suspension noises when cold

[Jsandek]

Besides sway bar end links, what else can be causing the following? The car is an 04 xc70 with 50,000 miles, located in northeast. In winter, either first thing in morning or after sitting all day at work, first several minutes of low speed driving, maneuvering around in lot and then driving no more than 20-25 mph in complex I hear subtle metal on metal clunking noises. Correlates with very minor surface irregulaties. A couple winters ago these sounds seemed to be coming from rear of car but lately more from the front. In less than 5 minutes or so the sound disappears. I've been thinking of getting IPD bars and links and that would solve the problem IF its the links. Anyone with similar experience/solution appreciated

[Pennhaven]

Besides sway bar end links, what else can be causing the following? The car is an 04 xc70 with 50,000 miles, located in northeast. In winter, either first thing in morning or after sitting all day at work, first several minutes of low speed driving, maneuvering around in lot and then driving no more than 20-25 mph in complex I hear subtle metal on metal clunking noises. Correlates with very minor surface irregulaties. A couple winters ago these sounds seemed to be coming from rear of car but lately more from the front. In less than 5 minutes or so the sound disappears. I've been thinking of getting IPD bars and links and that would solve the problem IF its the links. Anyone with similar experience/solution appreciated
I have similar (virtually identical) symptoms. On mine I only have noticed it first thing on very cold days when there is a packed rough frozen snow surface. It seems that the high and low spots of the surface are very close together so the suspension and wheels are deflected independently and a lot more rapidly than usual (similar to a "washboard" dirt road effect).

Mine sounds like it is rear only and I already have IPD sway bar links all around (with stock bars). I did not notice this prior to putting on the links, so I am a little suspicious that I did not tighten the rear ones sufficiently (though I did torque them to spec). But since you are reporting virtually the same problem with the stock links, I am wondering if the cause is simply the unusual road surface conditions. It has been much colder this year than previous years since I've had my '04, so this hard ripply road surface has been pretty unusual.

[Jsandek]

What about the tranny coupler/link that is reported to go bad? It's getting warmer around here but I was thinking of trying an experiment where I let the car warm up before I move it and see if the sounds are there or not. It's definately a cold weather issue.