VOLVO STEERING PROBLEM

2002 VOLVO S60 STEERING YIKES!!

Some time ago I bought my wife a used 2002 Volvo S60.  It had been in a small accident on the right front side but was otherwise in good shape.  The only problem was that when you hit the brakes (even slightly) it would take a hard left turn!  Talk about super dangerous!  Especially if you did it in traffic at high speeds!  Well, my wife had a few choice words with her mechanic (me) and I decided to hunt down the culprit. 

On the S60 Volvo, the control arm has rubber bushings that isolate it from the metal of the arm.  These bushings are prone to cracking or even breaking.  The final result is that when they frag, and believe me they do, you will suddenly find yourself making an unscheduled turn right into someones house.  Being the tight wad money saver that I am (am I right guys?) I resolved to fix these bushings by having new ones pressed in instead of replacing the entire control arm.  

 The bushings are indicated by red arrows.  Notice one is entirely gone (the rear one).

Bad idea.  Unless you use the factory bushings, I didn't, you are asking for trouble. Even then, if for some reason the shop you can find to press in the bushings doesn't do it exactly right you will face another unscheduled turn in traffic.  Let me cut to the chase.  Suffice it to say, that within a month of driving with the"new" bushings, they had once again broken and the car was steering crazy when braking.  

Do yourself a huge favor (and your wife) and replace the entire control arm with bushings.  Better yet spend a little extra money and buy the Volvo control arm.  As it turns out, the control arms only last about 20,000 miles before they frag.  The price of owning a Volvo I guess.