Play at 3 & 9, just replaced outters

[BigRed]

I won't be able to get it back up until Tuesday evening. A shop had put used control arms on both sides about 15K miles ago, so I have no way of knowing how many miles are actually on them. That was back when we didn't have a garage, before we bought our house.

[BigRed]

I got it back up and had my wife assist me by shaking it at 3 & 9. I saw no movement in the control arm bushings, but I did see a lot of movement in the lower ball joint.

[erikv11]

Bingo, there should be no play at all in that ball joint. Might as well check the other side while you are at it.

Control arm is a pretty easy job, and no you don't need an alignment when you are done (did you already align it after doing the tie rods?). Just be sure to "preload" the arm before you tighten those bolts at the subframe, otherwise you *will* ruin the bushings like rspi was talking about.

For control arms it's the same thing - OEM is Lemforder which is very good but expensive. The TRW are supposed to be very good, the Meyle control arms seem to have been serving people well and are a fair bit cheaper. Cheapest source for Volvo branded is usually tascaparts.com but they sometimes charge ridiculous shipping so be sure to factor that in. I don't know what brand control arms FCP is selling these days. Whatever you do, do NOT buy Scantech or URO control amrs, be wary of the cheap ones in general. I know I sound like a broken record on that but there are a ton of worthless "replica" suspension parts out there, that fail rapidly. Good chance that is what the shop swapped in.

[BigRed]

Have not had it aligned yet. I Have to get tire order in from tirerack.com before the 6th and get a free Nook too. I'll be sticking with Conti ExtremeContact DWS.

Other side is nice and tight. Should I be concerned that there's movement back on tie rod when its moving at the ball joint, or is that to be expected?

I plan on going with a Meyle Control Arm. I've had a good enough experience with theirs on my A6, and that things has a lot of control arms! Eight on the front!

[erikv11]

OK so I read your earlier posts too. The movement on the inner tie rod sounds suspicious but I don't feel confident diagnosing it withut knowing if the play is in the ball joint there (would be bad) or in the rack (I think a little there is normal). If it was me, I would replace the control arm and re-evaluate the handling/steering. But on my wagon when the outers went out, the inners went soon after.

The resistance in the steering rack does sound like maybe a worn steering gear but I have no experience with that. If you end up getting a new or rebuilt rack it will come with inner tie rods, so keep that in mind ...

[Mike850]

The control arm bushings and ball joints all need replacing in my '97 850. I could either order new control arms or order the bushings and ball joints seperately.

Questions:
1. Has anyone had good luck substituting poly bushings for the stock rubber ones?
2. What is the procedure for removing/installing bushings?
a) Machine press?
b) Heat the control arm to expand and refrigerate bushings to contract to make bushings insert easier?
c) Some type of lubricant to aid the insertion of the bushings?

Many thanks in advance!

[erikv11]

The ball joint is not replaceable on a 97 850 stock control arm. So unless the car has non-stock control arms you are likely going to need new ones anyway. I am of no help on the poly bushings question, though.

[Mike850]

Thanks Erikv11,

I used the "energy suspension" bushings on my Expedition and it steers like a go-cart! I love it! So I'm a fan of polyurethane bushings. Also, through Auto Zone, you can order Energy Suspension sway bar end links (Heavy Duty) for the Volvo 850's. I'm getting ready to order some of those. Part no is "9.8125R". They sell them for only $18.99. Not sure if that is each or a set, but probably each, at that price.

I thought poly control arm bushings on the Volvo might yield better handling. But it sounds like due to the ball joint being integrated I would be best off to buy new (Volvo or TRW) control arms to get new bushings and new ball joints.

On my '97 850, I replaced that upper engine torque rod bushing with a poly bushing from FCP Groton. But everything else is currently factory.