Bouncy Bouncy - Need Rear Shocks

[chrism]

It appears that 19 years and 250,000 miles have taken their toll on my V70’s rear shocks. I don’t think I need another 19 years/250K out of the next pair so will pass on the pricey OE units.
Does anyone have anything bad to say about the KYB Gas-A-Just shocks? (P/N 553385 for 2003 V70 Base)

Thanks in advance for your opinions/actual experiences.

[cn90]

LOL,

My rear shocks were bad at 12y/100K...

I replaced with Bilstein B4 rear shock, about $50/each online.
Just drive the rear wheels on wood ramps.
During insertion, put the plastic tube in first, then the shock (since most of us don't have a lift like dealer, shops etc.).
If you heat the "nut" side with propane torch, it will come out easily bc the heat melts the factory red Loctite.

[erikv11]

... Bilstein B4 rear shock, about $50/each online....

That's a great price, almost unheard of - where?

I've not seen Bilstein touring (i.e. B4) rears for P2 at less than about $70 each. Most common price is about $90 each if you go with someplace with customer service (FCP, etc).

[chrism]

Embarrassingly I must admit that after nearly 50 years of driving various model Volvos that I don’t recall EVER replacing rear shocks of any of them. (Front struts are another story.) I see that the V70’s utilize a separate shock mount on the rear shocks. Does that shock mount contain some sort of rubber isolator that is likely to be beat out by now? Besides the bouncing, I’m getting a sort of “rattle” or “light knock” noise when hitting small bumps in the road. In most cars I would think the shocks’ eye grommets were shot but now I’m thinking that the shock mount may be an issue.

[cn90]

Sorry,

I got the price wrong.
Sachs is about $75/each.
Bilstein about $90/each.

[abscate]

Embarrassingly I must admit that after nearly 50 years of driving various model Volvos that I don’t recall EVER replacing rear shocks of any of them. (Front struts are another story.) I see that the V70’s utilize a separate shock mount on the rear shocks. Does that shock mount contain some sort of rubber isolator that is likely to be beat out by now? Besides the bouncing, I’m getting a sort of “rattle” or “light knock” noise when hitting small bumps in the road. In most cars I would think the shocks’ eye grommets were shot but now I’m thinking that the shock mount may be an issue.

There a cup on the spring mount that gets loose and rattles on p80s. Same on P2 maybe?

[SuperHerman]

I replaced the ones on my long gone 2001 XC70 with the cheapest name brand (Monroe, Gabriel or similar) that Rock Auto sold. They worked just fine.

[cn90]

The factory REAR shock mounts are very good.
I just replaced the rear with Bilsetin B4 and since the factory stock mount was still good, I re-used the shock mounts at 115K.
At 200K, then consider replacing the shock mounts.

It is just a piece of metal and vulcanized rubber combo.

[erikv11]

Here are the parts, from https://www.volvopartswebstore.com/show ... ct=1210803:

FWD P2 rear suspension

GR-245960.jpeg (156.54 KiB) Viewed 1436 times

Part number 5 Volvo calls a spring seat, it is all rubber.
Part number 7 Volvo calls a support plate and it is often referred to as a shock mount. Rubber vulcanized to metal.
Part number 6 Volvo calls an anchorage and it is often referred to as a shock mount. If this breaks you'll know it!

Those three parts are all very durable but you won't know what you have until you open the box of chocolates. At any rate, most people can re-use all the hardware.

Rear shocks on a P2 usually start getting tired in the 125k - 150k range. YMMV.

[chrism]

I appreciate y’all’s comments and guidance! I now have a pretty good idea what I can expect to find when I go down under. (Glad to have Voluparts near my house.)

Still struggling with text abbreviations though:
YMMV…….

You Might Maintain Volvos?
You Miserably Maintain Volvos?
Yuck, My Moldy Volvo?