What did you do to your P2 Volvo today?

[a3inverter]

Got the control arms, ball joints and the right outer tie rod done today. Probably a good 8 hours of work, with 2 of those spent on the tie rod.

Had to get out the cutoff wheel and grind a relief space between the jam nut and the tie rod as it was not moving after 5 minutes of heating with a propane torch and the jam nut appeared to almost be peened over the tie rod. Once the relief space was created, I was able to back off the nut, but ultimately had to resort to cutting slots in the tie rod along its length until the threads just started to show, then used a chisel to break it free from the threaded shaft of the inner. It was really stuck.

Managed to get it all done without needing the ratchet strap, but ran into a bit of a snafu with the driver side when I erroneously put the axle bolt in prior to manipulating the knuckle into the strut and managed to pull the axle shaft out of the transmission in my efforts.

The $17 I spent on a set of offset box-end wrenches at Harbor Freight this morning was priceless. With those (and by keeping the OG bolts) I was able to get it all done without lifting the engine. The driver side control arm looked OK, but the passenger rear bushing was torn and showing metal beneath the rubber. Ball joints were fair, but looser than the new ones. Used a 6" length of 2" black iron pipe to seat the ball joints. All parts were Lemforder ordered from FCP over the last couple years.

My CV dust shields were in need of replacement, but since my local Volvo dealership and all my local FLAPS came up empty and needed to order, I greased 'em up and put them back in. The outer circumference of the seal is fine, but the material that keeps the CV from the wheel hub looks to be very well used. I also managed to break off the ABS sensor clip that mounts on the strut, but a few zip ties (sorry kids, your dad is a hack) fixed that problem.

Getting it aligned next week so all in all, a day well spent. In other related good news, I think that greasing up the outboard axle splines has solved my axle "ping" problem. Conveniently, the Lemforder ball joints came with new axle bolts, so I'll be torquing them to the appropriate value once the alignment is done.

Many thanks to those who have done this job before and took the time to document the process. I also found the following Youtube video to be the best of the lot:

[gnalan]

Got the control arms, ball joints and the right outer tie rod done today. Probably a good 8 hours of work, with 2 of those spent on the tie rod.

I wish I could've done mine that quick.

I didn't want to clutter up everything too much, so I didn't quote your entire post, but how did to manage to realign the knuckle with the strut bolt holes so easily?

[a3inverter]

Easy might not be the word I'd choose to use Lots of cursing when the driver's side axle pulled free of the transmission and prevented the lower strut bolt from lining up. Once I realized what was happening, I took the axle out of the knuckle, reseated it, and started again.

Basically my approach was to 1) wear kneepads and 2) use my knee on the central part of the brake rotor to push down. I also experimented with putting a pry bar into the hole in the control arm and pushing down on that, but had the best luck with my knee. Pushing down on the outer edge of the rotor was problematic as it wanted to rotate left or right.

[gnalan]

Basically my approach was to 1) wear kneepads and 2) use my knee on the central part of the brake rotor to push down.

That's not a bad idea. I tried with my knees, but without kneepads, and all that did was cause more pain than I was already in.

[abscate]

I’ve always found it easy to get the bottom strut bolt in, then use my jack to lift and pivot the knuckle into the top bolt alignment. Maybe a block of wood or Hockey puck to protect the knuckle.

[abscate]

New rear rotors and pads on Catherine the 2005 M56

Zimmerman rotors
Bosch pads
Pushed 350 ml brake fluid through each caliper

Parking brake shoes were fine so I left them in. The P2 parking brake adjuster is great, 10 mm from console.

The cat looked fine, light orange rust

[Starbuck]

Haha... the cat looked fine...

[gnalan]

The cat looked fine, light orange rust

I have that same issue with the cats that hang around the barn I work on my car in. I've rescued quite a few, and had to bury just as many, but they're nice to have around when you're in a bad mood. Nothing like a friendly animal to pet, or pick up and hold, to help calm down with.

[gnalan]

Put a new ATE brake pedal position sensor in from FCPEuro. Took longer than it needed to. Note to self, and possibly others, don't put dry things into dry holes. I tried for almost an hour to get it to snap into place with no luck. Put a very little amount of Vaseline on the seal and the ear where the ring slides into place on the sensor and it snapped right into place.

Cruise control works perfectly now, and now more service engine messages popping up while driving, so well worth the $80+ for the new sensor and cheaper than the one that says Volvo.

I can see that it's still the genuine part, but without the extra cost of having it say Volvo (although if you look hard enough you can still read it on the new sensor).

[volvolugnut]

I grimaced at my 2001 V70 while the tail gate refused to latch again. The latch seems to have updated itself to sense temperature and not latch below approximately 70 F. I should check this out before it gets colder or at least get it latched while it is warm tomorrow.
volvolugnut