– Pete – »
One thing that’s always bothered me about P2’s is how the arse end of these cars reminds me rather vividly of a “sulky”. As in, the little trailer that is towed behind a walk-behind zero-turn mower – the operator stands on it whilst operating said ZT mower.
I’ve replaced quite a few parts trying to mitigate this handling annoyance but never successfully pinpointed the source of why the back end of these has always felt like it’s disconnected, along for the ride, just kinda wandering around back there…until now. Hit a bump & you feel the rear end squirm around in an unpredictable manner. I’ve seen the term “side-hop” used in reference to P2 Volvo’s, particularly the S/VR’s. I don’t know if that’s what I’ve felt for so many years, but after having done these bushings I feel like there’s a greater sense of confidence & composure in corners, especially corners with dips, bumps, any imperfections really.
I’m sure lots of you have looked at the various moving parts in your rear suspension & have noticed there’s so many things connecting this to that, and that to the subframe etc. Amazing how it all works, well sort of works. You’ve also probably noticed torn bushings at the front attachment point for your trailing arms.
For the longest time I just thought the area where the tear is plainly visible on the front & rear of where the bolt passes through was there for a reason; to allow movement as the suspension travels up and down. Well looking at the new bushings there really is no way for them to allow for as much movement as the bushings these cars originally came with.
My theory is that the old bushing allowed for, over many years of use and hundreds of thousands of push/pulls, too much movement, and as a result the loosey goosey rear end feel. I’m open to ideas here, but to me, the way the original bushings allow for this movement creates a condition where toe is constantly varying depending on how far the rear suspension is compressed or extended. Is that the loosey-goosey I’ve had my finger on the pulse of?
The Tool
– Pete – »
Here’s the press tool I rigged up. A few 2” PVC repair couplings, one of which you cut in half (have a couple spares in case one cracks), a modified 2” galvanized plug, 7/16” grade 8 bolt, washers that fit on it, nut, and a couple steel plates cut & drilled to fit. I used a coarse thread bolt & even after doing (edit) 8 (technically 16) bushings with the same bolt and nut the threads hadn’t deformed at all. The 1/4″ plate actually bends inward towards the 7/16″ hole on the really stubborn ones, so flip it over when you start to notice it becoming concave. If anyone wants to borrow it just gimme a holler.
