Suspension and Brake Recommendation

geokilla · Post by **geokilla** » 22 Jun 2011, 10:17

We took the car to the dealer today to get an alignment and wheel balance done, and I just received a call from then that the inner and outer tie rods, control arms and ball joints basically have to be changed because they are loose and/or getting worn out. The dealer quoted me $1008 including parts and labour but not including tax. Is this reasonable? I already declined the service for that because I found out that if I buy the parts myself form FCP, it's only $119 + labour for aftermarket parts, or if I use OEM parts, it'd be $435 + labour. Can I use aftermarket parts or would it be better to go OEM?

The dealer also said that the rear brake pads are at around 2mm to 3mm, so they need to be changed soon. I think it'll last for the rest of the summer at most, so might as well get them changed. However when we looked at it while we swapped the winter tires to all season, it looked like there was a lot of brake pad left. Anyways, the dealer quoted $530 to replace the rear brake pads and rotors and shims. If I buy a comprehensive Brembo Akebono brake kit from FCP, it's $285 + labour. Add the shims and it's another $6. Basically we're paying hopefully around $600 to get the brakes done at all four corners instead of just getting it changed at the rear, assuming I'm not forgetting any other parts. Are the Brembo Akebono kit any good, or do you still recommend going stock Volvo OEM? I have heard that the OEM brake pads are pretty bad now because they changed suppliers a while back.

Finally, do you think it's worth it to get all this done? We keep on dumping $2000 into the car every year, it sometimes makes my mom (the owner) want to purchase a pre-owned Volvo S40/S60 instead.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 22 Jun 2011, 11:00

On control arms always go OEM or you will be replacing them again in under a year. There are some good aftermarket tie rod ends out there (and some bad ones) but I don't think the "Good Ones" like MOOG are priced significantly better than OEM parts.

Brembo has always been a gold standard until they started making stuff in China and some of our members have not been terribly happy with the Brembo rotors of late. Any rotor will work, I have drilled Raybestos rotors on all of mine and they have held up for years without warping.

Many of our members rave about the Akebono pads but I have never personally used them. I have had good luck with Mintex Reds - they stop just fine and they are a bit cleaner than OEM. OEM will always work well and not squeal but they are dirty.

..Lee

zhenya · Post by **zhenya** » 22 Jun 2011, 11:23

You don't have any other local options than the dealer? That's ~$700 worth of work, using quality or OEM parts, at my Indy mechanic.

Most of us are in agreement here that steering parts should be OEM. Brakes allow much more flexibility, but you can buy reasonable replacements for all 4 corners for less than $200.

I'd be a little suspicious that 'all' of those front parts need replacing, and another benefit of finding an Indy shop would be to get a 2nd opinion. These cars are definitely worth keeping running, but you can't do it reasonably at the dealer.

Post by **Juan62** » 22 Jun 2011, 11:51

Concur; be very carefull to purchase OEM on specific suspension parts, such as the ones you mentioned. Struts/shocks you can get around.

Post by **Juan62** » 22 Jun 2011, 14:12

Geo, check out brakewarehouse.com or IPD above this forum. You may see something you like.

geokilla · Post by **geokilla** » 22 Jun 2011, 18:23

Ok we'll be going with OEM for the steering and suspension parts. So expect $435 + labour if I buy from FCP. I'll see how much the Volvo specialists cost tomorrow. I gave them a call today and they were willing to do all the labour if I provide the parts. They wouldn't give me a quote on the labour though because there are always "unforseen circumstances such as stuck tie rod" or whatever. I could get it checked again, but we don't really wanna pay $100 as a check up fee, then another say $700 for parts and labour. That'd be $800 of work instead of $700. Maybe I can persuade my dad to do a DIY as MVS has great write ups, but we'll take things one step at a time.

For the brakes, first I found this thread which is very helpful! Anyways, would there be any problems with mix and matching the OEM front brakes with the aftermarket brakes in the rear? I'll probably purchase the rear Akebono brake pads and rear ATE rotors. That's pretty much all I'll need right? The dealer mentioned shims, but it looks like they already come with shims. Also, the rotors are shipped in pairs right? It'd really suck if there was only one rotor LMAO as it says they are shipped individually but the title says 2 per vehicle. I'll ask FCP tomorrow to double check as well. With such a large order, I may just purchase the front brake rotors and pads as well in order to make the most out of the discount and free shipping.

And I can't seem to get the FCP coupons working... Says they're invalid even though I meet the pricing criteria.

zhenya · Post by **zhenya** » 22 Jun 2011, 18:26

One word of warning about providing parts to your mechanic - they'll do it, but if you end up with parts that have a problem, you'll have to pay them to replace it again. If they provide the parts, it is clear where the responsibility lies. I've provided parts many times myself, but I've also had issues - hence the warning. It may not be worth the small savings.

geokilla · Post by **geokilla** » 22 Jun 2011, 18:39

zhenya wrote:One word of warning about providing parts to your mechanic - they'll do it, but if you end up with parts that have a problem, you'll have to pay them to replace it again. If they provide the parts, it is clear where the responsibility lies. I've provided parts many times myself, but I've also had issues - hence the warning. It may not be worth the small savings.

Yep I'm aware of it. Thanks for the heads up.

Also, approximately how long do the inner and outer tire rods and control arms last? I'm gonna check our service record to see when's the last time they were changed. Another way to make sure that the dealer isn't just BSing with me.

Crap... forgot to check the ETM and throttle body. ETM was last changed at 170k km so it's been almost 100k km...

geokilla · Post by **geokilla** » 23 Jun 2011, 12:41

Looking over at the service description, turns out the spring seats are cracked as well. Looks like I should use OEM parts. The thing is it seems that the XC90 spring seats are preferred over the OEM S70 spring seats. I assume they're stronger and more durable, since the XC90 is such a heavy car? And do I need the mount as well?

Edit: FCP doesn't have OEM XC90 spring seats, only IPD has them. Are the IPD S70 spring seats any good, or is it still recommended to go with the XC90 ones?

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 23 Jun 2011, 13:33

The XC90 spring seats will work just fine with your strut bearings and they are much beefier for only a few dollars more but make sure they are OEM. FCP actually should have, or they can get, the OEM XC90 seats but it may take a phone call to get them added to your order. There is a bunch of stuff on their website that you can't really find without a part number.

There are times that I have used competing parts suppliers or VADIS to get the part number of things that I need and then just enter them in the search field at FCP and they magically appear.

I bought all of mine through Tasca parts, they kill you on freight but is all blue box stuff. OEMvolvoparts isn't quite as good on pricing but they are way more fair on shipping and they too are blue box OEM parts.

...Lee