Ouch!

[MattM]

So I went to get my ATF changed and TCM software updated, this is the original thread http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/showthread.php?t=25728

It's my first visit to a Volvo dealer and so I wasn't aware of the visual health check summary report. Well, I got it, and it was pretty long. I could really do with some advice on the points they highlighted. I can't afford to get these all done right away, so I'm not sure which to tackle first. The prices that gave include VAT and labour, and boy are they expensive.

Left Rear Wheel - Alloy wheel bent - £365.19
Left Front Suspension - Lower arm rear bush split - £177.33 (the part only cost £25 :()
Power steering fluid level - Power steering pump leaking and reservoir internal pipe broken - £547.98 (Christ!)
Top engine mount split - £112.24

Can't say I'm too happy about these...

[richiemat]

Hi Matt,

Where abouts in the country are you? There may be a good local independant near you that could carry out the work for you.

Going through the items -

Alloy wheel bent - You could post an image of the wheels you have fitted, you never know someone might sell you a spare at a fraction of the cost.
Left front suspension - The bushes splitting are quite common, eventually you will need this doing and until then it will begin or keep 'clonking'.
Power Steering pump - Speak to a local independant about this using original parts, mine was replaced at a much lower price than the figure they quoted
Top engine mount - You could source an original part and use an independant to fit it.

All depends on how bad you perceive each of these is, it would be worth getting an independant second opinion.

Hope that helps?

[MattM]

I live in Milton Keynes - I don't believe there are any independent near me.

There is a squealing noise coming from the wheels, is this related to the bush? And there is a fair amount of vibration from the engine - could this be the engine mount?

[cameron]

Christ thats a bit of money isnt it :doh:

Top mount could be replaced with a Poly one, about £25 and easy to do yourself ;)
Wheels could be a breaker like Nads or Readview, both are on here, or theres always the bay of Flea :D

A good local Indy will be able to sort out the steering problem

Ive replaced wishbones by myself, you just need to make sure that you tighten the bolts when its on the floor with the full weight of the car, and then get the tracking done.

Pm Rufe for good discounted prices on parts, he also does a very quick delivery service.

All the contact details for Readview and Rufe are in the traders section on the main page.

HTH

Lee

[MattM]

Thanks for the advice Cameron. Where can I get a poly top mount from?

My friend has informed me that he knows someone who can do the labour for me and works in the Volvo dealership part time, so fingers crossed there.

Volvo said that the power steering isn't leaking as such, but weeping. Is there something I can put in that will seal up any leaks?

[cameron]

Top mount You need this yellow one (http://www.partsforvolvosonline.com/product_info.php?cPath=28_23_170&products_id=2301), whereas the 850's and early V70's have a purple one.

As for the leak maybe try some of THIS (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lucas-Power-Steering-Stop-Leak-355ml_W0QQitemZ170390987929QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_C arsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item27ac182499)

Get genuine parts like wishbones from Rufe.

[MattM]

Thanks, that looks spot on. I've messaged Rufe also.

The alloys I have can be seen here on my car.

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/3532/s60.png

How did Volvo decided my alloy was bent from just looking at it? I thought it would need to be taken off and closely looked at to decide that?

[cameron]

Those are 17" Tethys, one of my favourites, i had them on my old 855, bargain at £160 with tyres.........

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo159/cameron793/P221008_1805.jpg

There was a seller called ttcarscouk selling one last week, some light scuffing, CONTACT EDDIE ON 07590 830993. Based in Ringwood, Hampshire.

Item No 280424694832

Started the bidding @ £30, but he called them Tethley alloys, until i offered him the suggestion of correcting the name, maybe thats why it didnt get any bids.

[MattM]

How can I be sure it's bent, I'd rather not take the dealers word for it.

Thanks for the contact details!

[T5ER]

which wheel is it ????? jack up the car (make sure it is safe) then spin the wheel by hand and watch the outer rim then the inner rim of the alloy, any form of deviation equals a bent wheel. just spotted left rear so would jack it up and do the test

[leet5r]

Thanks, that looks spot on. I've messaged Rufe also.

The alloys I have can be seen here on my car.

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/3532/s60.png

How did Volvo decided my alloy was bent from just looking at it? I thought it would need to be taken off and closely looked at to decide that?

i have a set of those rims if ya intested pm me need tres tho but the wheels are mint

[Flatout Phil]

You lot are like the bloody A-Team!

[leet5r]

You lot are like the bloody A-Team!

dont give us that jibba jabba lol

[cameron]

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo159/cameron793/MrT15.jpg

[Al115]

Darryl Motors in Watford aren't that far from MK and are good Volvo Indys that I used for some years.

[Rufe]

If you send me your registration number i can get you discounted prices for any part you ask me about, even with postage you may save a fair bit.

Simon

[wegal]

take the car to kwik fit or someplace like it.. ask em if the wheel is bent.

Top engine mount.. is this the one that attaches to the big black bar that runs across the top of the engine.. if so its easy to change... remove the bar ( 4 bolts ) and then press the original bush out... press a poly bush back in. Will take about 15 mins if you have a vice.

Weeping power steering pump... hmm thats a vague description..... are you losing fluid.. ie are you having to top up the fluid on a regular basis ? If not then i wouldnt worry about it... at least not till MOT time.

The lower wishbone bush... pah thats a general mechanics job, any garage will be able to do that for you at a fraction of the cost of volvo. Id expect the part plus an hours labour tops.

Other than the potensial P/ steering leak its not all that bad, wheels can come off ebay... look for the nebulas, they are the best you may get lucky and get a set for cheap. the bushes are nothing jobs, if you are not mechanically minded you can get any garage to do them, they are not volvo specific, the steering.. get a second hand part from one of the breakers mentioned above and get a garage to fit it, again it doesnt need to be a volvo indy or volvo... any garage can do this work, its just general car mechanics.

Good luck... oh how did the update / fluid change go ?

[MattM]

Thanks wegal :)

The interesting thing is, I've only owned the car for 2 months and it got an MOT just before I picked it up, with no advisories.

The update/fluid change went well, feels a lot smoother now, very pleased :)

[cornclose]

I don't think anything they stated is an MoT failure, or even an advisory.

The wishbone bush might have been spotted if there was excessive play, but if there isn't, it could easily get through. Those bushes are incredibly tight, and even with a split it might not result in much play at all.

[wegal]

Oh if it is the big black bar across the top I have the two side mounts with bushes fitted that you can have FOC they are just rattling around the back of my car, they are not new but have only done about 30k miles, they are off an 06 plate, i changed mine for the red brick racing solid ones ( worth doing by the way.. just for the engine noise at 3,000 rpm..mmmmmmmmmmmmmm)There was nowt wrong with em i just wanted the top engine mount bar to be a front strut brace to kill a bit of understeer.

[MattM]

No idea which one needs replacing. Maybe someone can clarify?

[cornclose]

It's probably the top mount that attaches the torque bar to the engine block, right at the very top of the engine just below where the bonnet closes down to. It's sat on an alloy moulding with four bolts holding the moulding to the engine block. They're prone to splitting, rufe on here can supply you with a better, later design, or as has been suggested you can put a poly one on there instead which lasts forever.

[irf]

Thunderace has a tethy for sale, send him a PM

[Volvo Family]

If I'm right in thinking your car is an Auto, I wouldn't even think about a poly bush in the engine top mount. Too many auto drivers seem to have tried them and then had to take them out because they couldn't stand the extra vibration. The new updated official part works fine.

[cameron]

The Polybush in mine sounds awesome, its also an auto.

Sends more of a growl through to the cabin area, sounds a lot more sporty.

[v70torslanda]

If your rear wishbone bushes are shot at then it's a knocking bet the fronts are none too good either.

Cornclose is right, this may not be an MOT failure - especially if the bloke didn't spot it - but it affects tyre wear. traction and handling. For the price your dealer quoted for a single wishbone - or was that just the cost of replacing one bush? - I can supply you with a pair of refurbished complete wishbones with uprated PowerFlex front bushes and quality standard rears.

As many other forummers have found, having a replacement pair of wishbones on hand really simplifies the job of bush replacement and cuts the labour time down to a simple removal and refitting.

With regard to the power steering leak is it the reservoir, the pipe or the pump? the usual remedy is to shorten the hose at the bottle - you can cut up 3/4 inch off the hose - and fit a new jubilee clip. A leaking power steering pump would empty the fluid in short order, the pump operates at very high pressure indeed.

HTH

J

[Al115]

The Polybush in mine sounds awesome, its also an auto.

Sends more of a growl through to the cabin area, sounds a lot more sporty.

Yeah but yours is an 850 and his is a Phase 2 V70 and as such they are totally different cars...!!!

The 850s (and Phase 1 70s) love them.

[MattM]

If your rear wishbone bushes are shot at then it's a knocking bet the fronts are none too good either.

Cornclose is right, this may not be an MOT failure - especially if the bloke didn't spot it - but it affects tyre wear. traction and handling. For the price your dealer quoted for a single wishbone - or was that just the cost of replacing one bush? - I can supply you with a pair of refurbished complete wishbones with uprated PowerFlex front bushes and quality standard rears.

As many other forummers have found, having a replacement pair of wishbones on hand really simplifies the job of bush replacement and cuts the labour time down to a simple removal and refitting.

With regard to the power steering leak is it the reservoir, the pipe or the pump? the usual remedy is to shorten the hose at the bottle - you can cut up 3/4 inch off the hose - and fit a new jubilee clip. A leaking power steering pump would empty the fluid in short order, the pump operates at very high pressure indeed.

HTH

J

The quote was to replacing a single bush. I've got a quote from Rufe for a replacement bush at £23, and I know someone who will happily fit it for me.

[v70torslanda]

The quote was to replacing a single bush. I've got a quote from Rufe for a replacement bush at £23, and I know someone who will happily fit it for me.

That's cool. As long as he's got a press, no probs :)

J

[MattM]

Taking the car to a friend tomorrow morning who is going to look over all the problems and let me know if he can fix them.

[siamblue]

Matt are you free tomorrow? as there is a rolling road meeting at Marlin in Bletchley from 9.30am onwards,

Gary

[MattM]

9am is the time I'm getting the car looked over, so sadly not.

[MattM]

Top mount definitely needs doing, that's gone. The suspension bush looks fine. The wheel is only slightly bent which he recommends replacing in the next few months. And the leaking of the power steering fluid can be fixed by shorten the tube and using a new clip.

[v70torslanda]

result!

[MattM]

Beats paying £1400 ;)