Very hard bumpy senstive ride.. every bump is a big one...

tblindt · Post by **tblindt** » 16 May 2011, 14:48

I did my control arms and tie rods a little less than a year ago, my struts are all 3 years old give or take. The car drives really really firm and hard. Bumps jiggly the hell outta the interior... its a painful ride considering how bumpy my road home is.

What should I replace and look into, seats for springs and or strut mounts? As well as replacing my struts.

Also, I never pulled out or worked with struts or springs before any precautions or special procedures/tools is this going to require?

Many Thanks Travis

Mileage is about 180,000

Alecw81 · Post by **Alecw81** » 16 May 2011, 15:51

I'd guess your seats have gone. Get the XC90 ones from FCP or IPD.

You'll need a spring compressor and a special spanner tool that you can also get from IPD.

Post by **patrioty3k** » 16 May 2011, 15:55

My strut seat springs wore out...could be the problem?

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 16 May 2011, 16:11

Are you feeling the bumps or hearing the bumps? I'm not making fun of you, the two sensations can often be confusing.

If you are feeling them there is very little you can do about it. Different shock and spring packages can tune the suspension a bit but at the end of the day it really is what it is. the 850 and 70 series platform is not, nor will it ever be, a Buick or Cadillac ride no matter what you do to the suspension.

If you are hearing clunks more than feeling them then that is a horse of a different color. For starters make sure your end links are still tight. They tend to bind up when you torque them down and they can give you a false reading that they really are tight and they will clatter like the dickens. If that checks out OK test the spring seats, they too will make a ton of noise when they break. A good test is to just lift the hood and try to twist the inverted castle washer at the top of the strut tower. It will move a tiny bit but it should not twist easily. If it (they) do twist easily then the spring seats are broken. I recommend that you replace them with XC90 spring seats, they are a few bucks more but they are much tougher. That also adds the decision thing about the struts - the labor is exactly the same to change the struts as it is to change the spring seats so you need to decide whether or not to change the struts while you are at it.

The Koni Yellow struts are adjustable and they can let you tune the suspension to an extent between ride and handling characteristics. They are also very expensive - so much so that I have never had the pleasure of trying them. A full set of KONI Yellows costs more than I have paid for any of my cars.

The Bilstein Touring Class shocks and struts have very good handling characteristics but they are a tad harsher in the ride department than are the stock shocks and struts.

The OEM Sachs/Boge are not bad at all in the handling department and they put the car back to the factory ride.

The Bilstein HD setup handles great but it is very harsh in the ride.

Without going too deep into the weeds that pretty much leaves the Monroe Sensatrack products. They ride OK but the handling really sucks in comparison to the other alternatives. They really aren't that much cheaper than the OEM Sachs or the Bilstein Touring Class products but they tend to be more available at the local chain stores rather than via mail order. My son has them on his 850 and I have been very underwhelmed with the handling.

...Lee

Post by **phat78ta** » 16 May 2011, 18:32

Lee, I have the pleasure of the Koni front struts on my wagon(came with the car, so I didn't feel the hurt LOL)and can say they are delightful. i have the set all the way to firm, and get really good ride from them, and tire melting cornering and handling from them as well. I haven't put them all the way in soft as of yet, but may try it just for a change of pace. If you do need new struts, and you drive like a mad Swede on a mountain road, I highly recommend the Koni's. seem to be worth the price IMO.

tblindt · Post by **tblindt** » 16 May 2011, 22:36

"Are you feeling the bumps or hearing the bumps? " Its definitely ride firmness. No noise and top spring seats don't spin. Its just gotten at worse in the last couple of months. I know its no caddy and it never was, but it was better than this. My whole dash jumps around cause of the bumps and how bad they hit.

So I'm thinking do struts, spring seats (will these work?? they are aftermarket though http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exec/p ... ory_id/185 ) and strut mounts. Thoses are two separate things... As far as the rear is concerned, is there a bushing or mount like the one in this link ever need to be done? Comparing bump hits the front is not as bad as the rear, rear hits hard. Best way I can describe it.

http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exec/p ... ory_id/190

Know how i get alot of bump testing... I live by an old 100 year old concrete road with joints every 15 feet that don't line up and a thousand shitty asphalt patch jobs by state DOT that blow.

EDIT: link for xc90 spring seat

Post by **jreed** » 17 May 2011, 04:47

I recently redid the front control arms, spring seats, struts and anti-sway links, as well as replaced one of the rear trailing arm bushings on my 1997 855 GLT at ~145K miles. I did the front work myself but I had an independent mechanic (Autologic in Carrboro, NC) do the rear bushing for me. I used all OEM parts (except for the Meyle anti-sway links), including XC90 spring seats purchased from Darryl Waltrip Volvo in TN.
I am delighted with the improvement in handling and elimination of squeaks. The cars drives like it did (in my memory) about 5 or 6 years ago... not ultra "buick" smooth but nice and quiet.
If I were going to do this work again, I would definitely use OEM parts again even though they cost more. Be sure to compare at least eeuroparts.com, fcpgroton.com and Darryl Waltrip Volvo in TN to see who can offer the best pricing on the various pieces you will need. Also, if I were to do it again I would inspect all the suspension components thoroughly at the outset (front and rear) to identify everything that needs replacement, and then prioritize the work if you can't take care of all of it at once. Good luck!

Post by **JRL** » 17 May 2011, 05:26

No one here has mentioned tires.
These cars are very sensitive to tire brands, type of tire and tread.
Cheap, hard tires will make these cars ride like crap
Also LOWER your air pressure to the low 30s

zhenya · Post by **zhenya** » 17 May 2011, 05:57

Also, is it possible your dash has come loose? My experience is that, similar to what Lee said above, if the interior bits are banging around, it will make it feel as if the car is riding much rougher than it really is as you brace for all the rattles and bangs over each piece of rough road.