2005 XC70 Broken Drivers Side Coil Spring

[gq370588]

Got a nice wake up call this morning when I arrived at work. Loud noise as if I ran something ove ror bottomed out, then more noise as I drove into a parking spot. Looks to be a broken coil spring, my mechanic will confirm. 120k on the car, no major issues other than routine mx (just replaced radiator at 110k). Any feedback on what to expect from broken coil spring? How much, what associated mx will be recommended while they have the car up on the lift? Lastly, it has always been my intent to keep this car for a long time (200-250k) which is why I bought a Volvo and for safety. Any concerns about an avalanche of repair bills now that I have 120k? Much appreciated any responses...GQ

[oragex]

I would replace it quickly so it doesn't affect other suspension components.

It is not a common issue. Unfortunately, replacing only one side is not a good idea because the front of the car will be balanced, so both sides need to be replaced. The cheapest will be to get some used front springs from the same donor vehicle - lots of them available off Ebay. A garage should charge about 1.5h per side to replace the springs.

[JRL]

The man said he wants to keep it another 100K miles
DO NOT EVER BUY USED SPRINGS
They break like yours did so why in the world would someone say this!

Unfortunately this is the time to renew the suspension.
New shocks/struts and springs all around, spring seats and possibly bearing plates.
Check the control arm bushings and if good... you'll have an XC that drives as new!
Yes, it's a big hit in parts but it needs to be done around this mileage anyway so now is the time.

[coflynn]

I would *highly* agree w/ JRL regarding the suspension part refresh. I did this last year on a similar mileage car and made a huge difference, even though nothing felt too bad beforehand. You just get used to it I guess as your car slowly degrades

In your case - it's no more work (possibly less) to replace the entire strut vs. just the spring. Since it's something you (probably) have to do anyway later, it makes a lot of sense to get that done now rather than double-pay for labour. Depending on local availability of parts/timelines, you can get some nice kits from FCP which are mostly OEM parts instead of random aftermarket stuff.

[oragex]

Sorry, I missed when you said you want to keep the car for another 100k miles. In this case front new springs are needed. There is a chance the rear springs will also need to be changed if the car feels unbalanced with new front ones which might be stiffer than the old ones.

[abscate]

I did all four corners on my 1999 last summer - it is like a new car with new struts, springs, and mounts.

Dont gorilla the drive shaft like I did if you do the work yourself.

[3carmark]

i work at a shop that sees a 3-5 volvos a week and have seen multiple cars with broken springs the only way to fix it right(and go another 100k) is new springs seats bearing plates struts and all hardware don't cheap out and whoever said get USED springs should think about that for just a second and realize what a moronic suggestion that was

[abscate]

For a town driver with a year or two of life left, a used whole strut assembly might make sense.

Much less labour to replace whole strut than rebuilding old with new parts

For a long term solution, a false economy choice, indeed.