Suspension Suspension

[MoVolvos]

BKM, feel free to send pics to me and I'll put them in your posts. It'll even look like you did it .

PM me or use the Contact page. Then we'll have each other's email addresses and you can email me the photos.

SORRY, NO PICTURES! I am more disappointed than you however as it would have been some sight to see the seriousness of the situation! I had a 2 1/2 hour window to do some work today to remedy this problem. As mentioned before the wheel was stuck in negative camber touching the ground and I could not jack it up any more for fear of damaging/stretching the ABS and brake lines. In desperation I remembered and called a reputable local mechanic I've never used but heard of and he said to use a long needle nose with hoses on the end to protect the strut piston and slowly pry it up through the hole in the strut bushing otherwise tear the whole suspension down in the driveway. HOA won't go for that!

To make long story short I raised the car on the other side high enough for the tire to come off the ground and the car shifted over enough for the negative camber to be reduced on the other side. Being much higher in the air the spring was also unloaded enough to be straighter. It only took me about 10 minutes with a pry bar to shift the assembly straight enough and with a thin foot+ long screw driver shoved the (No. 6 in diagram) washer on the strut shaft and it went through the hole in the mount . The pry bar was large and it took some prying (shaking) and pushing of the screw driver but it went through. Praise GOD!!! Thanks for everyone's humor and lightness to my post to what would have been otherwise a very stressful situation.

Tomorrow new Strut Bushing replacement with the K90229 Moog's Heavy Duty Lifetime Warranty units from O'Reilly's with free 48 hour spring compressor rental. One year warranty if you buy it else where but $15.00 Cheaper.
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detai ... &ppt=C0361

Blessings,

BKM
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PS I guess I won't be instrumental in starting a FAILED Forum

[erikv11]

Glad you got it fixed!

Confusing post history. So the whole time you were posting, there was a strut shaft you could grab? Did you not read the very first response?

I was going to say just get something up into the strut tower from the wheel well, it would be difficult but not impossible, to recover the shaft and push it back up into the mount. ...

Also you said you are replacing the strut mount but you are actually replacing the spring seat? That would make more sense, strut mounts have much more longevity.

Be warned that virtually every aftermarket spring seat for these cars fails prematurely, although I have read zero feedback about Moog's. At $45 each they are expensive, but maybe they are good quality, I guess you never know until you try. Please post back in 10,000 miles or so if they are not broken yet, would be good to know if there is another alternative to the Volvo ones.

[MoVolvos]

Thanks for the reply eriv11. This is the first time I've owned a vehicle that had a strut mount and a spring seat. I am use to just a strut mount or strut bearing one unit setup so the confusion on my part sorry. I re-read your original post earlier on but at that time the car was on the ground so there was no room to get anything in to push the shaft up and when I tried I knock off washer (no. 6) into the assembly. We I did get it in the air the shaft was pressed against the spring due to the negative camber as the spring is trying to pop out. It was after speaking to the shop here that I tried various ways to get the shaft centered so it could be pushed up and even then it was using the (no. 6) washer wedged at an angle on the thread of the shaft to push it up. Before that the screw driver was not able to get a good enough contact to do so and the needle nose idea was just way to tedious as there is very little room to slide the shaft besides trying to keep the spring from going side to side.

I will report back if the car last that long . It is rather expensive but it is the Heavy Duty XC90 Spring Seat with a Lifetime Warranty over the counter at O'Reilly's so I guess the insurance policy is built in. Thanks again.

Blessings,

BKM

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[MoVolvos]

Laying the strut sideways on the ground with the strut shaft point up it slid down into the strut The extension of the strut however had excellent resistance. The Moog spring seat though were suppose to be XC90 units did not seem as stout as the bad OE one's that I removed. The strut mount had a very slight play so I returned the Moog spring seats and bought these:

Gabriel G57040 ReadyMount Complete Strut Assembly
https://www.amazon.com/Gabriel-G57040-Re ... B005XH6QZ8

Will update

Blessings,

BKM

[MoVolvos]

I just finished installing the last Front Strut Assembly today. The parts did not arrive together so I had to installed one Strut Assembly first on the drivers side as it was bottoming out due to the Broken Spring Seat and a Strut that just collapsed literally on the upward bounce. The bonk/clunk went away and then I installed the 2 rear Shocks on another day and it made the car ride so well besides being much quieter.

The last Front Strut Assembly along with the Sway Bar links made the car feel so... like a new car as the passenger side Spring Seat was also in bad shape. I took it on some back roads and I was still anticipating in the seat of my pants the repercussion of the former bad suspension but NO it went over those like a new car !

I purchased these for the Lifetime Warranty and ease of installation and Gabriel has an excellent rebate at this time if you buy 4 Units. I also went with O'Reilly's on the Sway Bar links for price and the Lifetime Warranty. Last note I found for my car the Strut Assembly has some movement in and out or positive or negative camber on the steering knuckle even though it is not suppose to be adjustable. I shifted it to the positive most camber position and it did not affect the alignment. I initially set it to Negative Camber thinking the Strut Assembly would raise the car enough to cause a slight Positive Camber and the car drove poorly till I reset it. The car drives straight without pulling and steering wheel is still centered and after a turn the steering wheel will automatically return to center as it should and not bind.

The total should be around $350.00 for 2 Sway Bar Links, 2 Completely Assembled Front Strut Assembly, no Spring Compressors to contend with (Strut, Spring, Spring Seat, Strut Mount, Boot and Bumpstop) and 2 rear shocks after the Gabriel Rebate. I know Gabriel is a no name brand these days and is made in China but it looks EXACTLY like the Volvo OE or BOGE's (front ones at least) that I removed from the car.

Master Pro Chassis - Stabilizer Bar Link Kit
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detai ... &ppt=C0106

Gabriel G57040 ReadyMount Complete Strut Assembly
http://gabriel.com/our-products/car-lig ... readymount
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005XH ... B005XH6QZ8

Gabriel 69901 Ultra Passenger Car Shock for select Volvo models
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E8 ... B000E8SWEO

Blessings,

BKM
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[Thunderbox]

This looks like an interesting low cost option for my wagon. Since I picked it up for a steal this might fit my budget. Let us know how things hold up. did it come with new hardware like nuts and bolts?

[MoVolvos]

This looks like an interesting low cost option for my wagon. Since I picked it up for a steal this might fit my budget. Let us know how things hold up. did it come with new hardware like nuts and bolts?

For the 4 Units: Everything but the two large nuts and bolts for the steering knuckle. The ABS line bracket and screws are also included. Sale/Rebate up to 25% ends at end of April. Autozone has the same set up but the Complete Front assembly is about $25 dollars more each side but you can get the Lifetime Warranty done over the counter within 2 days. Hope I won't need them anytime soon but if needed no spring compressors and entire Assembled Assembly is new so quick in and out!

Blessings,

BKM
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[Thunderbox]

Just finished the fronts yesterday. Went in really easy. I had both front struts, ball joints and tie rods ends done in under 2 hours from car up on jacks to last bolt on wheel. The ride is great and for the price the ready made's are a great deal on my low cost wagon.

This is a quick shot after a detail session with a buffer and polish. Really digging this wagon.

[MoVolvos]

Just finished the fronts yesterday. Went in really easy. I had both front struts, ball joints and tie rods ends done in under 2 hours from car up on jacks to last bolt on wheel. The ride is great and for the price the ready made's are a great deal on my low cost wagon.

This is a quick shot after a detail session with a buffer and polish. Really digging this wagon.

Thanks for the update Guinea Pig 2 . The Ready Mounts have been working out real well on my car also and I've purchased a set of 2001 V70 rims with 195/65/15 tires instead of 205/55/16's and the Bridgestone Potenza RE960 are really quiet and smooth riding.

I am considering these two options to bring back the ride height and increase the tauntness in the rear suspension. The spacers bring back ride height and reduce one coils rebound usefulness so the other springs pick up the load thereby making it compress/push/pull more making things more taunt where as the IPD would just be perfect. Will update once I choose and install one of those.

http://www.ipdusa.com/products/8817/120 ... 70-v70-fwd

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detai ... &ppt=C0361

Blessings,

BKM
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[matt122s]

Hi BKM,
I need to replace my front struts and mounts. I've been considering using complete units either Gabriels like you did or FCP complete strut units. It's been over 3 years, how have the Gabriel's worked out, are you happy with the ride, any issues or complaints? Any noises or softness in the ride?
Thanks, Matt