98 V70 non-turbo shocks and struts

[98v70dad]

I had planned to start this weekend with just the shocks. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any place locally wher I can walk in and pick up two bilstein touring shocks. I'll probably have to order them along with the sturts and associated parts and do it another weekend.

[erikv11]

+1 on the pipe wrenches, simple and effective.

You may want to check those rear shock mounts, they tend to break, you can ID that by visual inspection from above. And oh, those bolts in the rear shock mounts are among the few to keep a close eye on for replacement, they can develop a lot of rust from underneath. Tread cautiously with lots of penetrant and patience, the job is much easier if they don't break off.

[98v70dad]

1) I have looked around and the Bilstein touring shocks and struts look like what I want. The strut kit IPD sells looks like it has everything needed for the struts. I'm wondering if the parts in that kit are good sturdy parts or are there items I'd be better off upgrading? The price of the kit is only a little cheaper than buying the parts separately. I agree with all of the comments saying "replace certain parts on condition only" but I'm working on one car in my driveway and I need it since its a daily driver. I can't order something I thought I didn't need and wait a few days for it to arrive.

2) i'm also wondering what shock mounts are good and sturdy. When doing DIY I like to put my money into parts that wont need to be replaced again for a long time. Any recommendations here?

3) Where do I get the bolts for the shock mounts? I don't want to re-use those since they are probably corroded and trying to find a metric grade 8 bolt is difficult. Hardware store bolts are junk and I wouldn't use them in a car except for a temporary repair. The dealer probably has them for a ridiculously inflated price but that will be my last resort. Ideas?

[erikv11]

1) +1 for Bilstein TC, they are a great shock/strut on a wagon. For the parts in http://www.ipdusa.com/products/9214/120 ... 70-v70-c70 I am mixed. I am not 100% sure on the IPD HD spring seat. I know their "HD" sway bar links are crap these days, but their HD spring seat used to be fine. You may want to wait to hear from someone who has actually used the HD spring seat. Same on the Sachs strut mount, that may be good, may not ... I like INA or FAG strut mounts. All the other parts that are Volvo branded are, of course, excellent, but the mount and spring seat are the two key parts.

2) Aftermarket is OK here but never buy anything ScanTech or their successor, Pro Parts Sweden. I like these, Hutchinson may even be the factory manufacturer but regardless, this will be a good part http://www.eeuroparts.com/Parts/6411/Sh ... r-9461524/.

3) The go-to post for rear shocks is this one by jreed, it mentions getting excellent replacement bolts at an Ace hardware store: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=40415. The part number is 985188 and they are $2 each from volvopartswebstore http://www.volvopartswebstore.com/showA ... ring=shock. Note you can also get Volvo mounts there for $28 each, may be worth it to order those as a package and get the right thing(s). Other dealer web sites probably have similarly good prices, many are competitive these days.

[Ozark Lee]

The bolts for the lower shock mounts aren't bolts at all, they are a tapered stud that is welded to the trailing arm so those really can't be changed. We have had several members snap the threaded end off of that stud and it is major catastrophe when that happens. Use lots of penetrating oil and go after those nuts slowly and deliberately. The only real cure for a broken stud is to replace the trailing arm although a couple of members have managed to drill out the old stud. The replacement bolt at least held the shock on the car but it was less than ideal.

The upper shock mount bolts usually aren't a problem but there is a captive nut that is press fitted into the chassis and there have been cases where that nut has broken loose. Although that is a major PITA you can recover from that one easier than the broken stud on the bottom side.

...Lee

[98v70dad]

I'm wondering who manufactures a good to high quality upper strut mount and good to high quality upper spring seat. Can anyone comment on that? I would like to buy the IPD bilstein touring front strut kit but I don't know if those two components they provide in the kit are any good.

I appreciate all of the comments I've gotten. They will make the job much easier and keep me out of trouble ... still need the info on the upper strut mount and upper spring seat. I checked the front right nut today and its spinning all around which I guess that indicates i have a problem on that side. The driver side doesn't do that.

I live in the sunny south and the OEM equipment lasted about 14 years before the suspension started to rattle. We don't have salt and we don't have potholes. So I may not need the best but if its only 20 or 30 dollars more a side I'd rather put in the better quality.

[Ozark Lee]

For spring seats OEM Volvo XC90 spring seats will last forever. The old part number for the 850s and 70 series cars has been superseded to be the XC90 part but there still may be some dealerships that have the old part number in stock. The other choice for spring seats is the IPD heavy duty. Pretty much anything other than those will not last.

The OEM strut bearing / upper mount is very good and I don't know what company actually made it. The cheap aftermarkets from URO, Scan Tech, and Professional Parts Sweden, as seductive as the price is, are just bad news and should be avoided.

...Lee

[JimBee]

Rusty bolts can make a nice straight-forward job messy and frustrating.

You've already read a heads-up on those rear shock mount bolts.

You can ensure easy removal with a little more time and effort on the underside, though you'll probably need to jack the rear up to get good access. That will take you a few minutes. Support it with something sturdy.

Use a "toothbrush" style wire bristle brush. If you have a small enough hand you can get up inside the shock tunnel and using a rotating motion, clean the rust off of the threads that are protruding on the long end of the bolt below the nut. If you don't do this, the rust will bind in the nut, even though you get a little PB Blaster on the top side. If your hand is too big to get in there, give the neighbor's 9 year old kid a couple of bucks to help. You can demonstrate on a bolt outside of the car. You won't get all the rust off, but even half of it will make a huge difference.

Next, soak the cleaned up bolt shank with PB Blaster on the underside. I saturated a cotton ball with PB and worked it around the stud. Once the studs were cracked loose they almost turned out by hand.
xHeart revised my method: she cut small squares from a household sponge and drilled 1/4 inch holes in them. Then soaked the squares with PB and pushed them onto the cleaned up studs.

If you're doing all four corners, you'll need to unbolt the sway bar links from the strut. That bolt, too, will be rusty and if there's no vertical stress on it, when you try to turn it with a wrench it will just spin.
Solution: Put vertical stress on it. You'll have the wheel off anyway. The car should be supported under the chassis. Load vertical stress on the sway bar link so its bolt on the strut flange is locked at an angle in the flange.

Next, use a wire brush. I use a small round brush with a fixed mandrel in my portable drill and clean up the exposed threads on the link stud. Then douse it with PB Blaster. As the nut loosens you'll see the stud is cocked at a slight vertical angle. That holds it from turning. They come right off.

[erikv11]

The spinning nut indicates a broken spring seat.

Lee says IPD HD on the spring seats is still fine, go with it. On the strut mounts, FWIW, having read some more I would feel OK going with the Sachs/Boge strut mount, that kit looks good.

[98v70dad]

The spinning nut indicates a broken spring seat.

Lee says IPD HD on the spring seats is still fine, go with it. On the strut mounts, FWIW, having read some more I would feel OK going with the Sachs/Boge strut mount, that kit looks good.

Thanks.