2004 XC70 Rear Springs and Struts/shocks

[shiloh51933]

Our 2004 XC70 has another broken coil spring but this time it's in the rear, R/R. I've replaced 3 coil springs up front over the last 3 years. I must admit that I'm quite disappointed in either the quality or engineering decision with the XC70 version of the V70 chassis. The XC70 slhas about 4 inches more ground clearance and about 200 pounds heavier than the base model V70. This being the 4th broken coil spring I've come to the conclusion that somebody screwed up in engineering. I've ordered the Lesfojers rear coil springs, I've decided to order new struts and new coil spring seats also. I was originally planning on just swapping in new springs but changed my mind. I'm ordering new Sachs struts and Genuine Volvo spring seats. I've never swapped in new rear struts on a P2 chassis, any suggestions or anything I should look out for b4 I dig into this repair?

[vtl]

Springs last longer when the car is washed regularly in winter. I mean, in "winter", when the temp goes above and below salty slush freezing point every day.

I usually unbolt the front stay that connects front part of the subframe and wheel bearing housing, that allows one person to push the arm down and take the shock/spring assembly out. To install the stay back you need to jack up the housing to the certain height, you'll see when the holes on the housing and the stay will align and the bolt can go in. Place the floor jack almost parallel to the car, with the handle pointing towards the hood.

Lowering the arm and reinstalling the strut assembly can be challenging, you may need to place a stock scissor jack ("widowmaker") on the arm and extending it against the car's body. Or ask someone to step on the wheel bearing assembly.

[abscate]

Which springs are your u muching up Shiloh?

I’m on my third set on the E83 but’s the only broken one Ive had on a Volvo was broken my PO

[shiloh51933]

Which springs are your u muching up Shiloh?

I’m on my third set on the E83 but’s the only broken one Ive had on a Volvo was broken my PO

The original springs on 3, 2 front one rear. 2 new ones from FCP, Nordic was the manufacturer and was considered OEM, I paired them with Sachs struts, Volvo mounts, seats and bearings. Well they suck balls!! Lasted less than 18 months, first one broke in 12 months, FCP sent another and it broke a year later. So I installed Bilstein after that

[oragex]

Broken springs is common on XC70. Very rare on any other P2 model, S60 V70 XC90 or S80

My wild guess is some Volvo engineer just took the spring data from the S60 and added some length without properly calculating an additional area section, resulting in a weak spring for the XC70. Just a guess of course. Any how, that's quite unlucky to have 3/4 going bang, many miles on the XC70 ? I haven't read about Nordic making the genuine ones, but Lesjofors appear to be quality springs.

[shiloh51933]

Broken springs is common on XC70. Very rare on any other P2 model, S60 V70 XC90 or S80

My wild guess is some Volvo engineer just took the spring data from the S60 and added some length without properly calculating an additional area section, resulting in a weak spring for the XC70. Just a guess of course. Any how, that's quite unlucky to have 3/4 going bang, many miles on the XC70 ? I haven't read about Nordic making the genuine ones, but Lesjofors appear to be quality springs.

FCPEURO.COM had OEM advertised for "Suplex" being one of the few manufacturers, obviously very disappointed as I had to cut one of the broken springs off with a cut off wheel because the broken had wrapped itself around the strut body. I'm happy with the Bilstein but FCPEURO.COM didn't offer this brand for the rear springs. So I opted for the Lesjofors after reading good reviews on this site.
My bad, the company was Suplex that made the coil springs not Nordic.

[- Pete -]

It's probably too late, but I was in the same situation/dilemma & ultimately opted for the "reinforced" or heavy duty version of the Lesjofors springs. There's literally almost zero documentation on them, unless you look at some of the European sites that require translation.
They are most definitely heavier duty than the original saggy-prone to breaking POS coils. And if I'm not mistaken, they were actually cheaper than the standard duty coils. I paid $256 for 4 of these coils. I believe the standard Les coils are $66/coil, so x4= $264. After having run with the HD Les coils, I honestly don't know why these aren't more popular. The car looks better, handles better, manages loads better (rear end cargo & trailer).

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/clone- ... 42#reviews

Huh, that's strange. I must have ordered all they had in stock, oops.
I sent them emails in regards to these coils & they were helpful & quick to respond. I'm sure they can get them for you. They've always been superb in my experience.

Front coils, I've had a couple crack as well. It's just an unfortunate aspect of owning one of these cars. I got some junkyard strut/coil assy's & just grab coils/seats etc as I run into issues.

Tips & tricks for the rears - there's a hidden bolt tucked up under the carpet in the hatch. Once you get all that stuff out of the way there will be some oval/circular foam pads stuck down with some adhesive. Pull those off & you should see the hidden bolt head.
Getting your spring compressors positioned just right is kinda tricky, but you'll get it. Mark your spots on the coils & compressor fingers so when you go to put the new coils in it's easier to get aligned right.

I did 4 of these rear XC70 strut/coils in a couple hours on the same day. By about the 3rd one I had it down to a pretty smooth system.
So, good luck!

[shiloh51933]

It's probably too late, but I was in the same situation/dilemma & ultimately opted for the "reinforced" or heavy duty version of the Lesjofors springs. There's literally almost zero documentation on them, unless you look at some of the European sites that require translation.
They are most definitely heavier duty than the original saggy-prone to breaking POS coils. And if I'm not mistaken, they were actually cheaper than the standard duty coils. I paid $256 for 4 of these coils. I believe the standard Les coils are $66/coil, so x4= $264. After having run with the HD Les coils, I honestly don't know why these aren't more popular. The car looks better, handles better, manages loads better (rear end cargo & trailer).

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/clone- ... 42#reviews

Huh, that's strange. I must have ordered all they had in stock, oops.
I sent them emails in regards to these coils & they were helpful & quick to respond. I'm sure they can get them for you. They've always been superb in my experience.

Front coils, I've had a couple crack as well. It's just an unfortunate aspect of owning one of these cars. I got some junkyard strut/coil assy's & just grab coils/seats etc as I run into issues.

Tips & tricks for the rears - there's a hidden bolt tucked up under the carpet in the hatch. Once you get all that stuff out of the way there will be some oval/circular foam pads stuck down with some adhesive. Pull those off & you should see the hidden bolt head.
Getting your spring compressors positioned just right is kinda tricky, but you'll get it. Mark your spots on the coils & compressor fingers so when you go to put the new coils in it's easier to get aligned right.

I did 4 of these rear XC70 strut/coils in a couple hours on the same day. By about the 3rd one I had it down to a pretty smooth system.
So, good luck!

I actually did order the heavy duty Lesjofors on FCPEURO.COM but somebody bought them all, so they canceled that order. I ended just ordering the regular spec Lesjofors, worst case FCPEURO.COM has lifetime warranty on everything they sell. No ETA on the HD Lesjofors.

[vtl]

I actually did order the heavy duty Lesjofors on FCPEURO.COM but somebody bought them all, so they canceled that order. I ended just ordering the regular spec Lesjofors, worst case FCPEURO.COM has lifetime warranty on everything they sell. No ETA on the HD Lesjofors.

Buy from ebay.uk or .de, they most likely have it.

[- Pete -]

Looks like these are back in stock & priced nicely