Wiggle under acceleration

[Tahoe_XC]

hard pull to the left when I apply the brake

Front brake job required. Likely cause is warped rotor but could also be a failing caliper and/or air in lines.

bang/rattle from the center of the car under the dash when going over bumps

This is failed strut mount. Time to do a full front suspension

when I hit accelerator hard I feel a bit of a shudder.

This likely failing front passengers axle and/or engine mounts

Is there an easy way to check each of these w/o getting the entire vehicle up in the air?

Only need to get the front of the car in the air - Jack and two jack stands

big jobs or manageable one wheel at a time?

Jobs are doable if you have tools and inclination... if all of these common repairs are occurring I would ask yourself about other common service requirements like PCV system.

[ericjp]

"hard pull to the left when I apply the brake"

I had a hard pull to the left when I had a bad rear bushing in a control arm. Just another possibility.

[gibbons]

My 2004 with 175K miles vibrates on acceleration, too. It feels like a tire moderately out of balance. It's smooth on cruise and decel. Another XC70 oddity to chase down.

BTW, My bang/rattle in the middle of the dash when hitting bumps turned out to be sway bar end links, a $50 fix for Moogs. I had previously spent $700 for parts to replace all 5 motor mounts chasing the problem, that didn't help a thing.

[T-Hol]

Thanks for all of the replies - really appreciate it! An update on my issues are as follows:

hard pull to the left when I apply the brake
--This turned out to be a bad caliper, one was stuck, replaced both as well as lines, power bleed and all good!

bang/rattle from the center of the car under the dash when going over bumps
--This was sway bar bushings, pretty obvious when weight was off, replaced and no more bang! Strut mounts are on the list but seemed OK.

when I hit accelerator hard I feel a bit of a shudder.
--No update but seems to have disappeared...possibly related to other work above but time will tell...?

I will say that control arm bushings were intact, but probably need to be replaced soon - as well as ball joints. The PVC update is teed up now. Getting oil leaks at the front and rear main as well as MAF soft error code....

[gibbons]

Do the rear sway bar links too. I did mine just because it was only $50 and I got a thrill out of cheap Volvo work, but they actually quieted a thump I thought was my hatch.

[T-Hol]

Good call on the rear links, will get to those ASAP as they do look a bit rusty and worn. In the meantime I picked up a 'creampuff' 2001 XC70 with 116K miles on it, pristine interior but in need of work so I will be training my guns on that for the next few weekends I think! Thanks again