rasputin

Update on this... I took the S40 to another place which seems to be highly recommended on other forums by Scottish members. It was clear the guy working on the car knew & cared a lot more than the garage in my original post. His first comment was that the N/S/R camber was visibly out. His second was that the last place fixed the toe by using the camber adjuster - because the toe adjusters looked untouched (and were siezed). He also commented that something must be bent or there must be accident damage for the N/S/R camber to be so far out - but after a full investigation he found nothing wrong at the rear. He managed to free up the toe adjusters with what looked like a lot of effort and cleaning/heat. And this is the result: The O/S/R toe was flickering between 07' (green) and 06' (red), he just happened to print the page when it was red. The N/S/F camber, he said he was reluctant to adjust it as it could mess up the other front angles, and it is not causing any uneven tyre wear as far as I can tell. I would guess this is out because the strut top mount on that side looks worn - although 3 separate garages have now told me it is either not worn, or not worn enough that it's worth replacing yet. He seemed to put a lot of effort into getting things right, but said he couldn't get everything spot-on due to the age/mileage of most parts on the car. Seeing the difficulty he had with the (almost) siezed adjusters, I'm not surprised. So... how does it look now? I notice the camber specs on his machine are different to the ones in the previous garage. Will my tyres be ok now?

I'm pretty sure the Camber is adjustable on the S40. And if I understand the explanation on this website - it's the Camber that would cause severe wear on the inner couple of inches of the rear tyres - so they will wear again (even faster now on the N/S) if they're not fixed to spec? As for even IA and unsprung bends - straight over my head! I've had the rear suspension looked at by at least 3 different garages now and none saw any faults. I also had a look myself but I don't especially know what to look for. I tried again today - before finding out that this place has stripped my McGard key by using an impact wrench to do the nuts up...

Thanks Tony. I don't understand so much about this. For example looking at the Rear Left Camber. It says Initial -1d50'... Specifications -0d55' to -0d25'... Final -2d58'... So that shows it's actually further out than before? In that case Front camber on both sides, Rear camber on both sides and SAI on both sides is still out? I can't get to a more reputable place for a while, so I'll try to keep the mileage down to preserve my new tyres... but is it worth trying to get a refund for the work done today?

2001 Volvo S40 1.9D with 145,000 miles. I got this car 6 months ago and it always felt a bit odd when going over bumps or rough surfaces at higher speeds. It felt a bit wobbly at the back when I'd only expect it to go up/down, and it felt like it was fishtailing slightly when going over very shallow standing water. It was in a local garage for a service yesterday and although I've had the suspension looked at a couple of times already, I asked them to have a look. I suspected the N/S/F strut top mount was worn. They said it wasn't worn, and that the suspension all looked fine, but - both rear tyres were worn smooth on the inner 2 inches. Nearly new (7.9mm tread) Goodyear Excellence - bugger! Last time I checked the treads was 3 months ago and it was perfect - so whatever happened, was pretty quick. I did have new rear springs fitted recently so that may have caused an issue. Anyway, this morning I had the tyres replaced and had a geometry done at a local place - unfortunately I don't know if they're any good or not. To be honest they didn't inspire much confidence that they knew what they're doing! My steering wheel now points straight, which is nice... I went for a drive and it all feels better, if still not 100% (more "test driving" required I think). Here is the report: Any comments? Does it look like the job was done ok?

The N/S strut bolt in the engine bay sits squint, sort of resting against the side of the hole. On the O/S it sits in the middle of the hole. I've been told by two (rubbish) garages that that's normal, it is not worn and doesn't need to be changed. It's a common S40 issue and I believe the squinty bolt is a sign that it's worn. I assume it's just a job they don't want to do... May be a few weeks before I can get this sorted, but will come back and report if the mount/geo fixes it...

I did think of getting a geometry check/adjustment if I find somewhere locally that offers it, but thought it would be wasted money if I don't get the drop links and strut mount done first. One other clue I forgot to mention is that the car can tram-line quite badly even on very subtle joins in the road surface.

Having a strange issue with my 2001 Volvo S40 1.9D (145,000 miles) It feels like I have sideways movement when I go over bumps. It's worst in a bend if I hit a small pothole or a patch of broken road - it feels like a bit of fishtailing. At 60mph+, going over a bump feels as if the car is twitching to the side rather than just up and down. And on surface water, all sorts of weirdness happens. The back end feels like it's sliding about slightly (whether it really is - I'm not sure). A bit like aquaplaning, but it happens far more easily than any other car I've driven. It feels better if I inflate the tyres to 34psi front and 32psi rear instead of the recommended 30/29, but it by no means goes away. The tyres are Goodyear Excellence all round, about a year old and 6mm+ tread. I actually kept these tyres from my last car (Mondeo V6) and on that car they felt absolutely fine. I've had my suspension checked over a few times and have been told that it all looks in good condition, except: 1) My drop-links should be replaced (although they look fine to me) 2) My N/S/F strut top mount may be worn Would either of those things cause the problems I'm having?

Thanks . Hopefully replacing these will sort out the wobble. Have you got any recommendations for 3rd party wishbone manufacturers? I would rather not stretch to the cost of genuine Ford parts, but the only alternatives I can find are unbranded el-cheapo parts on eBay (don't think so...) or Quinton Hazell, who I believe have a decent reputation?

Excuse the rust and muck, but well we do get the odd wet patch on the roads here . The car is a 1999 Mondeo 2.5 V6 Hatchback with 90,000 miles This is how my bushes look with the car jacked up, all "peeling away" from their holes: This is how they look with car lowered onto ground - looks fine to me: So is this normal behaviour for wishbone bushes or are mine buggered? The car steers in a straight line even under heavy braking, there are no bumps or knocks, and as far as I can tell the front tyres are wearing evenly. But I am getting more road feedback than normal which is making the steering wheel a bit wobbly - it feels like dodgy wheel balancing but all balancing has been checked and is fine (and the "wobble" is worst at around 30mph anyway)...