95 850 non-turbo suspension overhaul + interchangeability

thegrapist · Post by **thegrapist** » 25 Aug 2011, 16:30

Hi everyone,

I have a 1995 850 manual 5 speed non turbo sedan that I picked up for an absolute steal. 190k miles and it only needed a clutch and radiator as far as I can tell. Thanks to this website I got both of those done pretty painlessly (thanks!).

Now that the immediate stuff is out of the way; the suspension NEEDS to be addressed. It crashes like crazy, dives like a mad man, squats like something that squats a lot - everything you could imagine that a suspension shouldn't be doing. I'm pretty sure everything holding up the car is from the showroom floor minus the tires. I have a 99 miata that is my daily driver/track toy, so my 850 is almost painful to drive in it's current state.

I want to upgrade the suspension for as cheaply as possible with the most improvement per dollar. I would like to keep the volvo what it is known for comfort, stability, and civility. I'm not saying Caddie soft, just something that passengers won't notice but with a slight step up from stock. Marginal gains aren't a huge deal if it'll offset the price significantly, and this is my daily driver, so I'll just need something that'll keep me from eating ditches and keep me relatively engaged (compared to all the camry's out there). I am a set-it-and-forget-it kind of guy. I'd rather do it once and never have to touch it again. So long term reliability is the key here.

Here come the questions:

1) I've read somewhere that the turbo suspension is better than the non-turbo suspension. Truth to that? Should I buy shocks made for a turbo, or does it not matter if I am going aftermarket?

2) I know I have the newer style front control arms without replaceable ball joints (womp womp). Any bad reports on the Meyle control arms? I don't see myself spending almost $500 on oem arms if one will last a few thousand miles (or a year) more than the other that costs almost 1/5 of the price.

3) I plan on buying this kit http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo-c ... 850kit10fr and swapping out the struts with bilstein touring shocks. How will these play with the stock springs? The ride will be slightly stiffer, but not bad, correct? Anything else I should add to this list aside from the strut nut socket and spring compressor?

4) The car has 190k miles. The springs should be fine to re-use, right?

5) How do I find out that my car has nivomat shocks in the rear, without putting a bunch of crap in my trunk and drive around? Does anyone have a way to decode the vin or anything I can specifically look under the car to find?

5) Any other hints or tips on problems that you could have been easily avoided on your 850 suspension overhaul quest? Anything I am seriously overlooking?

Thanks for your help guys!

rubyvette · Post by **rubyvette** » 25 Aug 2011, 17:40

I put the Bilstein TC shocks and struts on my 850 n/a sedan shortly after acquiring it three years ago. Great ride and handling, not harsh. It's a back and forth to work car, not a racer! Get a set of VOLVO spring seats while you've got the front struts out. The XC90 units are said to fit and be more durable. Don't cheap out on aftermarket brands here because you'll be doing them again real quick. Nivomat shocks are much bigger around than standard ones, but I don't think they were available on 850 sedans anyway.

thegrapist · Post by **thegrapist** » 25 Aug 2011, 17:47

rubyvette wrote:I put the Bilstein TC shocks and struts on my 850 n/a sedan shortly after acquiring it three years ago. Great ride and handling, not harsh. It's a back and forth to work car, not a racer! Get a set of VOLVO spring seats while you've got the front struts out. The XC90 units are said to fit and be more durable. Don't cheap out on aftermarket brands here because you'll be doing them again real quick. Nivomat shocks are much bigger around than standard ones, but I don't think they were available on 850 sedans anyway.

A few websites say you have to double check if your 850 has nivomat shocks. So I'm going off that.

What xc90 model? T5? T6? V6? Older? Newer?

That statement is a bit general. Can you clarify? You'd advise against all aftermarket parts when doing the suspension? The bilsteins are aftermarket.

rubyvette · Post by **rubyvette** » 26 Aug 2011, 21:49

Sorry if I confused you. If some 850's had Nivomats they are very easy to identify because they're noticably larger in diameter than regular shocks. On the XC90 spring seats as far as I know they're all the same part and will fit the 850. And when I cautioned against aftermarket parts I meant only the spring seats. There are some inexpensive 850 units available that just don't hold up. I learned the hard way on that. I'll need to do my C70 soon and I'll use the genuine Volvo XC90 pieces.