Some thoughts on a strut job

Post by **j-dawg** » 30 Jul 2016, 14:24

I swapped my struts at all corners out today. I haven't yet driven the car - waiting on brake components in the mail - but here's a brain dump:

- My Gabriel Ultra struts petered out very suddenly over the last ~15,000 miles, with the car bounding up and down for a few seconds after each bump. This is not a fun experience, and it's certainly not what I would hope for after like 30,000 miles (installed by previous owner 45k miles ago). Kind of a bummer. Don't buy those struts. They were always kinda squishy anyway (paired with Eibach Pro-Kit springs).

- On the other hand, the IPD HD spring seats were in good shape after the same mileage. There was a little cracking of rubber, but I could detect no breakage of the steel underneath, so I reinstalled them.

- OEM strut bearings are also felt fine after 45k, though they were a little crustier-looking than I'd expect. I reinstalled them too.

- The replacement struts are Koni STR.Ts. Once I get some miles in, I'll provide my opinions, since they don't seem to be well-known on Volvo sites. Koni claims they're the equivalent of their yellow Sport struts set at the softest setting, which is a popular recommendation for a daily driver. At $320 for all four (Tire Rack), it's hard to justify buying a cheaper strut. I should mention that the orange paint on the STR.Ts seems very soft, so maybe build quality isn't quite as good as the yellows, but it's half the cost.

- Koni provides a little booklet with instructions on how to reassemble the struts. This means the way things came off, and the hardware used, may not necessarily be something you can refer to when reassembling.

- If you don't have a impact wrench....buy one immediately. This was my first time doing struts on any car. I bought a cordless Ryobi yesterday and got all four struts swapped out in maybe three and a half hours. I can't even begin to imagine how many hours, over the course of my life, I could have saved with one of these. Entirely worth the money.

- Even if I hadn't had the impact, it's a much easier job than I expected. The only iffy bit is using spring compressors on the front struts: not a difficult task, but I read horror stories on the internet and got a little spooked. I think next time I'll take my struts into Pep Boys and have them rebuild the units for me. Besides that, it was pretty plug-and-play stuff. I didn't even have to take the wheels off the rear. If you're thinking of getting new struts but are put off by the work....just do it.

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 30 Jul 2016, 18:45

I've been eyeing up the Koni Oranges for some time now. I'll be really interested to hear your opinion of them.

Post by **j-dawg** » 30 Jul 2016, 20:47

Yeah, they sounded like a good deal, and nobody seems to have beef with them on other cars. There's just not a lot of opinions about em on Volvo sites. On other makes and models people report that they pair well with the Eibachs, so I figured they were worth a shot.

I got them (allegedly) on sale at Tire Rack for $89 per up front, $71 per in the back. Even their normal prices are pretty low - $396/set with free shipping vs $440 probably without free shipping at shox dot com - but if you need struts, now's a good time to buy em. Unfortunately I'm waiting on some brake parts and will be out of town for a few weeks starting Friday, so I won't be able to give you my take for a while.

beigg · Post by **beigg** » 30 Jul 2016, 21:10

I have the yellows paired to ipd springs. Set on firm they ride to where I prefer.
Had tried H&R with the yellows, but those didnt achieve the height I was after. Also tried a locally made spring set, but the roads here just made them useless.
Hope your struts and shocks don't rust out fast.

Post by **j-dawg** » 31 Jul 2016, 01:30

ha ha naw things don't really get rusty here in Texas. We have pavement that's less good than you'd expect, but it's wayyyy better than in Michigan. I drove to Dearborn once and was stunned at the state of the pavement in the area. It was actually one of the main things I took away from that weekend - man does Michigan have messed-up pavement!

beigg · Post by **beigg** » 31 Jul 2016, 07:25

lol yes, even I am always amazed at the poor road conditions.... yet there's road construction EVERYWHERE you turn... How's that even relate?

jamesbeat · Post by **jamesbeat** » 31 Jul 2016, 15:43

I got the pre-assembled 'ready struts' when I did my front suspension.
Worked out cheaper than buying the components separately, and I didn't have to mess around compressing springs.
It took me around 45 mins each side, and would have been a lot less if I didn't have to use a stupid scissor jack.

I'm sure the quality isn't as good as OEM, but they work fine, and since its an old car anyway, they should last long enough.

beigg · Post by **beigg** » 31 Jul 2016, 17:12

oem or stock replacement was just not going to achieve what I was after regarding feel, handling, and personal preference in comfort. Wish I could have saved the cash and time while receiving my parts for install! The day Koni or Bilstein are priced like Sach or monroe AND be ready struts... omg I dont know how I'd act!

zhenya · Post by **zhenya** » 01 Aug 2016, 04:53

I have these Koni's on the front of the V70 and they are doing the job nicely. Firm enough to improve handling a bit, but not harsh at all. They ride quite similarly to the Koni FSD's on the 850.

Agree about the impact wrench! I have a Ryobi one as well and other than a battery replacement it has been working great for me for more than 5 years now. Especially handy when swapping wheels!

Post by **j-dawg** » 22 Aug 2016, 23:19

Update - I've driven probably ~150 miles on the new struts and they're nice. Bumps are absorbed easily, but the floatiness is entirely dissipated. The car rolls less, but it doesn't roll none. Good enough for me; it's not a race car, and a set of sway bars may someday knock out the roll. Until then, these Konis are comfortable and sporty enough.

Interesting note: I had some unidentifiable rhythmic squeak from the tailgate area for the last ten thousand miles or so, which had been driving me nuts. New shocks and the squeak is gone. I guess some frequency that was exciting my squeak centers has been damped out with the new shocks.

Having a sorted suspension does make me appreciate the structural rigidity of my little Fiesta. By comparison, the Volvo feels like a mattress with four wheels.