98 S70 T5: Mechanic's Findings Topic is solved

[WhatAmIDoing]

So I looked at it again today. The driver side rear trailing arm link appears to be the primary source. The bushing has completely failed (not sure how I missed this before). The passenger side does not look much better. I can't see anything else that looks obvious. Based on how bad the link looks, I really think I should not drive it.

[erikv11]

I've never driven one with total failure so I'd say unless you hear from someone who has, you are making the right call. Bummer, sorry to hear.

[rguzz]

Did you say you have someone 3 miles away who can look (? fix) this thing? 3 mile tow won't cost much but not too far to go if you can safely, slowly limp along? Anything short of a new rod knock might tempt me to for a 3 miler...!

[WhatAmIDoing]

Currently trying to see how many shops I can get into a biding war, got labor down to $100/hr already. Going to have to buy my own parts in advance of the work. Shop 3-ish miles away said he would look at it for free and give me an estimate. I am strongly debating limping along at 20mph to save me a tow, especially if this shop gives me a ridiculous estimate, than it was a waste of a tow.

At over 250k miles, is it worth buying Volvo or OE parts, or would it be okay to buy cheap stuff off FCP?

[abscate]

No sense in bidding the hour rate down, we just add hours to the bill. On a rear delta link job, it can take anywhere from 1-8, so pick on good references rather than price

[scot850]

If you are planning to keep the car long term, then OE parts are the way to go. Don't know if FCP still has them, but they carried Lemforder delta links and bushes (I think they had the bushes too) for less than half the Volvo price. Good brand and quality of part.

Neil.

[erikv11]

The word is still out on these rear delta link parts, many people have installed the aftermarket ones but no one has had them on long enough to know how long (or short) they last.

Here are some testimonials:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=69495
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=65148
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=69749

Basically we all distrust the cheap ones, but I don't think anyone has yet had them fail. Many people on this forum are strongly interested in longevity or restoration for these old cars, if that's not you then this part might be the rare case where I could see putting in less than Lemforder quality. The price difference is substantial. Ultimately your call of course but its not a no-brainer like control arms (Lemforder only) ...

[WhatAmIDoing]

So a certified Porsche mechanic (yes, really), agreed to put the car on a lift and take a look for free. The driver side delta link is indeed the culprit. everything else looked good. So I (or a shop) will be replacing both rear delta links. I decided to buy Lemforder links from eEuroparts ($250), since I really don't want to have to do this again (all the shops I talked to said they were going to replace with Febi).

Now I just need to find somewhere to do this. Best estimate I got was $750. Someone in the area said I could borrow a jack and 4 jack stands and do it in the parking lot. That would turn a $1k job into $250 (plus fee for Big Blue and a bottle of penetrating oil). How bad of a job would this be to do in a parking lot? Also, does anyone have a link, part number, size for the bolts? They are pretty corroded and would rather use new ones.

[abscate]

It all comes down to how bad the delta link is stuck. If it's loose enough to male the wheel wobble, it should just pull off. If you just replace the bad one, that will get you home.

People have spent 4 hours or more getting a link out!

The parts explosion at the lisle Volvo site is good and will give you the bolt part number

[WhatAmIDoing]

Update: Was forced to have a mechanic replace the links. Aside from the expense, kind of glad some one else did it. He said "they came out in pieces" and it took "12 hours" to remove both (and yes he has the puller tool). He also replaced "an evap hose" because it crumbled when he bumped it (evap codes are gone now). Really appreciated it when he said he wouldn't go over his original estimate and only charged me $550. Car is so much tighter now on new Lemförder delta links. Corners so much better. Wish I would have done this sooner. Next up is the rear shocks, which I do plan on doing myself.

New cap and rotor has also made a huge difference in cold starts and overall performance.