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Car Forum / Volvo Cars / June 2005142 Stability at high speed
Hello All I have a 1973 142. Runs great, drives pretty good around town but is terrible at speeds over 70mph. That is 4th gear, overdrive engaged and 3500 rpms. The car is not really capable of much more without putting the rpms way up there. The noise level is pretty bad at that speed and I would not really want to make any evasive driving maneuvers. I tried to improve the stabilty with new poly bushings and it did get rid of many squeaks and bumps but it is still not very stable past 70mph. The shocks are good as they pass the bounce test no probelm at all and I'm riding on newer good quality stock tires that are properly inflated. I just cannot decide what else I can do to stabilize the car. Maybe IPD sway bars but I don't really know... Any thoughts? Regards Russ Ball joints, tie rods, idler arm, wheel bearings--all need to be checked. Wheels true and not flat spotted? Tires well balanced on a high speed spin balance machine? > Hello All > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > Regards > Russ >Ball joints, tie rods, idler arm, wheel bearings--all need to be checked. I did the test where you jack up the car and wiggle the wheel and it was tight. I pulled on the tie rods they are tight. I'm not sure how to test the idler arm or the wheel bearings. >Wheels true and not flat spotted? No Flat spots nice and smooth >Tires well balanced on a high speed spin balance machine? Yes I watched the guy balance the tires when I had them put on. >>Ball joints, tie rods, idler arm, wheel bearings--all need to be checked. >I did the test where you jack up the car and wiggle the wheel and it [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >>Tires well balanced on a high speed spin balance machine? >Yes I watched the guy balance the tires when I had them put on. With the car on the ground, lie under the front end with a strong light and have someone repeatedly turn the steering wheel, somewhat rapidly, back and forth just to the point of resistance. Have them slowly increase the amount of force and violence with which they are turning the wheel. You can then watch, listen, and feel for problems like loose ball joints and play in the steering box and such. After that, put the car on stands and have safety blocks under the frame. With the wheels in the air have someone place a long lever under the front tire and repeatedly lift and release to raise and lower the wheel. This should help isolate loose bushings, ball joints, etc. Rotate the tires front to rear and see if that helps. It doesn't take much to induce a wobble or instability at speed. What feels tight to your hands whicle the dcar is sitting on the ground can be an entirely different matter at high speed. Additionally, the problem can be cumulative- that is, a tiny play in a ball joint, and a tiny looseness in wheel bearings, and a little slop in the steering box can all add up to the problem. __ __ Randy & \ \/ /alerie's \__/olvo '93 960 Estate Some of these cars have tires that are too narrow and flexible. You might want to check that aspect...  Signaturehttp://freevision.org/michael/index.html I have the stock tires. 165SR-15. You may be on to something here. They are pretty tall tires and have a large sidewall. Perhaps the car is wobbling on the sidewalls... hmmm... I'll talk with my mechanic and let you know the results Regards Russ > I have the stock tires. 165SR-15. You may be on to something here. > They are pretty tall tires and have a large sidewall. Perhaps the car [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Regards > Russ Those are basically VW tires. I'd go with something wider and stiffer. Anyone remember if the 140 and 240 wheels are interchangable? He could go with 195/75 14, if they are. Signaturehttp://freevision.org/michael/index.html >>I have the stock tires. 165SR-15. You may be on to something here. >>They are pretty tall tires and have a large sidewall. Perhaps the car [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Anyone remember if the 140 and 240 wheels are interchangable? > He could go with 195/75 14, if they are. Yes- I used to run the wheels from my '82 240 (the 14" steel kind with the two-piece center hubcaps) in place of the skinny banana peel wheels on my 140. I think I had 195/70R14 on those. The ride quality improved too, because there was more tire sidewall and less rim to soak up bumps. I used that tire size on two Volvo 164's, an MGA, and an Austin Healey 3000 and all 4 cars would cruise at 85-90 mph (had the healey up to 130 once). I don't think that's your problem. I had a '74 144 that was definitely squirrelly at highway speeds when I got it, and the problem was the rubber flex joint in the steering column. After fixing that it would go straight down the road at highway speeds as long as you could stand the noise from a very busy little motor. > I have the stock tires. 165SR-15. You may be on to something here. > They are pretty tall tires and have a large sidewall. Perhaps the car [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Regards > Russ |
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