1998 V70 control arms for the budget shopper

[SonicAdventure]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I ended up going with just buying the passenger side CA for $35 from AM Autoparts.

I eventually plan to replace all front suspension components with quality stuff, but for now I'm hanging by a thread and need to get something on there.

Will update the forum with fitting and performance of this part, for what it's worth. If I get a solid year out of it,I will be happy

[cn90]

In my book:
1st choice ---> Lemfroder for $100+
2nd choice is Moog ---> $45...this is probably the good bang for the bucks.
Any other "no-name" brands such as HT PPS is basically a gamble.

[rspi]

The most important thing is to preload them when you install them.

[JimBee]

CN90 : How did I know you'd say that? (and others were thinking the same).

I don't recall the brand name of the ones they sold me last summer, but I do recall quizzing the sales rep on the phone about quality. He emphatically told me "if you don't think they're high quality send them back, we'll refund without question."

The price enticed me, of course. I've paid $90.00 for a LCA at NAPA that appears to be exactly the same (that one was made in Italy, if I recall correctly). The Autohausaz unit looked exactly like both the Volvo unit I removed and the Italian unit from NAPA. Beefy and in all respects the exact same construction.

As I said, I don't recall if the Autohausaz unit I bought last summer is the URO unit they are now selling for the same price. But if it is, I'd buy another one in a heartbeat, as it so resembles OEM Volvo.

[dosbricks]

Control arms are going to look about the same, be they high quality or low. They have to match the existing geometry of the car. It's the quality of the materials, such as the bushings and the ball joint internals, that determine how long they last.

[cn90]

1+++,

When I see the word Deutchparts, I run away. They used a "German-sounding" name to sell the products made by communist China.

The bushings side: mostly polyurethane and should last some 100K.
The ball joint side: this is where there is a difference between the men and the boys.
Conceptually, the ball joint is similar to the ball bearing from a metallurgical stand point, it is an alloy that the Germans, French and Americans have mastered. Not the Chinese.
The companies that have mastered the ball joint technology: Lemforder, TRW to name a few.

I have not tried Moog, but installed a Moog control arms for a friend with 2009 Jeep Patriot, so far so good 40K miles later on the Jeep.

One of these days I may use Moog on the Volvo.

[RussB]

The most important thing is to preload them when you install them.

This is VERY important! If you don't do it right, the bushings will shred in short order

...as it so resembles OEM Volvo.

Well, yeah, they all LOOK alike. It's the quality of the ball joint and bushings that are things you can't see. Budget doesn't mean cheap, it means getting the most for your money. Hamburg Technik does not offer value, it's just cheap. A few more dollars gets you a lot more quality

[mecheng]

Cn90 is right, looks mean squat. The cheaper lca probably use a lower strength cast steel for the arm and ball joint. The steel
Could have more impurities or the ball joint may not be hardened properly. Not to mention the boot material could be lower quality. Time will tell how they will hold up

[erikv11]

... The bushings side: mostly polyurethane and should last some 100K. ... .

All control arm bushings are rubber for these standard make control arms (Lemforder, Volvo, TRW, etc.). The only way to get polyurethane is to pull the rubber ones and in a PU one, or order some fancy custom control arms.

[Flystagg]

I am currently running a control test on my car right now I have one TRW control arm bought off amazon and one meyle hd arm. I was going to use two TRW arms but I was not all that impressed with it visually when the first one arrived and it took like 3 weeks for TRW to send it to me so I didn't feel like waiting for another one. Both were installed around the same time, we will see who wins. Hopefully I wont find out for a while.