Volvo strut replacement

[Guest]

Hi all,

I actually don't own a volvo, but I'm trying to replace the struts on my moms' 96 850 turbo w/100K miles. Not being real familar with volvos, what other parts do I need besides the struts? I know I need the tophats (i think you call those the mounts?, but the part that sits on top of the strut with 3 bolts to the body). I think that metal sleeve or something broke. Also, I found that place FCPgroton, is that the best place to order parts? Or is tirerack gonna be ok?

I'm not sure of some of the parts they mention, what is a front strut insert?
1) What brand is a good stock replacement? Dont need heavy duty. Stock damping is good.
2) what is the difference in the strut mounts between the three companies?
3) and what is the strut spacer? Is this necessary?

Just a daily driver, so no high performance parts needed.

[matthew1]

This page -- always linked to from my Home page -- has a beautiful step-by-step on Volvo 850 strut replacement:
http://members.shaw.ca/heeeeee/strut/

More parts places:
http://www.carpartsvolvo.com
http://www.vlvworld.com
http://www.volvopartbypart.com
http://www.ipdusa.com

IPD is super-reliable, and they've been around for 30 years or so. Boge or even Monroe (if you're in the US I think these are sold by Sears) are inexpensive.

Sorry, I can't answer your specific questions; I haven't done my struts yet -- but soon.

[Guest]

Thanks for the help. Ordered the parts and should arrive soon. One note, I think there is an error on that strut page. The bolt part numbers are mixed up, there are 4 of one and 6 of the other, but the fcpgroton site has it reversed (i.e. six of the first one and 4 of the other) I followed the vendor site, hope I got it right