1999 V70T5m56 front control arm replacement 8628496, 86628495

Post by **abscate** » 23 Jun 2018, 08:53

Took me two hours work with a one hour break for breakfast

I bought Lemforders lower control arms (LCA) from FCP..the kit with 8628496, 86628495

One variance to be discussed.

Chock jack and block

Wheels off.

Left side. I zipped off the ball joint and two control arm nuts with an electric impact. You need an extension, about 6 inch , to get the gun clear of the suspension. The ball joint popped clear of the spindle easily, I did a suspension refresh about 2 years ago. New LCA slipped in, I matched the loaded strut center axle height to fender clearance to 18 inches to correct;y position the bushings before tightening, using my jack under the brake rotor to lift the strut in place.

Right side. Much tougher to pry the Lca out. Alldata reports I have to clear engine mount but I did not need to do that

When I went to offer up the new LCA it was a bad fit. The rear mount Was clearing at 45 mm while the new metal bushing in the LCA, rearmount miked at 45.63mm. I think there was a slight bend in my rearvsubframe mount. I cleaned each end with a file , about 60 seconds of filing on each side and then tapped it in with a hammer and silicon spray lube

New bolts were slightly different head size than my old LCAs, documented below.

My right side ball joint was horribly loose, the rubber bushings were all badly cracked. I think they were about 10 years old, maybe80k most;y highway miles on this car.

I salute the person who invented electric impacts as saving a lot of busted knuckles on this job. It’s tough getting good twist on the rusty hardware in this job, an impact is a great tool with 1/2 inch impact sockets

Torques

LCA bolts - 65 Nm plus 90 degree turn, no lube
Ball joint nut. 50 Nm

Post by **abscate** » 23 Jun 2018, 10:33

Screen shot of control arm and ball joint hardware - replace this stuff with OEM only. Notice your nuts go in front of your ball joints, thats for added speed.

: Screen Shot 2018-06-25 at 12.40.53 PM.png (201.77 KiB) Viewed 2113 times

Post by **abscate** » 23 Jun 2018, 12:43

Test drive...nice and smooth and quiet

I had noticed a slight pull right on hard braking which is now gone. I suspect the right ball joint or bushing was sloppy. It’s a bit scary that I have been- driving a front end that loose. To be- fair, my old guy driving habits mean the only time I brake hard is when I test my brakes.

Post by **rguzz** » 23 Jun 2018, 18:24

Nice. The ravages of NE weather are apparent. My car has basically never left the south in foul weather, and the undercarriage reflects that. Always makes things easier! Thanks for the write up.

Post by **abscate** » 24 Jun 2018, 07:19

POst Mortem on parts, both LCA were replaced at about 120 134k miles?

The ball joint on the left side was still firm, but the right was so loose that pinky pressure, a high;y technical engineering term of ounces of force, moved the ball joint in the LCA socket.

Click, the ball joint moves over way to easily. Note the bright metal where the ball is machining out the socket..eventually it gets too big and then big trouble happens. This is really not just worn out, it’s dangerous and is not road worthy. The loading of a loose ball joint also makes it prone to shear failure which means the bottom of your strut comes loose from the frame and then life gets interesting

Rubber bushings on the LCA mount are cracked and are toast. This allows a lot of strut motion and bad strut geometry when cornering...right when you need it to be right

Post by **bmdubya1198** » 24 Jun 2018, 08:01

Those old ones look awful! I'm sure it rides great now!

Those knuckles have a thick northeast protective coating on them. Both of my southern P80s are still metal colored. Get a wire brush on those before they disintegrate!

Post by **mecheng** » 25 Jun 2018, 07:33

Wow, did you pull that thing from the titanic?!

Surprised it didn't clunk like a MoFo.

Post by **abscate** » 25 Jun 2018, 10:44

Does anyone know how to tell original Volvo LCA markings from replacement? I have a bad feeling these might be original even though I paid someone to replace them 10 years ago..

On edit - these were originals from 11/1998. I had it in my head that they were replaced at about 2010, but I have no receipt and they look vintage.

Bad Volvo owner!!!!

Post by **bmdubya1198** » 25 Jun 2018, 10:58

...and people wonder why I don't let anyone touch my cars!

Post by **abscate** » 20 May 2019, 18:25

abscate wrote: ↑25 Jun 2018, 10:44 Does anyone know how to tell original Volvo LCA markings from replacement? I have a bad feeling these might be original even though I paid someone to replace them 10 years ago..

On edit - these were originals from 11/1998. I had it in my head that they were replaced at about 2010, but I have no receipt and they look vintage.

Bad Volvo owner!!!!

On re-edit - found paperwork that they were replaced a 134k in 2010. Only about 6 years, 60k miles on them. Im guessing they were not good quality parts.