I have a shimmy in the front end of my 95 940 that is driving me nuts. I've changed ball joints (they were loose) and the shimmy got worse; changed radius arm bushings with no improvement; turned rotors and just for the sense of having done everything changed brake hoses with no improvement; balanced and rotated the tires with no change. Wheel bearings appear to be ok with no play, noise, or binding.

I do find that if I have the front end jacked up there is side to side (3 to 9 o'clock) play in the steering of about 2 to 3 degrees from either side and an audible clicking in the rack. The outer tie-rod ends APPEAR to be ok but I'm not certain I'm checking the inner tie-rods appropriately to isolate them from possible wear in the rack.

A mechanic friend recommended locking the rack by turning the wheel all the way to one side and having an assistant hold it then checking for the play. I did this, to end of travel both left and to right with no play in the rods evident on either side in either direction if attempting to move the wheels 3 to 9 o'clock.

There is a "slight" leak in the passenger side of the rack...more like a seep actually. Also occasionally when, for instance, pulling into a driveway to turn around and backing out and turning the wheel to the opposite extreme there is a very brief groan from the steering that sounds almost like the horn. (I know that sounds crazy). I could live a long time with this small leak.

I need to know if I have isolated this "free play or steering slop" to the rack as is my impression at this time. Troubleshooting by replacement is not a good way to go unless you're rich...and I'm not. I need an expert opinion.

I've had a couple steering "knuckles" go bad.
That's a pair of small U-joints in the steering column.
Expect only one of the two to be bad, if there's any problem there.

These can go stiff, or loose and sloppy.
Volvo specialists know how to replace without hassle.
A muffler/brake/front end shop told me they'd need several hours to disassemble the whole front end - worng.

Thanks for the tip about the steering shaft u-joint. They appear ok on my car. I'm convinced the problem is wear on the rack in the center position...or so I'm told by some rebuilders. SURE DO WISH I COULD GET SOME DEFINITIVE OPINION (is there such a thing) FROM SOME GUYS WHO HAVE SHOPS AND DO THIS TROUBLESHOOTING.