2004 XC90 Lower control arm 1/2 inch longer

rmad · Post by **rmad** » 28 Sep 2015, 12:48

Hi all,

my bushings were done, so I decided to replace the entire control arms.

I bought MOOG VV-TC-4400 and VV-TC-4401 parts. They looked very similar but when I put them side to side with the original ones I found out that the MOOG ones are circa 1/2 inch longer on the ball joint side.

Apparently, according to MOOG these are exact replacements for the Volvo 31304045/6 ones, but... they slightly longer! Not much, but... I'm not sure if this makes a big difference, so I need more info before moving on. Does anyone had this issue before?

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Post by **FLXC90** » 28 Sep 2015, 15:42

Is it just that there is extra material beyond the ball-joint hole? Or does the overall contour of the arms make them seem longer?
Best test, get a piece of cardboard or similar material, insert a bolt in the vertical hole and tap it to make a hole in the cardboard, without moving the control arm, do the same with the ball-joint hole/stud, then tap on the horizontal bushing boss to make a depression,
Now repeat process, do they line up, or are they still off?

Depending on the angle of the arm, a 10mm difference could result in a camber change. I haven't looked at the suspension enough to see whether that is something that can be compensated for at the strut or upper bearing. If so, still no problem.

Gut Gluck!

Post by **oragex** » 28 Sep 2015, 16:17

Volvo went from aluminum to steel arms around that year, perhaps Moog messed up with the part number because of that.. It should certainly not be longer than the one at the top of the picture. Maybe those are for the XC70? In any case, I'd advise against Moog bushings - most aftermarket bushings have a less than stellar life span of one year on European vehicles, better look up on Ebay/internet for Lemforder arms.

Side note, does the Moog one have the larger bushing rotated the same as in the original arm?

Ou2mame · Post by **Ou2mame** » 28 Sep 2015, 22:49

I would return them if you can. That doesn't seem right. I went with the meyle HD arms and have zero complaints. I don't know where the moogs are made now but the last time I used one was on a v70 and they failed in a year. I believe they were made in Taiwan. The meyle HD arms I put on mine are made in Germany at least.

rmad · Post by **rmad** » 29 Sep 2015, 12:09

I will do the cardboard test (good idea FLXC90, thks). If they are definitely longer I'll return them. Maybe they would still be ok, but since they don't match 1:1 the original part and there isn't any assembly note or info stating why they differ, I don't fill comfortable.

I'll bring some news during the weekend.

thks for your comments!

rmad · Post by **rmad** » 04 Oct 2015, 13:09

Hi all,

so... I was wrong... shame on me. The arms have the same size as the original ones. If a arm is put on top of the other to compare, the lower one will look longer. I asked two different people and they immediately said, yeah, the one in the bottom is definitely longer. The turn point was when I reversed the order putting the original one on top of the new one... and... hey.. the original one now looks the longer one!

So a few tips in case someone has the same doubt:

1. It will feel, look and smell different! But take good measurements and play around. You will see they are same size. Also, check with a cardboard or paper as suggested above.

2. To put the arms into place is... a PITA. I ended up being able to do it with a help of a friend, but it was really hard to connect the arm to the ball joint. I think this is harder in the XC90 compared to other models, due to the longer suspension travel. The arm must be pushed down really hard and the hub up so that you can insert the ball joint tip into the arm. But when you push the hub up it will tend to move away from the car... Now that I think back, next time I will just separate the hub from the strut to free it completely. More bolts to deal with, but at least no need of herculean effort and push pull twist repeat ab nausea until all fits in place.

3. Tip: to align the front bushing, simple put one of the bolts inverted, i.e. from the bushing to the frame. This will allow to align the bushing to the frame much easier. Then, fix it with the other bolt in the normal position (from the frame into the bushing fixation) and then you can remove the inverted one and assemble it normally. It helped me a lot!

It is a good idea to separate the transmission from the hub.

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Detaching the sway bar link will give more space to move the arm around. Now... putting the balljoint into the control arm was really difficult. Next time I will just separate the hub from the strut, so that I can lift it easily and connect to the balljoint.

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Finally.. all in place.

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Post by **oragex** » 04 Oct 2015, 14:47

Ou2mame · Post by **Ou2mame** » 04 Oct 2015, 15:17

What I do for the arms is ratchet strap the ball joint end of the arm and pull it down, and Jack up the hub and then lower the jack onto the ball joint. There the easiest way to get them aligned properly. You might have to tie the strut to the subframe to keep it from shifting in or out on the jack when you jack it up.

rmad · Post by **rmad** » 05 Oct 2015, 08:31

oragex wrote: Side note, does the Moog one have the larger bushing rotated the same as in the original arm?

Yes. Does not look like in the picture, but yes, they are identically mounted.