240 1991 Volvo 240 - Whole new front suspension but still clunck...

[Maciek4530]

Hi! It will be long story about my 240 suspension and clunck i am fighting with.

(Sorry for my english, it's not my native language).

So, I bought my 1991 240 wagon with B230F and M47 (German market) in 2018.
Car have a lot of issues, rust problem, destroyed bushings because of sitting on Berlin streets 2 years after owner died but there was no clunk from front suspension.

Between 2019 and half of 2020 car was sitting in my friend restomod shop (body repairs, some mechanical repairs, paint work etc.). Only thing that was done to suspension was change rear shocks to low milage used Sachs (still better than broken nivo ones), front shocks to new KYB and put Diesel spring without 1 coil (it makes car stiffer but looks like basic spring).
Rest of the suspension was (that i found out in first half 2022 almost 30yo ones OE)

I recived car in september 2020, did some longer trips, use car as daily (still using), make a lot of repairs not related to suspension. In winter 2021/2022 after around 10k km after change of fronts struts to new KYB i heard first clunk noises.

First clunk from front side i heard when i was slow driving into parking lot with turned wheels. It was only situation when clunk was hear. I find out that was clunk on 2 sides of the car (mostly right - passenger side).

I didn't care at the moment because I was planning to change the whole suspension anyway. And i did it in 2 stages in February and April 2022.

First i did whole rear end: refresh rear trailing arm, put new bushings in every possible place (even poly for axle), add rear stabilizer etc.

Car starts to ride way more betrer than ever!

Second stage was front suspension. It is ABS 240 so it have a little diffrent suspension strut. I have spare suspension strut, front control arms, mounting control arm so i painted them and put all new Meyle bushings in it.
I order new strut mounts, new ball joint, new tie rods, new tie rod ends, new stabilizer links (all Meyle) and stabilizer bushings (Monroe)

I install whole new (and refubrished) suspension parts (except of 1,5yo KYB shock and Diesel springs) in car and...?

Clunck is still there...

I meet and ask few people after this (drift car builder - he looked at the car, volvo rwd mechanic - online messages only) about that and they said it can be damaged KYB strut because of lowered Diesel version spring and it make this sound in one place.

So i decide to buy Bilstein B4 and paint my stock springs for 240 with B230F. I install them (so basically only steering rack was from "old" parts in my car) but clunk is still there...

I made reserch and there is two things i found out. First, spring plate can't be changed between sides - and I did't so there is no problem there. Second thing i find out is Meyle instruction to strut mount to put spacer UNDER strut mount (greenbook, Bentley, Haynes says it should be ON strut mounts). I check both versiones and clunck is still there...

I don't know what to do right now. Whole f$#$^*g suspension is new but car clunking on low speed turns, clunks when i go straight on low speed and wheel falling into a hole in road or when i go on very bad road. Right side is way worse than driver side (probably my 107kg make a difference) but both sides cluck...

Any ideas? Any questions?


And yes, i screw strut nut all the way down to last mm of thread

Maybe there is a little of space between nut, spacer, strut mount, spring plate and dust shock cover (they have spacer too)? HELP!

 

[K9 240]

hi
I had a problem with a clunk noise when the gland nut managed to partially back itself out of the strut tube.
I couldn't replicate the noise with the car on the ground, but if you jack up the body so that the wheel is in the air, lifting the wheel up and down by hand showed there was play somewhere. It was similar to a bad bearing or track rod end but in the up/down direction.
The gland nut is supposed to hold the shock absorber tightly in the strut
You could check to see if your gland nut is loose or even if it is tight, whether there is any play with the shock absorber within the strut.
Tim

 

[Maciek4530]

hi
I had a problem with a clunk noise when the gland nut managed to partially back itself out of the strut tube.
I couldn't replicate the noise with the car on the ground, but if you jack up the body so that the wheel is in the air, lifting the wheel up and down by hand showed there was play somewhere. It was similar to a bad bearing or track rod end but in the up/down direction.
The gland nut is supposed to hold the shock absorber tightly in the strut
You could check to see if your gland nut is loose or even if it is tight, whether there is any play with the shock absorber within the strut.
Tim

Ok, i try to screw it more.
But idk if it's case because since first clunk i remove shock insert 2 or more and sound same whole time. Idk if i could tight it wrong so many times?
Well, maybe after car back to ground everything need to settle down and this is the case...

 

[dl242gt]

Is the rubber collapsing on the new rubber mounts? Maybe the bearing in them is also sloppy?

 

[Fawnzee]

Hi! It will be long story about my 240 suspension and clunck i am fighting with.

HELP!

Seems like this isn't your exact situation, because I see that you did new front LCA bushings, but I had a similar problem.

Installed brand new meyle ball joints, ipd sway bar, ipd endlinks, bilsten b6 strut inserts, and BNE offset spherical strut mounts. It tightened everything up, but I would still get a loud clunk on full extension of the arms (think jacking the car up, when the struts and springs are all the way extended.

Thought it was the strut inserts, since I didn't have the bilstein tool, but took it to a shop. They said that the LCA bushings were cracked, and that they needed to be replaced. Once they replaced them with new OEM bushings, the sound went away completely.

I believe that when I installed the strut inserts, because I had the LCA still attached, it overextended the arm and the old bushings finally cracked.

That being said, other things that I suspected were the gland nuts being too loose, or the sway bar hitting on the brake line mounting plate (Which was happening, because they got bent outwards with the knuckle pulling it down, but happened on full compression).

Another thing to note is that I pulled KYBs out of the strut towers, and they had the strut spacer. I believe on later models (~91, but could be 90, I'm not sure) had the spacer welded in, so I've seen people say you can't run bilsteins in them. You'd know if you installed them with the spacers, because there would be dents in the bilstein strut tube, and cracks/cracked paint.

If you don't have the welded in spacers, I dropped my spacers out, and left the snap ring in place. Without the snap ring, the inserts bottomed out.

Hope this helps you track it down

 

[Maciek4530]

Is the rubber collapsing on the new rubber mounts? Maybe the bearing in them is also sloppy?

I have brand new Meyle, as someone said in this video one of the best options: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJO5q4TJnj4&ab_channel=JimMorris

I check bearing before instaling and works smoth, rubber is stiff.

 

[Maciek4530]

Seems like this isn't your exact situation, because I see that you did new front LCA bushings, but I had a similar problem.

Installed brand new meyle ball joints, ipd sway bar, ipd endlinks, bilsten b6 strut inserts, and BNE offset spherical strut mounts. It tightened everything up, but I would still get a loud clunk on full extension of the arms (think jacking the car up, when the struts and springs are all the way extended.

Thought it was the strut inserts, since I didn't have the bilstein tool, but took it to a shop. They said that the LCA bushings were cracked, and that they needed to be replaced. Once they replaced them with new OEM bushings, the sound went away completely.

I believe that when I installed the strut inserts, because I had the LCA still attached, it overextended the arm and the old bushings finally cracked.

That being said, other things that I suspected were the gland nuts being too loose, or the sway bar hitting on the brake line mounting plate (Which was happening, because they got bent outwards with the knuckle pulling it down, but happened on full compression).

Another thing to note is that I pulled KYBs out of the strut towers, and they had the strut spacer. I believe on later models (~91, but could be 90, I'm not sure) had the spacer welded in, so I've seen people say you can't run bilsteins in them. You'd know if you installed them with the spacers, because there would be dents in the bilstein strut tube, and cracks/cracked paint.

If you don't have the welded in spacers, I dropped my spacers out, and left the snap ring in place. Without the snap ring, the inserts bottomed out.

Hope this helps you track it down

I change LCA bushings too, they are brand new from Meyle. I tight everything down with torque spec after bouncing car on the ground. Old bushings were bad but not cracked all way down.

I know about spacer but my "old" KYB, and new Bilstein B4 don't have one in set so only spacer is one that is welded in strut tube. I don't touch them, just check if there are intact and i look from underneath, they were all way down to the spacer. Glad nut is tightened to 3/4 of the thread length, i check them but as someone said on replay - i need to check if car settle down after driving and now ther is some play right there.

My sway bar is straight, i check evertyhing when i restore them - with new bushings, new end links it have a lot of space between crosmember and swaybar. And I get knock on straight wheels driving so there is no chance to sway bar touch anything in this situation.



I need to check that glad nut, maybe it's that simple?

 

[Fawnzee]

I change LCA bushings too, they are brand new from Meyle. I tight everything down with torque spec after bouncing car on the ground. Old bushings were bad but not cracked all way down.

I know about spacer but my "old" KYB, and new Bilstein B4 don't have one in set so only spacer is one that is welded in strut tube. I don't touch them, just check if there are intact and i look from underneath, they were all way down to the spacer. Glad nut is tightened to 3/4 of the thread length, i check them but as someone said on replay - i need to check if car settle down after driving and now ther is some play right there.

My sway bar is straight, i check evertyhing when i restore them - with new bushings, new end links it have a lot of space between crosmember and swaybar. And I get knock on straight wheels driving so there is no chance to sway bar touch anything in this situation.



I need to check that glad nut, maybe it's that simple?

Gotcha, could be. Might be worthwhile picking up the bilstein tool

Also, after giving mine a good shake, realized that the clunk is actually still there Gonna check my gland nut aswell, and update if I end up finding the problem.