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

[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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Agreed, safety and liability are way too big of a risk here to attempt. Time for a new car!

San Francisco early 70's. Attended Betsy Carmichael, resided at 17th & Noe, Dolores and Sanchez finally Leavenworth St. The days when 3 little kids can ride the electric cars and run all over the city including the evenings.
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[ashlee2319]

Update:

Got quotes from two shops and I got $260 and then $300 ish (told em that was my max).

The shop I’m going with has a metal fabricator right next door so they are going to make a mold or something like that.

Oof.

For a mold and replacement it sounds too cheap. Besides you don't know how that material is tempered. Best to remove that section and have a donor part weld it in. With that you can also weld a few small braces here and there for added strength.

If you have Nivomats that's a no no but if you just have shock absorbers you might be able to get away with the shop making a metal mold. Regardless, check their reviews if you can find any or if the shop is approved by insurance. Some little shops have great craftsmen but more so are not good at all.
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They aren’t Nivomats. And seemingly they have all really great reviews.
Still driving around because I have to- and man, the ride I have with these Chicago roads!

[Sommerfeldt]

They aren’t Nivomats. And seemingly they have all really great reviews.
Still driving around because I have to- and man, the ride I have with these Chicago roads!

I thought they looked like Nivos too - aren't those the reinforced shock seats as well? I might be seeing things - it's been quite a while since I had mine out.

- S

[ashlee2319]

They aren’t Nivomats. And seemingly they have all really great reviews.
Still driving around because I have to- and man, the ride I have with these Chicago roads!

I thought they looked like Nivos too - aren't those the reinforced shock seats as well? I might be seeing things - it's been quite a while since I had mine out.

- S

It's these baby's here: https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... -9461524-1

[MoVolvos]

They aren’t Nivomats. And seemingly they have all really great reviews.
Still driving around because I have to- and man, the ride I have with these Chicago roads!

I thought they looked like Nivos too - aren't those the reinforced shock seats as well? I might be seeing things - it's been quite a while since I had mine out.

- S

It's these baby's here: https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... -9461524-1

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I think what Sommerfeldt meant was the Strut Tower itself being a reinforced unit. Cast will not bend under the force of the Nivomats unlike sheet metal in the regular cars but just crack jaggedly and potentially under the all the areas in red. Take a look to see if there is a boot around the shock.
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https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... d-marked-5
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Casting.png (1.83 MiB) Viewed 1052 times

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[ashlee2319]

I thought they looked like Nivos too - aren't those the reinforced shock seats as well? I might be seeing things - it's been quite a while since I had mine out.

- S

It's these baby's here: https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... -9461524-1

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I think what Sommerfeldt meant was the Strut Tower itself being a reinforced unit. Cast will not bend under the force of the Nivomats unlike sheet metal in the regular cars but just crack jaggedly and potentially under the all the areas in red. Take a look to see if there is a boot around the shock.
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https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... d-marked-5
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Casting.png
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No, no Nivomats on this wagon.

[MoVolvos]

It's these baby's here: https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... -9461524-1

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I think what Sommerfeldt meant was the Strut Tower itself being a reinforced unit. Cast will not bend under the force of the Nivomats unlike sheet metal in the regular cars but just crack jaggedly and potentially under the all the areas in red. Take a look to see if there is a boot around the shock.
.
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... d-marked-5
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Casting.png
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No, no Nivomats on this wagon.

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If it is a cast of some kind the shop you mentioned will need to do the work but if it is sheet metal might be best for a body shop to cut it out and attach a donor part. Perhaps, the sheet metal shop can do either cheaper.
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I changed out the C30 T5 struts last month. The passenger side was oil soaked in dirt and grit. Drove it for over a year and each time you see a bump in the road the stomach butterflies like you are anticipating a huge fall on a roller coaster except there is a thunk at the end. Hope you don't drive much freeway as the shock acts as a pivot point for the stability of the suspension.
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EDIT: Having a bad shock and a pivot point and no pivot point are two differing dynamics on the car's handling.

[Sommerfeldt]

I think what Sommerfeldt meant was the Strut Tower itself being a reinforced unit. Cast will not bend under the force of the Nivomats unlike sheet metal in the regular cars but just crack jaggedly and potentially under the all the areas in red. Take a look to see if there is a boot around the shock.
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https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... d-marked-5
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Casting.png
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That's not what I meant, but that's good also a good point.
What I meant was the "shock mount", the "cup" with the two bolts in it. There's two versions, a reinforced one for Nivos, since they carry the vehicle weight, and a regular one for ... well, regular ones. I thought the one in the pic looked like the reinforced ones, but they're not. With Nivos, you need long skinny springs and with the regular you need the reinforced springs. Not that this is helping OP's predicament...

- S

[MoVolvos]

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It looks like the Nivomats uses the body as the strut mount and has just one nut and is secured without a regular shock mount with two bolts?
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https://www.volvopartswebstore.com/show ... evel=24667
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Nivomat.png (147.73 KiB) Viewed 1026 times

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The regular shocks have a strut mount with 2 bolts
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https://www.volvopartswebstore.com/prod ... 51817.html
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Shocks.png (155.94 KiB) Viewed 1026 times

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[erikv11]

...
San Francisco early 70's. Attended Betsy Carmichael, resided at 17th & Noe, Dolores and Sanchez finally Leavenworth St. The days when 3 little kids can ride the electric cars and run all over the city including the evenings.
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Bessie. Bessie Carmichael!

I was east bay not SF but ah the good ol' days ...