Login Register

1997 850 front strut self leveling confusion

Help, Advice and DIY Tutorials on Volvo's P80 platform cars -- Volvo's 1990s "bread and butter" cars -- powered by the ubiquitous and durable Volvo inline 5-cylinder engine.

1992 - 1997 850, including 850 R, 850 T-5R, 850 T-5, 850 GLT
1997 - 2000 S70, S70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70, V70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70-XC
1997 - 2004 C70

Post Reply
moses3
Posts: 90
Joined: 15 October 2022
Year and Model: 1997 850 GLT
Location: USA
Has thanked: 68 times
Been thanked: 5 times

1997 850 front strut self leveling confusion

Post by moses3 »

I see many front struts listed as "fits non-self leveling cars only".

I was under the impression that the self leveling suspension aspect only applied to the rear shocks?

scot850  
Posts: 14868
Joined: 5 April 2010
Year and Model: 2000 V70 R
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Has thanked: 1836 times
Been thanked: 1709 times

Post by scot850 »

Correct. I am not aware of any relationship between front and rear shocks in terms of P80's other than the V70 XC has different front shocks.

Volvo has a bunch of variations in spring stiffness or damper/shocks depending on the model variant which can be identified from the last string of numbers on the RH bottom line of the VIN plate beside the battery on the LH inner fender.

Where you have a car with the self-leveling (Nivomat) rear shocks it used to be you could not swap self-leveling to regular rear shocks and vice versa. However there are companies which I believe now offer an aftermarket option on doing the Nivomat to regular swap.

Neil.
2006 V70 2.5T AWD Polestar tune
2000 V70 R - still being an endless PITA
2006 XC70 - Our son now has this and still parked in our garage
2003 Toyota 4Runner V8 Limited
2015 Kia Sportage EX-L - Sold
1993 850 GLT -Sold
1998 V70 XC - Sold
1997 Volvo 850 SE NA - Went to niece in California - Sold
2000 V70 SE NA - Sold

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post