Failed, XC90 Spring seat installed less than 2 years ago...

[theWIFES_S70]

When it's 1/2 price... it's shady. I bought control arm rear bushing Lemforder in Lemforder bag and box, cracked after 1 year. There is a market for fake parts, even with the 'Volvo' name scrapped (chinese market is genius for that) I remember seen more than one variant of the XC90 'redesigned' spring seats, my guess is there are low quality brands out there who simply added some extra rubber but used the same horrible rubber quality you'll get from, say, Sweden Parts. Personally, I'd rather use the old regular Sachs ones, than fall for the 'beefed' up XC90 one. After all, the original Sachs ones do last a good 8 years, well worth using them again on a 100K miles car.

Hmmmm, I have some time coming up in two weeks when I can swap out my spring seats and strut bearings to [hopefully!] remove a clunk from the suspension... I, too, purchased the XC90 Reins. And they also have Volvo (or something) burned off. I did notice that they were the same price as (or cheaper) than the Sachs spring seats. Maybe we should really just be going with Sachs to begin with. Has anyone compared the two in terms of thickness and weight?

[abscate]

I think they use the kerflunk rubber in those.....

[oragex]

When it's 1/2 price... it's shady. I bought control arm rear bushing Lemforder in Lemforder bag and box, cracked after 1 year. There is a market for fake parts, even with the 'Volvo' name scrapped (chinese market is genius for that) I remember seen more than one variant of the XC90 'redesigned' spring seats, my guess is there are low quality brands out there who simply added some extra rubber but used the same horrible rubber quality you'll get from, say, Sweden Parts. Personally, I'd rather use the old regular Sachs ones, than fall for the 'beefed' up XC90 one. After all, the original Sachs ones do last a good 8 years, well worth using them again on a 100K miles car.

Hmmmm, I have some time coming up in two weeks when I can swap out my spring seats and strut bearings to [hopefully!] remove a clunk from the suspension... I, too, purchased the XC90 Reins. And they also have Volvo (or something) burned off. I did notice that they were the same price as (or cheaper) than the Sachs spring seats. Maybe we should really just be going with Sachs to begin with. Has anyone compared the two in terms of thickness and weight?

Last week I was at the scrap yard to pull a pair of struts. The spring seats were stamped 2015 which makes them 1-2 years old. One was fine, the other one was cracked. Both had a brand scratched off.

[mecheng]

I wonder if they dry out prematurely and therefore some silicone / 303 / armor-all would help.
Watch this video, I recently sprayed my belts including my timing belt. As an audiophile, I've used it on my rubber speaker surrounds over the years with great results.

[oragex]

Pulled the spring seats today.. this is how it looks. There is like a 'ring' on the rubber near the sleeve on both sides, but it's not a crack (yet). About 7000 miles on them

[theWIFES_S70]

Pulled the spring seats today.. this is how it looks. There is like a 'ring' on the rubber near the sleeve on both sides, but it's not a crack (yet). About 7000 miles on them

Sheesh... I can't wait to see what my Gabriel Readymount spring seats look like... So are you thinking about spraying them down with silicone spray before you install them?

[MadeInJapan]

A couple of years ago, we put XC90 spring seats in my wife's V70. Drove it a couple of days ago and I swear, they're toast.
Please, someone find us a better option. I have used IPD's but they don't seem to hold up any better either!!

[AKJeeper]

Pulled the spring seats today.. this is how it looks. There is like a 'ring' on the rubber near the sleeve on both sides, but it's not a crack (yet). About 7000 miles on them

Sheesh... I can't wait to see what my Gabriel Readymount spring seats look like... So are you thinking about spraying them down with silicone spray before you install them?

The previous owner of my '96 850 used what I believe were Gabriel Readymount struts. I was actually considering dumping them and getting some OE springs from the junkyard, then building up good Bilstein struts using new OE spring seats, bearing plates, etc. I was thinking of using XC90 spring seats but now I'm starting to second guess that. I don't mind spending good money if it means I won't have to deal with struts for many years.

[scot850]

Sorry if i am being totally anal here, but we are talking brand new OE Volvo XC90 spring seats here and not one that is OEM or other brand that is claimed to be for an XC90?

Reason I am asking is I have brand new OE Volvo top front spring seats waiting to get fitted to our XC70. The car had new ones fitted not long after we bought it under a recall and I'm guessing they were 'good' then as 6 years on they seem to be ok, but won't know until they get swapped out. Maybe just re-use the current ones?

Didn't think Rein were OEM I thought it was Sachs? Rein is another manufacturer I tend to avoid if possible.

Neil.

[theWIFES_S70]

Pulled the spring seats today.. this is how it looks. There is like a 'ring' on the rubber near the sleeve on both sides, but it's not a crack (yet). About 7000 miles on them

Sheesh... I can't wait to see what my Gabriel Readymount spring seats look like... So are you thinking about spraying them down with silicone spray before you install them?

The previous owner of my '96 850 used what I believe were Gabriel Readymount struts. I was actually considering dumping them and getting some OE springs from the junkyard, then building up good Bilstein struts using new OE spring seats, bearing plates, etc. I was thinking of using XC90 spring seats but now I'm starting to second guess that. I don't mind spending good money if it means I won't have to deal with struts for many years.

AK, is there really that big difference between the (20+yr old) springs and the Gabriel springs? Are they really that bad? I actually gave mine up when the shop I took my old springs to tried to remove them by drilling, grinding, and trying to zip off bolts. Autozone took them off my hands. ( I really didn't want to stick them anywhere because they felt like a ticking time bomb!) I'm going to try to warranty these things if they are indeed in poor condition.

I thought everyone was saying to upgrade to the XC90. But in all honesty, I don't know where that narrative is coming from. Or where it started. I'd go with the Sachs spring seats if I had to do it all over again. (Again, I'm just speaking from what I'm reading on here from trusted voices.) I'm going to rub silicone into my spring seats before I install them. Rubber is rubber.