Umm... Am I screwed? Rear Shock problems.

[ashlee2319]

2000 V70 Base.

I recently replaced both rear shocks, one of which I had a bolt break on me. I got the right side shock installed correctly.

For the left side, I installed it by leaving it bolted in with just ONE bolt, thinking I would try and extract the broken bolt the next day. Well, procrastination and two weeks later, I’m driving today hearing a *clunk clunk* in the truck.

I looked and found the one bolt still attached to the strut, but the frame has snapped and broke the space where th— pictures provided below.

What do I do???...

[rspi]

Yikes! I guess it can be welded.

[ashlee2319]

Now would that be an auto shop or a weld shop...?

[MoVolvos]

Now would that be an auto shop or a weld shop...?

It would be best to have a welder take a look. With a 32" monitor I can see rust in the breaks so it was a matter of time. There maybe and seems to be other cracks which did not break off. The welder will need to sand all the paint off in order to tell whether you need to cut that section off another car and weld it back into place.

BTW that is a shock absorber rather than a strut unless it is a Nivomat then it's call a strut. Confusing but struts have a spring compressed between the strut's spring perch and the (top) strut mount. Shock absorbers are standalone. If that is a shock absorber then you may want to check the rest of the underpinning as shocks do not put a whole lot of stress on the chassis or body compared to the Struts.
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[JimBee]

I would begin by removing the shock mount that's attached to the top of the shock absorber. Remove the shock from its bottom mount, so it's out of the way.

Then clamp the head of the rusty bolt in a vice so can cut off its rusty threaded end flush with the nut (that's on the underside of the piece that broke out).

Then clamp the nut under the broken steel piece in your vice and use a wrench to remove the stub of the bolt. That will free the steel part that broke so you can see more clearly what you've got. and get you back to a hopefully usable shock mount.

I think the safest repair is to weld a short piece of metal strap to the underside of the break in the tower. The strap will span both sides of the breakout—basically filling in the gap that broke out.

Then place the shock mount (with the shock removed) in its proper orientation on the tower and use a marker to mark the point on the metal repair strap where you'll need to drill a hole for a new bolt. From there, with a new bolt, it can be reassembled.

Possible alternative to the metal strap might be a large, thick steel washer that has a hole already in it the size of the bolt you'll be using. The washer could be milled off on two opposing sides to fit in the space. You would still need to weld the washer in place.

[MoVolvos]

I think the safest repair is to weld a short piece of metal strap to the underside of the break in the tower. The strap will span both sides of the breakout.

The OP will probably not do the repair and a shop won't attempt it for liability reasons. Not familiar with Nivomats but if the OP has them I don't believe a strap would be sufficient to handle the load and stress put upon it.

I've thought about the strap idea for the P2 strut mounts. Would have 3 legs and padded center straddling the center of the strut with the legs bolted into the strut mount. This would help restrain the upward motion of the strut and when the mounts rubber breaks it would keep the strut from hitting the hood. Would probably prolong it also.

I think though it might put many cheap strut mount manufacturers out of business, which wouldn't be a bad thing.
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[kklepack]

That looks fugly.

[MoVolvos]

That looks fugly.

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Very Rustugly indeed!
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[June]

As far as a cheap fix, probably. A body shop either could replace the entire section of metal with new if available or off of a used clip. Body sections are made of every part of each car and sold for collision repair. It would take a professional body man to guarantee a safe proper repair. Below is a screenshot from oem Volvo direct showing 1/4 panel and related inner sheet metal. You would need to find the section of metal with that tower for your model. June

[abscate]

Weld shop. Just weld the mount directly to the frame about\one hour in the shop so $60

Drive it carefully until then