1996 850 NA Wagon, Struts and Axle Replacement

PeteB · Post by **PeteB** » 08 May 2017, 16:16

Thanks to everyone for the tips here regarding brands:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=74987&hilit=struts+axle

One person suggested that it might just need strut mounts, is that possible at 170K miles?
I'm quite sure that they've never been done before.

I bought the GKN replacement boots at a very good price and am ready to do them.
Planning to do Gabriel strut, complete assemblies at the same time. I've seen both
positive and negative reviews of these. I don't want to spend a lot of time on this and
if it lasts 50K miles then good enough. I'll keep the old OEM struts in the shed and rebuild
them if it needs them again soon. I don't think we'll keep this past 50K more miles.

I'm wondering about the procedure, and thought that this is probably the best way:

He frees the axle by essentially removing the caliper and strut. Robert does it by freeing
the lower control arm but since I'm replacing the strut the above seems easier.

Also wondering, do both methods require an alignment after? Thanks again.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 08 May 2017, 20:30

The wear on the mounts is strange, it isn't at all consistent. I have replaced struts on all of my Volvos and I had a set that were perfectly serviceable at over 230,000 miles and I have had others where the mounts were shot at 130,000 miles. There is no "Rule of Thumb" with them.

As you know, they are pricey so they aren't an automatic thing that I replace but the problem is that you really don't know their condition until you get the strut removed. If you have the luxury of time you can order them as necessary but few of us have the luxury of having the car out of commission for as long as it takes get an order shipped in. This is also a part where the aftermarket alternatives are generally pretty bad. I would rather use a set of tight OEM mounts from a junk yard than a new set of aftermarket parts.

As far as the procedures go, it depends on what you are comfortable with and what you have in the toolbox. There are those that have the Midas touch and can just tap a ball joint and it will fall out. I wind up using a pickle fork to separate the ball joint from the steering knuckle and it pretty much destroys the boot on the ball joint in the process. If I am planning on reusing the control arm I always take the bolts out of the subframe rather than trying to take it apart at the ball joint. Getting the nut off the end of the axle is always tough for me and I wind up using a 4' pipe to torque them off and on.

An alignment isn't usually necessary but pay attention to how it drives and the tire wear.

...Lee

PeteB · Post by **PeteB** » 08 May 2017, 20:55

Hi Lee thanks for all the tips.

It seems that the A1 auto guy in the video that I linked does the job without
disconnecting the ball joint or the lower control arm.

I invested in an electric impact wrench mainly for removing wheels to
do brake work, etc. and for suspension work. It works well and I was able
to loosen the first side very easily.

I've also used a 4' pipe in the past.

Post by **erikv11** » 08 May 2017, 22:59

That guy is a pro so it's of little difference to him, but removing all of the strut fasteners is definitely not the easiest way to pull the axle. Dropping the control arms at the subframe (2 bolts) is totally the way to go. He doesn't say so but almost certainly the only reason he did it this way, was because he was actually replacing the hub which requires getting the strut out of the way. For solely an axle job you don't need to mess with the brakes either, just drop the control arm, tap the axle loose, swing the hub out and remove the axle.

All that said, if you want to do them both at once it would certainly work for you, and seems a reasonable way to go. (1) remove strut from car completely. (2) remove and replace axle. (3) install strut. No alignment should be necessary.

PeteB · Post by **PeteB** » 10 May 2017, 17:05

Got one strut out, left the mount in place, the knuckle end is also out, can I
just yank on the axle or will that damage it?
It snaps out? I see Robert prying it out.

I'm thinking of rebuilding the strut instead of using the quick strut, so I need
the XC90 strut bearing in addition to the strut? The seat doesn't look bad
not sure what to look for. The front end is very noisy with squeaks but seems
to handle okay.
I want to keep costs to a minimum, is there a good kit?

Post by **erikv11** » 10 May 2017, 17:22

The passenger side, just pull it out.

Driver's side, smartest way is to use a wedge like a 5/8 chisel or a triangular piece of wood, tap it straight up at 6 o'clock between the transmission case and the axle.

You don't need the strut bearing (that part is also called the "strut mount"), that is optional and not part of the tower per se. You can swap it on and off without disassembling the tower. The spring seat is the crux part, those go bad frequently. The XC90 seat is the same part number as the 850 V70 etc spring seat. That one is Volvo only for me, even on a budget, unless you don't mind re-doing it. Not dangerous if it fails, just a squeaky hassle. If they were bad you would know it, the center metal collar would be broken loose from the surrounding rubber.

PeteB · Post by **PeteB** » 10 May 2017, 19:32

The strut bearing (mount) seems to be ok with about 1/64" of play and fairly smooth
rotation, should I risk leaving it in? - they are expensive. Should they have 0" play?

The spring seat seems to be okay but I've not taken the strut apart yet, they are not
too expensive so I'm inclined to replace them. I take it that the OE supplier from FCP
is good enough: OE Supplier 30683637?
I'm thinking of these parts per side:
Monroe Strut 71699 for $40 on ebay
Volvo Strut Bellow - Genuine Volvo 9140068 FCP for $10.39
Strut Bump Stop (850 C70 S70 V70) - Febi 9140067 FCP $7.29
Spring Seat OE Supplier 30683637 FCP $22.29
Volvo Strut Mount Cap - Economy 30647969 FCP $8
This total is $88 per side with Monroe struts and OEM seats.

After reading more about Monroe I'll probably go with Sachs Blue bringing the total up
to $141 per side using the old mounts. If Rock Auto is cheaper perhaps FCP will meet
their price for the Sachs.

Do I need clamps for the strut bellows?

I could get Sachs struts for $53 more each. If I knew that those Sachs were equal quality
to OEM I'd probably pay the $106 more for the pair.

FCP video showing this job moves along nice and fast:

PeteB · Post by **PeteB** » 11 May 2017, 13:00

I've been reading more on here and people seem negative on the Monroe.

There is talk on here of white and blue label Sachs struts for the 850.
I spoke to FCP and all the guy could tell me was that the $93 Sachs strut had
a white label in the picture and he said that was what you would get. Then he
said that there was a kit with mounts, seats, etc. that he could see had the blue
label Sachs. But it was over $380 ish, I can't even find this on the FCP site.
The only blue label that I see are listed as for the V70, S70.

I many different kits but some do not even have the improved OEM seats.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 11 May 2017, 16:23

A little bit of play in the strut mount is just fine so long as they rotate smoothly. The brand new ones have some slop out of the box.

...Lee

PeteB · Post by **PeteB** » 12 May 2017, 10:54

Finally got the driver's side axle out. I followed Robert's video here, and had almost
the exact same pry bar. It took a lot of force and would not come out prying from
the front. I started at the front and was pushing so hard that I was worried about
cracking the transmission case. Moved to the side toward the back and it finally
popped. The clip ring was very loose, but it does look like an OEM axle and has
held up other than the boot so I think it is original. The boot was the correct
Loebro brand for an original.
There was no leaking from the seal but seems it was overfilled so about half a quart
came out.

Changing the seals, any tips? I'll look for a thread on it.

I welcome tips on cleaning and boot install.