I'll start by an introduction of what I've done this weekend and then on to the clunk issue.

I'll admit I haven't given my 244 a lot of love lately. It's the family car my other half drives these days and the dogs have the rule of the back. Every 3 months or so, it seems to be my job to vacuum it out and clean the windows. Well, it was pretty disgusting and I really got tired of getting greasy touching anything under the hood. It's a fairly low mileage 244 (150k miles) that was given to me by the original owner. A little (not quite old - she's probably just turning 60) lady who bought it new and kept it garaged most of the time. It's in pretty decent shape.

Yesterday I bought some gel engine cleaner and vacuumed most of the interior. The hair was a quarter of an inch in back. (the seats are protected by an Orvis cover, but the rest of the back is not). I got a great de-sheeding tool for the problem dog who had a huge undercoat buildup (Furminator - buy one if your dog sheds. Don't be put off by the $40 price, it's worth it.) so that should be under control now. Got up before dawn and did the engine clean. It will need some more detailing, but it was a huge start. The I drove it down and had the oil and filter changed. It had been 5000 miles.

I was feeling good about that. (ok a little guilty about the oil slick I rinsed down the street). Went to the Pick Your Part hoping to find a passenger seat. I had thought the frame was broken. It was my lucky day. I found a great seat that was the same year, color and fabric. It also happened to be half off day at the yard. Picked up some window handles and miscellaneous screws and found a nice set of blue floor trays for the front floor. That made me really happy. I've had my eye on the ones in the IPD catalog for a while. With the passenger seat out, I had the perfect opportunity to install the new center console I bought on ebay a year or two ago. Also, I found the perfect cad plated long screws to properly attach the center arm rest to the transmission hump. The car is looking great, I must say. It was just deferred love, not lack of it. I've been busy working on the car I drive every day, an '82 (not a Volvo).

So with all that out of the way, I think my front suspension bushings might be worn, it may be something else, but I'm not sure. It generally squeaks a lot in the front, but what bothers me the most is a rattle I hear under the dash and steering column, and I can even feel it at the steering wheel. Only happens when I go over bumps. Something my neighborhood has no shortage of. The alignment is good. When I do the bounce test, the struts seem to be ok.

I have a lot of little things that I need to tackle, none of them serious, but it's a nice car and I'm willing to put in a little time. What do you guys think the likely suspects are for the front end clunking?