2005 xc90 2.5T drives like a bounce house

[ZionXIX]

Nice pics. That looks worn out and tearing.

I purchased blue box volvo control arms and ball joints. It feels like I'm bouncing when going over any bumps and the bounce continues long after the bump has passed.

[chitownV]

Maybe it’s time for new front struts. But keep an eye on the rubber control arm bushings. The struts & associated hardware would be the priority.

Here’s the link again for the XC90 suspension and which parts will last.
https://www.swedespeed.com/threads/chit ... ts.590829/

[ZionXIX]

Thanks for the link. That is a lot of good info

[Krons]

Agree bounce is shocks. Control arms/ball joints will be more noise and side to side slop.

[ZionXIX]

I changed the trailing arm bushings today. What a nightmare. 1st side took 2 hours, 2nd side took 30 mins. Getting the ball joint press to line things up is a bit sketch. I would much rather have used the bolt through style. The step rails are in the way. Then the trailing arms would not line back up with the bushings. Ratchet strap was very helpful.

Test drive was as expected. Side to side motion is pretty solid but still very bouncy on the rear suspension. I took some pictures of the nivomats. Do these look like they're leaking?

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[MoVolvos]

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They've been seeping for sometime and have completely saturated the body of the dampers. You can count on shocks or struts to be bad when a car bounces or wallows especially with that much oil seepage.
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[chitownV]

Completely agree. Looks like both front struts and rear shocks will need replacing. You diagnosed it yourself. It's possible that since your bump stop disintegrated, it could have contributed to the shock failing if it bottomed out repeatedly with the XC90 weight. You should replace the bump stop too before new shocks. For the front struts, order new bump stops and bellows in addition to the spring seat/pad and strut mount/bearing. The plastic bellows can tear easily with age and the bump stop will also disintegrate or get close to it.

It's still very good to get those trailing arm bushings done because maintaining the suspension geometry is still prioritized. As long as you torqued the bushing's bolt on-load, then it's good and will last. If not, go back and loosen the bolt with the wheels on the ground and then re-tighten.

After you do both the front struts and rear shocks, you're going to feel like it's a new vehicle. I tell people the XC90 is not supposed to have vagueness in steering and a wallowy ride. It's all about keeping the geometry and ensuring the dampers are not under-damped for such a top-heavy SUV.

[ZionXIX]

I've heard about shocks and struts leaking but never witnessed until now. What is the torque spec for the trailing arm bolts? I did not add any new loctite but did tighten under load.

[chitownV]

Nice job. IIRC, the torque spec for the trailing arm bushing bolt is, 80 nm / 60 ft lbs.

[ZionXIX]

Thought you guys might enjoy this. This is my 850 compared to my xc90. Both have original factory suspension.