Suspension parts

Daveliz99 · Post by **Daveliz99** » 19 Nov 2018, 21:41

Hello to all, and thank you for all the previous help. I'm about to spend a huge amount of time and money on this car, and if you have experience and opinions I would really be thankful.

2001 Volvo V70 2.4T 244k miles

I am planning to rebuild the suspension very soon. I'm holding out for a black Friday sale before I order the parts. So, not sure where to start, but it's all original still lol, and everything is shot. I also need new motor mounts.

I have picked out the following parts, and would welcome comments from experienced people.

I plan to get the Hutchinson motor mount kit from fcp. But for the transmission torque mount, I'll use the lesser expensive poly one from ipd. And then also install the poly insert bushings from ipd into the top mount. Im hoping this combo will give better throttle response and transmission shifts. Here's links to the parts if it helps.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... p2mmkit2p5

https://www.ipdusa.com/products/20719/1 ... rque-mount

https://www.ipdusa.com/products/5034/11 ... ushing-kit

Subframe bushings from ipd, it says they're genuine volvo for an XC90, but will fit my V70. Also poly inserts from ipd, and the O-rings and bolts etc for a complete job.

https://www.ipdusa.com/products/6305/11 ... me-bushing

https://www.ipdusa.com/products/8969/12 ... insert-kit

On to the suspension...

Ipd sways, and the end links. Bilstien B4 touring front and rear, lemforder strut mount kit from fcp. It comes with XC90 spring seats, made by rein. And genuine volvo shock mounts in the rear. Lemforder ball joints. I have moog problem solver inner and outer tie rods. I had to get those from advance auto due to a better payment option.

For the rear suspension, fcp sells a control arm bushing kit for the rear for $568. Most of it is genuine volvo, but some of the bushings can be replaced with lemforder instead and a lot of money saved. Anybody see a problem doing that? Also that same kit comes with meyle rear subframe mounts. Are they any good? Also on the kit, one of the genuine volvo bushings is part number 9492181, they cost $66 each and you gotta have two. Last month, they had a pro parts Sweden replacement bushing on clearance for about $4 each. So I bought them. Was that a wise move? I know pro parts Sweden doesn't have a great rep, but I saved $120. With the parts list above I don't feel like I'm cheaping out on parts, but of course money is an issue and I'm blowing a wad already.

I think that's about all the parts. What do you all think of the poly? Maybe to much? I don't have experience with anything poly, but I'd like to give the car a more sporty feel without changing it into a race car. Hopefully not much later I want to swap over to a 16T turbo, and hope that the car is a fun and spirited daily driver.

Anybody got thoughts on this please?

Post by **velorider** » 20 Nov 2018, 01:07

I did what you are talking about twice. Once on an '02 and then on an '05 T5. When I redid the '05 I did a few things differently.

On the 02 S60 I replaced all the engine mounts like your planning. I used ploy upper engine mount and trans mount and the cabin vibration at idle was horrible. The shifts where tight with the poly, but the trade off was not acceptable. When I did the '05 T5 I used the rubber upper and trans mounts.

The poly subframe bushings inserts are fantastic. I would recommend them to everyone, the improvement in steering are well worse the slight cabin vibration.

I have not tried the strut mount poly busing inserts. I just received in the mail the solid aluminum mounts. I will install those tomorrow and let you know. I would imagine the vibration caused by both the poly upper and poly strut mount would be horrible. I'm hoping the solid aluminum strut mounts with rubber upper engine mount stiffen the frame flex without the horrible cabin vibration caused by the poly mounts.

I used Sachs vs B4's but I suspect performance would be similar. The other components are fine. Freeze the ball joints over night to ease installation. Once removed from the freeze you have about 3 minutes to install them. 2" PVC pipe with a cap makes a very cheap and effective tool.

You must do the control arms. I've had good luck with IPD all new rubber control arms. But since FCP has lifetime warranty they are easy enough to do that you could warranty them again 25K when they go bad.

I have not done any rear end work besides shocks and end links, so I have no comments.

My suggestions after doing 2 cars:
All rubber engine mounts
Poly Subframe inserts
IPD Control Arms
Lemforder Ball Joints
IPD HD End Links
Sachs or B4 struts plus all hardware

Post by **abscate** » 20 Nov 2018, 04:59

Any Proparts part with rubber lasts about one year, so I use one hour of my labor is worth $25 to make the price of parts/ labor balance. For me, that rear suspension job of labor is worth a lot more that $120 but, YMMV.

Post by **oragex** » 20 Nov 2018, 06:52

Daveliz99 wrote: ↑19 Nov 2018, 21:41 Last month, they had a pro parts Sweden replacement bushing on clearance for about $4 each. So I bought them. Was that a wise move?

Yes if you continue the move and throw them into the bin.. Junk Parts Sweden is the same company as ScanTech who changed name because of poor quality. Wait to see their future name, maybe Perfect Parts? Anyhow, any time I'd see 'Professional' in a brand name I'd just pass.

I may not have good news for individually sold Lemforder bushings for the control arms. I had two of these that failed in less than 1 year (the round rear ones). Maybe the full Lemforder arms are better, or the IPD HD ones. The only way to go with separate bushings are the Boge and genuine Volvo ones (stamped Volvo). The main dealer might be selling them.

Daveliz99 · Post by **Daveliz99** » 20 Nov 2018, 09:13

oragex wrote: ↑20 Nov 2018, 06:52
Daveliz99 wrote: ↑19 Nov 2018, 21:41 Last month, they had a pro parts Sweden replacement bushing on clearance for about $4 each. So I bought them. Was that a wise move?
Yes if you continue the move and throw them into the bin.. Junk Parts Sweden is the same company as ScanTech who changed name because of poor quality. Wait to see their future name, maybe Perfect Parts? Anyhow, any time I'd see 'Professional' in a brand name I'd just pass.

I may not have good news for individually sold Lemforder bushings for the control arms. I had two of these that failed in less than 1 year (the round rear ones). Maybe the full Lemforder arms are better, or the IPD HD ones. The only way to go with separate bushings are the Boge and genuine Volvo ones (stamped Volvo). The main dealer might be selling them.

On the front control arms, I was going to buy the whole lemforder arm from fcp. The individual control arm bushings are part of a kit that fcp sells for the rear. Do you still have the same opinion?

I had a bad feeling when I ordered the pro parts stuff. But it was only about $8 for two, so I can let it go and get the Volvo ones.

If you don't mind to comment on the individual lemforder bushings vs genuine volvo for the rear I'd appreciate it.

Post by **oragex** » 20 Nov 2018, 11:46

I had bad experience with the Lemforder ca bushings sold in separate boxes... but maybe what they put in the ca sold as a unit is better quality.. how knows. These days the market is moving a lot with suppliers changes. Only long term will tell.. On the other side the IPD HD arm seems to be holding well at least some 3 years or so..

One thing is sure, a genuine (or from a genuine supplier) Volvo bushign is stiffer and that improves quite a bit the ride. Less known, the control arm has actually quite an important role to get a smooth ride over poor quality roads. It works together with the shock absorber and the coil spring to absorb the street bumps. The two items that affect the most the ride quality are the control arm bushings and the front shock absorbers.

A video I did early this year

And another video just to point how much the market for car parts is changing basically at any moment

Daveliz99 · Post by **Daveliz99** » 20 Nov 2018, 12:11

The peppermint videos are yours? That's cool. I subscribe to your channel already. You put up more videos than I can watch, but I watch what I can.

bepilot · Post by **bepilot** » 20 Nov 2018, 13:26

Yeah thx oragex! (btw offtopic is that aliexpress rear parking strip still up to the task? I'm seeing mixed reviews on YT on that product...)
Would not recommend engine polymounts for sure, tried those once on my ex-Honda, deffo not really for daily-driven cars.
Poly bushings in the control arms highly recommended but grease them well with the sticky stuff they supply, easier to install than the OEM rubbers anyways. A bit pita to remove the old bushings and their cages, but all worth the effort.

Post by **oragex** » 20 Nov 2018, 15:17

@ bepilot I think people have problems with the parking sensor mostly because the way it's installed - it has to stay on a vertical surface, away from metal parts, the module as well has to stay a few inches away from any metal. I have a Volvo owner mentioning on the video he just got it installed and it was working very well. I really like it, very useful, this car has quite a high trunk so a bit hard to appreciate the distance when reversing.