Hello helpful folks,

93 volvo 240 sedan has this weird clunking sound when driving and going over any size bumps.it kind of sounds like wheel is wobbling and knocking.
Already has new ball joints, sway bar links, and brake pads. The sound occurred before and after these repairs.

I can make the wheel move and knock if I pull it from the top (12 oclock) and rock it back and forth.
If I put it on jack stands and take wheel off I cannot make anything wiggle or make a sound. Its like I can pull it forward about 2cm. No movement or sound when trying at 3 and 9 positions. No detectable play in struts or other linkage when doing this.

The left side does not have this play or sound.

I suspect wheel bearings and plan on attacking that unless someone has a different idea or test.

RESOLVED:
Did the struts (KYB) today and the old strut insert was a Volvo brand(original perhaps?) It has zero dampening and leaked all over when I laid it down. After the mount and spring were removed and gland nut still intact I was able to push and pull the strut rod around and recreate the sound. It was beyond toast.
I think it was actually the rod inside the strut making the noise and not the strut 'body' against the strut housing. Not sure but its over now.

Getting the whole assembly back in and lined up was the hardest part for us. Everything else was easy and smooth, we just took our time and played it safe.
The project was actually fun most the time...
Anyway the knocking is gone and front end is stiff. Will test it more tomorrow.

I stayed with the original strut mounts(Volvo) because the new KYB ones I put in broke a bolt so we had to do one strut over.
The original mounts bearing still seemed smooth but rubber does have a slight bulge on top, but no cracking. I will take the little bulge over an easy to snap bolt any day. No regrets with that decision because if the bolt broke that easy I have no confidence in that strut mount(will get back some$$$ too). It was made in China while KYB strut is made in Japan. As a Toyota guy I am cool with Japan made!

Thanks for all the tips and inspiration. Feels good to have this one done.

Thanks for the feed-back.......Lets everyone know what to expect or look for.

Check both the strut nut at the top of the strut and retaining gland nut / ring at the top of the strut insert.
Dan

Both of those are tight. All of the play is in the wheel, nothing else moves when i rock it back and forth.

Make sure the strut shock cap is down tight. If not, the shock bounces around in the shock tube.

Tighten the big hub nut pretty tight. It helps to spin the wheel while doing this. Stop when the tire won't spin.

Do the push/pull thing. Play only in the vertical plane points to the ball joint. Play only in the horizontal plane points to the tie rod end. Play in both directions points to the wheel bearing but either of the two aforementioned items could be bad as well.

In that case have an assistant do the push/pull while you observe the tie rod end and ball joint. Don't forget to readjust the hub nut.

What kind of shape is the big control arm bushing in?


--
'80 DL 2 door, '89 DL Wagon, '15 XC70 T6

The ball joints are new and tie rod also looks good.
I just went out and tried again and noticed that the strut housing does indeed move, actually i can recreate the sound by just pulling the spring back and forth. sounds like the play is at top of the strut. I am assuming the strut mount? I didn't see any movement around the bearing and the strut nut, just the spring moves and makes the same knocking sound. I can also pull on the strut insert and rock it back and forth, sounds likes its knocking on the strut housing.

Thanks for inspiring me to try testing it again.

Strut mounts i hear are tough to replace as all the new ones being made are supposedly junk. I guess struts need to be replaced as well as they are a bit squishy and could be really old ( i only had car a month so far)

Knocking and squeaking when going over bumps could indicate a bad strut mount. Especially since you have already replaced the ball joints.

The strut mount rubber is probably shot. Put a spanner on the top nut and turn sideways. It should turn slightly then stop. If it keeps twisting then the strut mount is shot. Yes, the replacements are junk including Volvo. Search kittysgreyvolvo’s posts. He has recommended a replacement for the strut mount. Begins with the letter “K” I believe. Also try turbobricks.com. Replacement part name might be there.
--
Will I buy another Volvo??? We'll see....

Thanks, so you mean to just try to turn that 24mm bolt? tighten or loosen?
could i use a socket instead to perform same test?

I also noticed when i just turned the right wheel all the way to the right i can no longer get the wheel, strut or spring to budge or make a noise.

Use a wrench and twist it sideways (think horizontal plane). Don’t try to loosen or tighten the nut. Just try to twist the whole strut basically not loosen the nut. Even if the strut mount is in good shape it should twist a little. If it moves easily the strut mount is shot. You’ll see what I mean...

When you turned the wheel all the perhaps you tightened up/took up slack in the cracked rubber in the mount by moving it? Don’t know.

Unlike some cars, it is hard to see the rubber on a 240 mount. If you can actually see cracks in the rubber then you’ll know it’s toast.
--
Will I buy another Volvo??? We'll see....

I can twist it and it moves like a cm and most and then goes back, kind of like a spring action. The Left side does the same thing.
The rubber on top doesn't look to bad and is only kind of bulging up, not cracked or bulging up to the lip of that mount hole in the body.

Also yesterday was crazy hot (98 degrees) and i drove the car around right before all those little tests I did and the wheel movement was greater than today, today i haven't driven the car and its like 70 degrees. Today the wheel and spring just move like half as much as last night.

I am starting to think its probably just the struts themselves. with the bumper test i can get it to bounce pretty good up and down, very springy.

Also, curious if I do my own struts how dangerous is it really to compress the springs if you use the right tool and are careful? I mean if you do it right do the still sometimes just blow up in your face? All the videos and tutorials make it seem pretty easy and safe, assuming you use the tool correct.

I second the lower control arm rear bushing inspection before strut work.

With the wheel lifted, take off the three bolts on the control arm's rear bushing housing. If it falls apart or is loose away from the control arm...

You have a good direction as to what needs replacing.
Going back on can be challenging (if it is stiff) to align up the bolts, but with a guide inside the other bolt holes, can make life easier.

Going OEM is good, or going poly is better depending on how you like your ride.

Have someone sit on the front end and impact drive the top shock cartridge nut with a quick torque tap. If you still knock, pull the whole strut out and replace the top mount.

It was fixed with new strut insert, see my last post from 2/15.
Thanks for your input!

Those control arm bushings look to be in good shape, the must have been replaced at some point as the rubber looks nice and supple.

Did you check the bolt at the rear which retains the bushing for looseness ? Others have reported that tightening this bolt has cured a knock.

As an aside, Bentley's recommended test for control arm bushes is, with the wheel jacked so the tire is just touching the ground, disconnect the sway bar link and the 3 bolts holding the ball joint to the arm. I've never done this but it does make sense because it removes the tension of the coil spring and sway bar from the control arm.

Keep at it.
Peter

i checked it out and it didnt have any play in it but did not try to tighten it.
maybe I will try that out. check out the videos i uploaded a few minutes ago

Old Brick,

I think you may have read my post before I edited it with the Bentley procedure.

I'd be interested to know if isolating the strut assembly from the control arm would give you positive evidence of one or the other being at fault, for future reference.

You'll need to detach the sway bar link anyway to remove the strut so it's just the 3 ball joint bolts, and it may be less work in the long run. It's hard to say.

Your first video gives a good view of the knock, but I'm picking up a metal to metal clink as well. I believe that some 240's have a flange nut at the rear bush, but some I've seen have a plain nut and washer. A loose washer might clink, as sure as loose lips sink ships.

Looks like very nice car to work on.

regards, Peter

Thanks, I will give that Bentley process a go for sure (tonight or tomorrow), the bolts should all be easy to remove since I just installed those parts.

tried this and Could not find anything wrong with control arm bushings.
everything is tight.
With the sway bar links removed I could not recreate sound but then again I cannot recreate the sound without full weight. I had the wheel just barely on the ground.
I was able to however isolate the sound a lot better, it is coming from the strut insert near the top, perhaps the strut mount or spring plate and also the bottom of strut hitting the housing.

I am thinking at this point its time to remove the whole thing.

Hi, just catching up on my reading.

This is my two cents worth, but I think you will find that the strut cartridge is banging on the inside of the outer strut tube that’s part of the lower A arm assembly.

When the cars weight is compressing the spring, the struts cartridge rod is now being compressed down into the shocks cartridge.
This releases the lower cartridge housing from up under the gland nut of the outer tube.
It then will swing around inside the lower arms containment tube for the cartridge. Like a stick in a pipe.

When the spring is fully extended, weight off the wheels and ball joint, the rods piston is holding the shock cartridge tube up off from the bottom and up against the gland nut.
If some cartridges have their bodies made too short for it application, there has to be a spacer put into the bottom to take up that space.

In the early years before your car was made, the spacers were provided for a minor optional charge or just included if the strut cartridge was model specific. I have a couple laying around someplace as before about 1985 one or the other setup changed.

Some KYB brands came that way and others don’t, so you can end up with looseness inside there!
I am not singling out any one particular brand as this can happen with any manufacturer.
It’s just if you make a shorter strut you might get it into more front ends, because if you are too long, you are not going to make it shorter very easily!

Without the spacer, the outer strut tube of the lower arm, will clang. This is the sound I hear.
The sound to me sounds like a hollow clang or similar to that of a church bell but low in tone.
A chime tube could be another example of the tone I hear.
The bottom of the tube is the only end, being allowed to sound off. It vibrates up to the top where the rods piston deadens the sounds.
Going down the road the clang will change into more of a thumping sound. This is because the piston rod will adjust the frequency.
The more the wheel arc is shortened up, by a load, the lower the the rods goes towards the bottom. The rod looses leverage to beat but it inside and also shortens the amount of the tube that can vibrate below its end. That changes the sound frequency.
The cartridge tube is also not able beat the side of the lower arms tube, as hard, if the rod really goes deep into the tube.
I doubt you ride around that loaded. So the smaller the load on the wheel, but at least some load like you have sitting there, the smaller the bump has to be to make the noise. Probably is very annoying!

I am suspicious that you have some old stock shocks cartridges in there or maybe the 1993 is special in some other ways that we are finding out.
Trust me, there are a few surprising changes just for 240 of the ‘93. I have one among the many year models I have. The spacers came to me for applications back to 1978.
Whenever they were installed, the installer was not aware of this discrepancy!

I hope to hear that the clang was in there!

Phil

Wow, thanks for the detailed response. I like the explanation.
So perhaps that spacer is missing from the right side and not the left or perhaps is somehow installed incorrectly/broken?
Sounds like only way to find out is to pull it apart, inspect and maybe install new struts.
Perhaps try to find some that long enough to not require the spacer, searching for those spacers it appears they are not readily available. I will need to search a bit for those.
If the car is safe as-is maybe I will live with it for awhile before I can slowly acquire the required tools and a bit more knowledge to do this job.

In the interim maybe I will pull out the strut without removing the top nut (as suggested by ThisOldBrick) and see if that reveals anything.

I will make a video of that and post it, may be a few days...

If it were me doing this again, I would not touch it until all the tools and the new strut required were in hand. Otherwise, you are stuck for at least a week without the joy of driving a nice, non-clunking, well sock-absorbing 240.
Opt to both sides too. Beats prePAIRing/rePAIRing twice. Hint hint in caps.

Be prepared to disassemble the strut to replace the shock that is most likely either defective, wrong length, missing a spacer, or not secured by the gland nut. If it is indeed bouncy, it will need replacement anyhow.

As Machine Man wrote up, there no immediate danger from the clunk. If your suspension is not performing optimally (bouncy), just keep your distance and plan to repair sooner than later. Your other side might be compensating for it's inadequacy through the stabilizer.

Loosening things up on car/in place is a great idea. I did not do that in my repair. :(

I would just not loosen the gland nut yet in this case. Would be curious to see if the clunk was indeed coming from the looseness in the tube. Once you check the top mount and rule it out, check the spring and rule it out, you can attack the loose absorber inside the strut housing.

Definitely look at Art's write-up for reference. Since you have been in the area before with ball joint and all the other work you have done, you should be good and well prepared plus new tools.

I removed my struts completely for front end restoration as it was rugly (rusty ugly.) Had to take the brake caliper, hub to replace the brake dust shield. Stripped it, powder coated it and replaced with new shield and bearing seal. Had to buy a non-ABS shield and make new holes for the sensor. Could not find any ABS brake shields anywhere...

Not to throw name brands out there either... Bought Sachs/Boge Automatics. They were a good fit and performed well. Although I did have to reuse the original gland nut. The one that came with the Sachs/Boge was way too short. Half the size. Would only thread 2.5 times where the old one went in deeper with 7 threads. I wrote to Sachs/Boge, but got canned non-answer.
Perhaps KYB will not Keep You Bouncing...

Let us know how you make out.

Yan from CT

Sold my '93 245 mostly reconditioned with $6000+ in parts over 3 years.
Sold my '85 245 GLT - unfinished :(

:( done with 240s for now until I move south where the salt only comes out of shakers in diners over a nice steak.

Hi,
Thanks for the wow!
I’m glad it helped to paint a picture of what I think is happening in there.

As far as being safe to drive, the strut cartridge is just a dampener to restrict movement up and down. You are not getting the full affect of stabilization when it clunks!
Driven long enough, you might see tire wear in a pattern of slight cupping of the tread blocks.

The cartridge is so long that even if the gland nut came completely loose out the unit it will still be a guided in place.
The upper mount cup holds the spring in place to the car, as it it bolted to the tower housing of the car.
Now if you lifted the wheel off the ground, the spring will not have as much compression on it.
I don’t think that the lower arm can swing down far enough to release anything to say for it to “pop apart.”

I see that you are SAYING you have not done one of these before!
You will find that you will need to compress the spring “quite a bit shorter” to even get the strut assembly out from up inside the tower hole. From even under the fender lip is close pass bye!
The lower arm is usually a tight swing down upon reaching down to the extreme position on the bushings.

The whole affair, with the spring compressor working, leans out and lifts off the the lower arm assembly, once you take the struts TOP NUT off the upper mount.
A big note below!
You only LOOSEN it before you do anything else when starting this job!
It’s a self restrictive nylon nut that stays tight until it’s back off far enough to disengage.
I use an air impact tool and a socket. Zip it off and partially screw it back on as a keeper!
The impact is faster than the strut rod can turn inside that nut.
Otherwise you use a “bent” box end wrench that will fit down in the hole. With it you can hold the rod from turning while working with that nut.

A new nut comes with new shocks, but considering where these are used, you can get away with using the old nut again if you don’t replace the struts anytime soon. There is very little force that is ever going to turn the nut on there. The rod floats so I don’t see how even vibration can loosen that nut, but it’s a safety thing the designers are looking at!

The strut tubes gland nut is an option to loosen.
Do these two things before, as having the car holding them, works better than you trying to hold on to that “big thing” later in your lap!

The spacer that fits in there is only about an inch long. There is a radius machined on one end and it’s quite a bit smaller that the outer tube itself.
The spacer cups the bottom of the shock somewhat but most anything can fill the gap.
I suspect that standard flat bolt washers might help fit the contour of the bottom of the strut, if really necessary. The idea is to lock it up tight in the tube, from top to bottom.

On some KYB’s that I installed on my 1991 they did not need the spacer. In fact the body of the cartridge was almost too long as I had to use the original gland nut for the tube over again.
The KYB nut supplied was shorter in thread length and I felt that it would not give me enough thread engagement to stay tight or for strength once it was wound into the tube.

This job is a nice experience to do and for the most part is a straight forward step by step logical progression of work to perform.
Do it yourself will save you big bucks and eliminate the “folly” you are experiencing from someone else’s work!
Asking questions gets the job done right!

Phil

Hi Phil,

I agree that your diagnosis is the most likely scenario, but before betting my life on it I'd have a couple of questions.

The OP, in a reply to Dan, confirmed the gland nut is tight. It seems to me that if the strut cartridge is loose in there, then the gripping part of the gland nut would be fully bottomed on the strut tube. My experience has been there has always been some visible clearance there after tightening.

The OP writes " I can recreate the sound by pulling back and forth on the spring. Sounds like the sound is at the top of the strut near the mount ". This haunts me and begs another question. Is there any chance a PO has cut off a couple of coils to lower the car ? Some kids will do this, and if overdone might not leave enough tension to keep the spring firmly seated. The fact that this test was done with the wheel hanging and the spring extended and that the knock couldn't be reproduced with the weight of the car on the spring only adds to this wild hypothesis.

If may not be dangerous to the occupants to drive with a loose cartridge but there is a post somewhere on the Brickboard that reports this condition caused the destruction of the threads on the strut tube. I can't say this is true from experience, but I'm sure the hammering on those threads is not doing them any favors.

regards,
Peter

Hi Peter,

That is cute about you not betting your life on any scenario as they can always be changed with facts!

I did base my scenario on the fact, or assumption, from the you tube video that the wheel was fully on the ground.
It did appear to me that it was that way, since, he had bumped the the fender up and down prior to pulling on the wheel and then the coil spring under there.

You are correct in thinking that if the whole strut assembly were off the ground he would not get the sounds. He did state that fact as true.
The reason there was no sound is because the spring is pulling the shock to a fully extended position. The body of the cartridge it held up tight against the gland nut.

When the wheel is pushed up by ground irregularities the cartridge is in limbo because its not held all the way to the bottom of the outer containment tube.
During the cycles of movement, the upper and lower ends of the McPherson assembly changes arc and this can wobble the shock from top to bottom slightly.
The point where the gland nut is becomes a pivot point area in the middle.
The nut does not fit the onto chrome rod of the shock as it would scrape the rod.
This is where there is some play is allowed to beat sideways.
The outer tube or the cartridge itself is not a press fit affair either.

The far end of the cartridge will continue to be loose until the end of it hits the bottom of the outer containment tube. Basically, I suspect that this movement must be less than the one inch distance that the spacer should fill up. It could be as little as a quarter of an inch of looseness. That why I think a washer thickness or a short stack might fix it. The spacer is a solid chunk though!
It will all be known after disassembly as something should shake up and down.


Now you have brought up the idea of cutting a coil spring is another scenario.
I personally would never recommend this being done by anyone not knowing the the dynamics involved in spring design and performance.

Messing with the turns, in relation to the seating area of a bottom or the top has a limit!
Differences may not be noticeable. Spring makers don’t usually marked the ends.
They are made to be even unless otherwise noted. This exception is usually on variable coil designs that change the resistance of compression strength rate while in stroke movement.
The ends actual have a relationship for them to “being square” to the force axis, in all cases!
So if a kid is going to cut it shorter, it’s not done to just one end and must be a precise grinding cut!
The amount of rotation turn in degrees is definitely a concern and No torches are allowed to effect the steel!

If you study the structure of a coil spring you will notice that there is an angle of attack is involved.
This is how the coil lays as it is coming around into the base of the seat.

Most coil springs can or will change in lead distance. This is the from coil to coil, as the spring in made longer from its ends.
Not all springs are made cold as some the steel is hot.
The force is gauged by the machine making a spring hot or cold.
Every spring comes off a little different to some extent. These are paired up in batches to minimize large variances with a larger group.
They are then sold with a range or tolerance specificity applied when marketing.

In most cases cars get mucked up from what I have seen rolling around. It messes up the whole ride and control of the car. Drivelines can suffer angle issues too.
Manufacturers work with all the kinds of variables to average out the compromises. They end up with a good safety consensus for the masses of buyers.
Once the suspension is tweaked, it’s usually only good for that one owner/rider and other buyers shy away!
If he still wants looks over comfort go shorter and buy shorter pairs!
Future buyers will appreciate the professionalism!
Make the changes with a known amount of spring rate documented so things can be exchanged in increments front to rear with predictability

I have changed all of my sedans rear springs over to 80’s wagon springs for their extra load capacity. It restores ride height upwards about one inch when not loaded.
The nineties sedan cars are either weak or sag more over time that the earlier years of sedans.
Even the nineties later models of wagons seem lower to me and I only suspect they squash more than the 240’s
I want to blame it on a vendor change first as it seems to be a quality issue.
I have always picked up my springs “in pairs” from junkyards for this reason.

I hope that answered the questions you had.
I too, hope that I’m right, about the clang noises he has!

Phil

Hi Phil,

I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. I'll go out on a limb here and suggest you might be reluctant to have this gentleman come out to your place and help you adjust the spring rate on your 240s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW99wvI_R6w

It's brutal, but unfortunately not uncommon.

Peter

Hi again Peter!

You absolutely got that right!
That young man is a true hack and his idea of looks on the ground is now showing it!
Cutting them under tension now that was a brilliant but lazy move!
He actually looked as if something was going to hit him.
I bet he is looking for more springs, off his childhood remote control car!

Good thing he left the shocks, in his way, or that axle would have fell down to the limit of the torque rods, driveshaft and the brake lines!

Why he didn’t leave them out completely is beyond me and just weld in some solid strut bars like they use to do on the rear end motorcycles that were made into choppers.
You know what they were called, back in those days, hard tail motorcycles!
This was also when the handle bars called “Ape Hangers!”
This is part of “How low you can go” when the limbo song was popular!
You got to love those hopping Southern California cars
That boy in the video, would fit right into that crowd but imagine the creaking sounds his would make! He would be the “Jack” out of the box!

There was other video popped up shortly after that one.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-XWkhUgl0xs
This guy has a little more finesse towards function but you are right again not uncommon!

If you rapid forward to about the 13 minute section he shows you what I was talking about in regards to the flatness of the spring ends.
It shows the purpose and the reasoning for a spring is to be made the way they are.
His ride now depends on hose clamps!
Really that spring is under control.
He needs to put that camera under there and observe how much those springs are working every moment!
I’m glad they are not modifying engine valve springs as a side job!

Thanks for the show and tell!

Phil

I had the exact issue with the gland nut coming out after threads inside the tower were stripped before I bought the wagon.

Drove it for a month not aware since all the other suspension components were old, worn, and playing in the rattling orchestra.

Interesting that I was looking at the diagonally opposite rear wheel for noise when in actuality the front shock coming out, overextending, and causing the car to pivot on the good diagonal suspension. The rear wheel was bottoming out on sharp turns and hitting the well due to no support of the broken gland nut.

That was indeed not safe.

Had to find a replacement strut... no rethreading possible there unless to shorten and lower.

Yan in CT

First, thanks to all the folks who provided detailed,thoughtful advice.
It has taken a little while to digest it all but has given me the confidence to pull this repair off myself, which is a great feeling and will save me serious $$$.
My process is to understand an issue and then I pass all this knowledge on to my son. Then he and I can actually do this repair.

Now that I know that this knocking strut is not really dangerous I think I am going to switch gears (pun intended) and address the bad 1-2 shift issue I posted about in another thread. I am thinking this issue needs to be resolved first because its really making driving the car an anxious experience. My goal is to get this car reliable enough that a teenager can drive it and be safe.
For now I am just driving it 3-4 miles around town troubleshooting issues and tweaking things.

Some pics for reference...

http://cleanflametrap.com/strut.html
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

If there is a book you've wanted to read but nobody has written it yet, you are the one to write it. -Tony Morrison

Go up the tower from here then. Based on your observations with temperature fluctuations, it sounds like rubber component failure.
A mechanic's stethoscope is a good tool to have here.

I know you already checked many of these........

Check wheel bearing play and tighten the hub nut if needed.

Check brake caliper mounting bolts just in case.

Check gland nut. Move the dust boot up and reach in with a gland nut tool between the spring coil (or a pipe wrench.. lol) If it does not move easily, no need to force it before removal. Some shock absorbers are shorter and require a spacer or they will move inside the tower. Not sure if this applies here.

Check shock tower by having someone else slightly bounce the bumper. Listen for clunks inside the shock. It may be defective or gone. My new Sachs/Boge was defective within warranty and clunked side to side and produced vibrations at highway speed.

Top mount play may either be the a. bearing or b. rubber mount.
a. Visually inspect the bearing (under the dust cap - hope you still have it) and have someone move steering right/left as well as bounce test the bumper.
b. You can see the mount from the top. Cracked and dry rot will be self evident.

While you are there, check all around for
a. rust (I am in New England. A non-rusty 240 here is a diamond in the rough)
b. any other prior handy work that may attribute to the condition.
c. I assume you rack-n-pinion is bolted down tight, but you should not...

Brick On!!

Pretty sure its this one:

"Check shock tower by having someone else slightly bounce the bumper. Listen for clunks inside the shock. It may be defective or gone. "

I can only recreate the sound and play if shock as full weight of car on it and wheel is straight. I can also pull on the spring to and fro and it creates same sound and moves the strut insert. The sound appears to be insert knocking on housing but weird part is that the wheel can also move to and fro to create same sound. its like under load i can pull the wheel and it pulls the strut just enough to knock.

None of the wheel bearing or control arm tests suggested here or on internet suggest any of those components are shot.
Pretty sure I will just need to pull out the strut to find this one.

Do you have the ability to make a video with your Phone and then UpLoad it ...somewhere? Putting a link to it in this thread.

I must say that this is a 'stumper', because all the possible 'nornal' causes for your problem have been covered in this thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8AH7fospBI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV3nXsQYjVU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzu6EonCXDs

Here are the videos, please note that if I turn the wheel or take load off of front on jackstands I cannot recreate this sound or movement.
When driving it just makes similar but louder sounds over every bump in the road.

thanks!

Take that sucker (ahem strut tower assembly) out.
Closer inspection will most likely reveal what's banging around.

I think we should institute a betting pool to go toward the site donation.
Person with the correct diagnosis wins points!
Logistical nightmare perhaps... :)

Great idea, Thanks.
I will make one tomorrow and load it on youtube.

Good point. Check the tightness of the rack bolts just in case. Definitely the gland nut too. Doing the struts is a job you want to avoid unless necessary...:)
--
Will I buy another Volvo??? We'll see....

I think I will give that a try, I have tried everything I can with the struts and housing short of removing them for inspection( will require a trip to the store for tools to go further).
I guess if I remove the housing and things look good visually then I should just try prying them a little to see how they respond? look for play or stiffness.

Before condemning the strut, as mentioned by bulletproof, I suggest testing the lower control arm bushing. These bushings commonly wear out on 240’s. Look for rubber deterioration. Put a large screwdriver in there to test for movement.
--
Will I buy another Volvo??? We'll see....

a few nuts and bolts to re-torque

IPD Tech page

https://www.ipdusa.com/techtips/10233/suspension-200-series-front-end-clunk

Definitely use a good spring compressor.

Stay away from buying or renting these: https://www.harborfreight.com/MacPherson-Strut-Spring-Compressor-Set-63262.html

Opt for single action like this:
https://www.harborfreight.com/single-action-strut-spring-compressor-43753.html

Your face will thank you!