2005 XC70, XC90 front sway bar installed, 30635778, longevity?

Post by **vtl** » 28 Dec 2016, 07:24

I installed a new XC90 sway bar (P/N 30635778), with a great success. Though its diameter is the same 23.6 mm like original sway bar in my 05 XC70 had, it is much heaver, 2-3 pounds more, has more thick "arms". Also someone did a Rockwell hardness test, XC70 is less tempered than XC90's one.

Car is way more stable on a bumpy road, cornering remarkably is better. Also, what is more important to me, there's almost no additional road noise in the cabin. It's just a tiny bit noisier, due to new intact rubber bushings. I don't want anything poly in my car.

Of course, now I have a problem with what rear end does in corners, but I'm going to address that with rear sway bar from V70R.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 28 Dec 2016, 09:17

When I did our V70 (IPD) and then let it ride, eventually the end links gave way. I found that good end links made a great deal of difference. Either Mayle or IPD's seem to be the winners from what owners are saying. Personally, we have the IPD's installed on several of our cars.

Post by **vtl** » 28 Dec 2016, 09:36

Yeah, I expect end links and spring seats will wear out quicker, but it's not too difficult to replace them. End links I use right now are Lemforder, spring seats are from XC90 as well.

Post by **vtl** » 19 Sep 2018, 20:59

So the XC90 sway bar bushings died in one year. Rattles are all over the place, both LCAs have scratches from the bar touching them

I could not figure out first what this noise was, and did another suspension and steering rebuild, plus put new engine pads, subframe bushings and rear o-rings, all from blue boxes - no luck.

On the other hand, with all the new rubber I feel zero idle vibrations on the steering wheel =)

Post by **abscate** » 20 Sep 2018, 05:21

Changed title for search

Post by **shiloh51933** » 20 Sep 2018, 07:35

I have an '04 XC70 and '04 XC90, from my recollection I would say yes they look identical. Sounds like a great swap for better stability around corners and on /off ramps. I'd like to hear how the rear sway bar from a V70R works out after you swap it in.

Post by **vtl** » 20 Sep 2018, 08:16

Rear sway bar is awesome! The ride became much harsher too, but the handling improvement was totally worth it. At the end I replaced rear shocks with Nivomats, which come with more stiffer bar than the stock 14 mm, but decided just to leave R bar in place. Now both the ride and the handling are butter-smooth and precise, whatever the load is.

Daveliz99 · Post by **Daveliz99** » 01 Oct 2018, 11:54

I'm about to start collecting parts for a suspension rebuild on my 01 v70 2.4T.

I've been looking at the ipd sway bar and saving money for it and all kinds of other stuff I need and want.

Forgive my ignorance please. So it sounds like the sway bar from an XC90 is an upgrade option for better handling on an XC70. Will it work on a regular V70 as well? I'm sure I could pull one from a junkyard and get new bushings, if they aren't vulcanized to the bar, and come out cheaper than the ipd's.

But you also said something isn't right somehow. And you think it may be the sway bar. Anybody got thoughts on my application?

Post by **vtl** » 01 Oct 2018, 12:18

As I recall, V70 has smaller (narrower) front track than XC70, something like -10 mm? Not sure if XC's sway bar would be an appropriate fit.

I replaced the sway bar with a new one. Old was in a good enough shape in fact. It was on the car for only 1.5 years, but did see a fair amount of gravel roads and generally some inspired driving. It was touching LCAs because last winter I installed it during my "chassis swap" as close to engine as possible - don't do this, move it as far from engine as you can.

Front sway bar more affects straight line stability. For better cornering you need a beefier rear bar. FWD and AWD cars have non-interchangeable rear bars, so be sure to pick a correct one. T5 maybe, if yours is FWD?

IPD parts are not good from longevity point of view. The only thing I left in the car is adjustable rear toe rods, but I may redo them myself because of low quality: paint is chipping, everything rust, waters gets in through loose threads and rust everywhere, etc. Otherwise idea is great.

Post by **Rattnalle** » 01 Oct 2018, 12:40

There used to be a handling kit for police V70s of which the main component was a thicker sway bar. It probably didn't make it across the pond though since police over there don't seem to drive sensible vehicles