Suspension and Brake Recommendation

Post by **jblackburn** » 24 Jun 2011, 00:11

S70s only have 2 bolt control arms. Don't use aftermarket.

Change everything at once unless you can't afford to; but ultimately cheaper to do it all at once than change them later.

At 198k mine doesn't handle potholes and big bumps very well, but they don't bounce either. That's a valid test for worse struts - hit a bump on the highway over a bridge at 65 mph and it should settle down quickly. I drove a Civic a few weeks ago with only 80k miles that bounced around like crazy over the same bridge I take all the time in the Volvo just fine.

Post by **Juan62** » 24 Jun 2011, 05:36

Geo; on this forum, look for the post "Front Suspension-putting together parts list", by ojdorson. This will help you visually, while under the car. Now, as for your springs, struts, shocks; your coil springs will last much longer than struts/shocks. And yes, replace both at the same time (front Struts and Rear shocks). The struts and shocks can be another brand, but the specific components is HIGHLY reccommended Volvo/OEM. As for me; since I can't afford to purchase all suspension parts at one time, I'm catching and buying them when they come up on sale. Once I have all, then I'll do the job once. Though my 98 S70 T-5M is 62K, she also needs a massage, stockings, and a good pedicure.

Post by **Juan62** » 24 Jun 2011, 05:44

Forgot to mention; Brakes....if you can't afford to do brakes and suspension, do brakes FIRST. (Safety).

zhenya · Post by **zhenya** » 24 Jun 2011, 07:24

geokilla wrote: But it seems that the more research I do, the more things I find that needs to be replaced...

That is certainly the case when a car gets to the 150k mark and above. Just like a home remodeling project, there is always the problem of the 'while you're in there' mentality causing project creep. There is good reason for it, as many of those parts are almost certainly worn out, and it does save time or money to do it all at once. What I did, was replace the shocks and struts and all associated seats and hardware, along with sway bar end links at once. A couple of years later my control arms started going, so I replaced those, and now, with everything else tight, I can, probably for the first time, feel that there is a slight amount of play in my tie rods, so those will be the next, and pretty much final, parts to be replaced in the suspension and steering dept.

In your case, it wouldn't hurt to get it to a good, honest mechanic who will give you a second opinion about what parts need replacing. They probably won't recommend everything, and can tell you what parts are the worst and should be replaced right away.

geokilla · Post by **geokilla** » 24 Jun 2011, 20:28

Found a guy parting out his 98 S70. Amazingly his control arms were replaced 3 years ago and are OEM. If it's all good, I may just save us at least $150 on parts alone.

As much as I want to get a 2nd opinion, we also have to consider the fact that getting a 2nd shop/mechanic/specialist to check it means spending money.

Going through bumps and potholes, I don't feel the car becoming loose and bouncing around. There's one stretch of road that I visit maybe once every couple months and it's pretty bumpy and in bad condition and has some relatively sharp left and right turns for it's 50Km/h speed limit. If I'm i the middle of the turn and hit the pothole or bump or whatever, I can feel the rear get loose, but that's probably due to the tires losing contact with the ground.

Post by **jblackburn** » 24 Jun 2011, 20:48

The floaty rear may be disintegrated delta link bushings.

zhenya · Post by **zhenya** » 25 Jun 2011, 08:24

A good independent mechanic shouldn't charge you much of anything to take a look and give you his opinion. Especially if you intend on using them to install the parts. If you don't have a mechanic you have a good relationship with, now's a good time to start!

geokilla · Post by **geokilla** » 25 Jun 2011, 21:08

Is it possible to postpone the suspension repairs without affecting safety, based on the information I have given? Something big came up which will not be disclosed yet. It is Volvo related, if we decide to go through with it. We will get the rear brakes done relatively soon though as that is a safety concern.

Edit: Actually, I know OEM control arms and tie rods are recommended, but if the car isn't going to be driven much, say maybe at most 8k km a year can I get away with the FCP control arms and tie rods? If everything goes through, we will be dumping as little money into the S70 as possible without affecting safety. Like if there are stories where the aftermarket control arm came off during driving or something, then obviously we'd spend that bit more and go for OEM. But if it's just a durability reason, well add that with the car's soon to have low mileage per year, then obviously the cheaper the better makes sense.

Post by **jblackburn** » 26 Jun 2011, 00:12

The shocks/struts can definitely wait. But if your ball joints/tie rods/etc. are shot, then your car will soon start to pull all over the road. That's not safe.

If you don't drive much, you may be just fine to go with the aftermarket control arms so long as they are NOT scan-tech brand. I tend to put ~30,000 miles/yr on my car, so something like that just wouldn't make sense to have to do again in a year or two for someone like me.

geokilla · Post by **geokilla** » 28 Jun 2011, 18:21

Ok I'm getting the car checked by a friend's shop tomorrow for free (or so they said), and assuming that all the suspension and brake fixes are required, how does my order from FCP Groton look? I don't think I'm missing anything. The nuts and bolts should be included....

I forgot to ask earlier, are there two inner tie rod racks? Or just one? Because there's only one OEM inner tie rod on FCP for the TRW rack and one OEM inner tie rod on IPD for the SMI rack, which is made by TRW. I can't find the product plate on the driver side wheel well either.

Left Control Arm made by FCP
Right Control Arm made by FCP
Right OEM Outter Tie Rod
Left OEM Outter Tie Rod
OEM Inner Tie Rod
ATE Rear Rotors - Quantity of 2
ATE Rear Brake Pads
OEM Pad Shims
Volvo Strut Mount and Spring Seats Kit