GM cars of a certain age, but not Volvo. There is nothing I can see that suggests the car was ever hit, or repainted, but excellent work can be done without any evidence of the car being other than original. If the car works out for me, I'll have the hood repainted at MAACO.
Now with 4 940's all I have to do is persuade my somewhat inflexible 19 year old to drive one, instead of her preference, which might be an Escalade, Lexus SUV or Volvo XC90. The apple in this case was somehow propelled far from the tree.
Gus, thanks for the tip and thanks to everyone else for the help. With an automobile being one of the largest expenses for most people, this forum is a direct help to me retaining a larger portion of my income. Frankly, I don't know how people justify going out every few years and spending 30 - 50 K on a car, even with the trade in. If I can't get my family on board, I'll be doing the same.
Bob Franklin
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See the FAQ articles on suspension vibration, especially worn front control rod bushings. You might also have a seriously warped rotor.
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See the 700/900 "FAQ" at the menu bar top screen left side.
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Yeah, I'm thinking a warped rotor is pulsing, and worn bushings is exacerbating the issue. All small potatoes really, not to worry.
Oh wait! I meant to say, 'get away from the car!' it's deadly, run, Fast! and I'll take it off his hands.... :-)
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Thanks for the help, so far. I should have mentioned that the car has 195,000 miles. After I prepared this posting, I went to the car for the first time and pumped up and down on the front fenders. The right side was like a rubber ball, bouncing up and down. The driver side somewhat similar, but less so. The shudder only occurs on braking.
I am a novice on suspension and front end, but even with very little experience, I'm thinking both shocks need to be replaced, as a start. When McDuck refers to strut rod bushings, are these the large rubber donuts on the side right near the hood hinges. The strut rod comes up through the spring tower and there is a large nut on the threaded end. (These are all questions, not statements.) From what I have read and the limited illustrations in Haynes 940, I understand that there is a spring that surrounds the hydraulic shock absorber inside each tower. I'll try to read how the maintenance is done on these and replacement.
Its hard to believe, however, that something as simple as a failed shock could cause the violent shudder and vibration I am feeling. If that was the case, I think the prior owner would have addressed the problem. You cannot comfortably drive this car in its current state, although it was smooth and steady on the highway.
I haven't jacked the car up, yet. That's tomorrow. And I don't really know what to look for or how to diagnose the issue, if it goes beyond shocks. It is significant that no one mentioned shocks but strut rod bushings, where mentioned and front control rod bushings. I hope I am intuitive enough to know what to look for and how to test them.
One great problem in an otherwise remarkable support group is the lack of a good picture of the top, bottom and sides of the engine and accessories, with arrows pointing to the named parts. When you say front control rod bushings, all I know is the bushings are somewhere at the front of the car. They are probably at the end of a rod and they control something ... probably the steering rack. But pinning all this down, when I'm on my back looking up is a fairly solid dose of humility.
Bob Franklin
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No, you are looking at the strut mounts. The bushing everyone is blaming (rightly, I expect) is visible only from under the car. Lie on the ground and look at the front of one of the control arms. You'll see the head of a large bolt, with a big washer, and the remains of a rubber bushing behind it. That's the bushing in question.
the polyurethane strut rod bushing kit from IPD is absolutely worth the $:
http://www.ipdusa.com/products/5305/8k0058-front-strut-rod-bushing-mini-kit
john
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1989 245 233K / 1993 945 127K
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Sorry to be a complete idiot. It won't last long. But, tell me more precisely which is the "Control Arm". In fact if I could be directed to a really good break out of the entire suspension and front end equipment, it would be a great help. The illustration John Sargent provided was a good start, but this is a first time for me and I need to build up my confidence.
Bob Franklin.
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See the photo in Dino's post. The control ARM is the large aluminum casting coming out parallel to the power steering rack and ending in the ball joint under the strut. The control ROD is the diagonal rod that is connected to the body under the firewall and terminates in the control ARM. At that termination (which you can see easily by turning the wheel outboard) there are two large rubber bushings and a bolt holding the rod in the arm. The bushings deteriorate and cause suspension vibration. This is normal.
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See the 700/900 "FAQ" at the menu bar top screen left side.
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okay, hope this helps:
john
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1989 245 233K / 1993 945 127K
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Yeah, those are good kits.
The rod in question, has several names; control rod, control arm (incorrect) control arm stay, diagonal arm, strut rod, are a few I've come across, for the same part.
It's a diagonal arm, almost 45deg, that locates the control arm. All the braking forces push on the back end bushing, and the front takes a beating also. The wear is sometimes obvious but not always. The bushing job is not hard, but there are a couple of tricks esp to tighten the rear bolt only when the suspension is loaded.
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