Front Suspension -

I have a nearly identical problem, except mine hits between 45-55mph. I will mention some more specific symptoms I had and what I have done so far to try to correct my problem, to see if any match what you are experiencing. Lastly I will mention what I have been told is the actual problem with my car (which has not yet been fixed but must be done soon).

Symptoms:

1. Upon reaching 45-55 mph the front end of my car will shake badly, which comes through the steering wheel a fair bit, not to mention the whole car will shake. The shaking always starts right at 45mp and will go away completely past 55 mph. Going uphill during this range makes it worse.

2. While accelerating through this range the shaking is harder and worse while accelerating. The harder I accelerate the harder the shaking is. While in the 45-55mph range, if I let the car coast the shaking goes away. While going down hil it goes away.

Corrections I have tried:

1. I thought my situation was due to balacing and/or alignment. As I was heading on a 500 mile trip to Indiana, I had my wheels rotated and aligned prior to the trip.
The problem remained, but was not quite as bad, however still very noticable.

2. I had then replaced the tires. Upon doing so, I luckly had a great tire guy (friend also), who found that my rims were bent. He fix the rims for me for free, but the problem has still remained as noticable as ever.

3. I even replaced the front brakes and rotors, but I do this anyways when I buy a new car. It made no difference.

Final:

After the above correction, my problem still remains, basically the same as it has been since I have owned the car. I have since been told that the most likely culprit to this is one or poibly 2 bad CV joints on the axleshaft(s). So I am going to replace both front axles soon.

I am pretty certain that my issue is due to the CV joints at this point. Occassionally when I cut the wheel sharply I can hear them pop and crack at times, or while making a 90 degreen turn into a parking lot (or entrance ramp) that is fairly steep or rough, it will make the CV joints pop. It' a pretty noticable sound.

Luckly I only have to drive about 2 miles to work, and I dont go very many places anyways, so I dont have the car up to 45mph all that often, or I stay off the interstateuntil I get this problem fixed. If you happen to have a CV joint problem, this is not something you want to have go out on you while you are driving. I had one go out on my in my pickup once (made worse as I had it lifted with 33 inch tires on it at the time), and you will have basically no control of the vehicle if it goes out, as your front wheels can then point in opposite directions, which is not something you want to have happen while at interstate speeds (it's no fun).

Check your CV boots. They may not always show a problem, but quite often a cracked or busted CV boot will cause the CV joints to prematurely start to fail or go bad.

There are ways to fix a bd CV joint, but in my experience, it has just been easier and more certain the fix is proper to just replace the axle shaft. I dont think this is a cheap fix if you have a mechanic do it (I think the last time I checked each axle shaft was $375 aftermarket, not OEM Volvo, and thats just the Axle, not labor). However, I always replace axle shafts myself (or have done so in the past), so I don;t knowwhat mechanics charge to do this. From past experience, it was not a quick 1-2 hour fix either, and I am expecting on a Volvo that it will be a little more time consuming. Last time I did this on a car, I found that it would have been alot easier just to be able to flip the car over...haha (wish I could have). :)

Just something else to possibly look at.

		Time is now: 6th September 2008 - 05:34 PM
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