Just did "Delta Link" rear swing arm bushings

[RayF]

2000 V70 with lotsa miles (270,000 plus). Some thoughts on the rear suspension bushing R&R job.

Removal was a bear, replacement a relative dream.

Rear up on jack stands, wheels off. Removed RH shock at bottom to free up swing arm travel on that side.

Worst part, removing the splined-head bolts that hold the bushings' inner ends. Unscrew the nut (18mm) to the end of the bolt threads, leave it there to prevent mushrooming. I found hammering will get you nowhere. Nor will penetrant nor heat on the splined head area - - be very careful; trying MAPP torch on this I burnt through a brake hose nearby (lefthand side). A side detour no one needs to take.

What I hit on was using a steering wheel puller (Snap-On) plus two 6"x3/8" Grade 8 bolts, nuts and washers from that puller up to the cross beam of another puller(stripped of jaws and puller screw) run across the top of the suspension arm. I spaced
that bar off using two massive washers (2 5/8"OD x 1 1/4" ID by 1/8") to allow room for the head of the bolt to push up. Then a long slow process, using major force to turn the puller screw (socket and breaker bar and cheater). (Oil puller screw first.) It doesn't come all at once; watch the nut on bottom and you'll see it begin to approach the arm, then bottom out on it. Here I backed off on the puller, and loosened the nut a few more threads, and kept up the puller action till bottoming out again. Then I took the puller off and tapped the bolt out the last bit of the way.
This worked on RH side of car too but I had to really get creative angling the puller because the swing arm on that side has more to it, supports for the far end of LH delta link arm.

Then there's the main bolt, also 18mm head, which comes off pretty easy even here in the rust belt. Then the three 17mm head bolts into the body that hold the lower bracket on. The bushing will then lever off the attachment stud on the frame and come down in the clear to work on it. On RH side you'll also want to remove the 13mm head M8 bolt that holds the fuel filter and its attaching strap on.

Bushing is a force fit into the end of the swing arm, forged steel jacketed in rubber and that jacketed on outside in polypropylene plastic. I didn't have access to the official tool. I tried drilling the plastic and rubber through, diagonally atop the forging, also anywhere else I could angle a drill bit, 1/4" and 5/16", and on the LH side that worked, with much prying the forged part, crumbling the heavy rust scale on that until things let loose and it came out. My heating attempt on the splined bolt head had also melted and crumbled some of the poly.

But on the RH side, I gave up after wasted HOURS of drilling and prying got no action going.

MAPP gas is the answer here: go to it early. BUT you must be very careful not to burn anything. On RH side I covered the fuel filter area with a piece of flattened out stove pipe. Someone else on here used old sheet metal roof drip edge. And have lots of water or a hose on hand.

You don't want to or need to get the rubber burning. I used the MAPP gas for only around 3 minutes, on the outside of the swing arm only. The polypropylene quickly begins to melt, kind of almost bubbling out of the end of the arm; follow it till you have gone about all the way around. What was left in there was pretty brittle and I just had to twist and tug on the bushing a little to get it out.

Clean out the interior of the arm; I used a half-round file, also scraped a bit with a knife. Then I greased the inside, and the outside of the new part. I rasped off some of the plastic on the new bushings to taper the start better.

Put a block of wood above the arm between it and the frame, and set a floor jack under it to just anchor it and stop it from bouncing.

As I said, I didn't have access to the official tool. On the LH side I tried pounding the new bushing in, with a 3 lb. hammer direct and also pounding a long chunk of 2x4 so I was away from the body work. It was slow going and I gave up when it was still 1/8" to 3/16" out, and next day went to my friend's long-time Volvo shop looking for a pickle fork that would slide in ahead of the plastic so I could pound on that.

No official tool, no pickle fork that fit either. BUT I did find something even better, rummaging in his cabinets of official Volvo tools:

It was a C-shaped disc, Volvo official tool 9995240, meant as a support used when pressing a new torque arm bushing in on a Volvo 700. That disc just happens to slide right over a new Delta link bushing, between the poly flange and a rolled steel collar that's part of the forged outer end of the bushing. With that disc in place any force on the forging carries direct onto the flange of the poly, forcing it in without rubber bounce.

On the LH side, I slid it in, and only needed to pound a little to close the 1/8" gap. On the RH side, with that disc in place, honest to gosh only five blows with the 3 lb. hammer, direct on the forged end, and the bushing was driven home right snug against the end of the swing arm.

I'm sorry, I returned the tool without taking its measurements. But it really would make a nice addition to a tool kit for doing these bushings.

[FireFox31]

Interesting write up. How did you know that you needed to replace the delta link?

[RayF]

Clunk clunk when backing in or out of the drive. Jack up rear wheels and the arm sags down at the bushing, exposing the ugly steel of the bushing itself, polished by rubbing where it has broken away from the rubber.

I first thought the clunk was from a broken rear spring (both turned out to be broken) but after I replaced them and the shocks it was still there, so I finally looked closer.

I forgot to mention, for anyone tackling this, new bushings have a top side and a bottom. Top of bushing is flared out a little more and sticks up taller from the forging. The steel bushing itself has kind of the profile of a nuclear plant cooling tower, inside its rubber jacket.

[abscate]

When I did my T5 years ago, I dropped the entire rear axle assembly so I could get to everything with full swings and bashes, and torch stuff off without worrying about gas.

Im convinced this not only saved me hours, it was a lot more pleasant.

Free up fuel lines and brake lines from the clips and plastic manifold and then drop the whole thing from a rear car elevation of 30 cm or so.