Im looking to put in new suspension in the rear. its really soft, and sagging and super clunkly and loud, the smallest of bumps will set off a rattle, it isnt' anything loose, ive checked 100 times hoping it was. It has alot of sag which i assume would be the spring, but the clunking and banging i get over bumps im thinking is the shocks 'bottoming out'. Im planning on replacing both and the hardware as well if it doesnt snap or break coming off. Who knows when the last time it was done. How hard of a jobs is it once its up in the air and off the tires. Also whats the best way to get the springs out? Do i need a spring compressor? And then for the bushings, do i need a tool for htose or do those just slide in and what not

 

you do not spring compressors. all you do is undo the shocks, then lower the rear axle with the jack till the springs are not compressed. then you undo the spring bolts and take them out. make sure you have something to rest the axle on while you install the new parts.

shocks and springs are fairly easy. Are you doing stock replacement, sport springs or overload springs?

 

Im planning on just stock replacement right now, I thought about sport but its alot money that i want to do or have right now

 

okay. you mentioned it felt soft, so I though atleast overload springs would be an option. The only thing I am not sure on is the amont of rotating the stock rubber bushing will take. I think you can lower the rear axle that much to get the springs out with our loosing the control/torque rod nuts. The way the make them they have to be torqued at ride height. Thats why I like poly bushings, is you dont have to worry about that.

 

yeah i thought about getting Heavy Duty springs as well so the sag wont be there for a longer period of time. But haven't found a good site or price for them yet. The front will need to be done soon as well but money is only allowing one to be done now. I just dont feel like paying an extra 200 for a shop to do it.

 

In my somewhat limited experience, suspension sag/clunks/creaks is as likely to be caused by worn bushings and dead shocks, as tired springs.

for a great price on heavy duty springs, check out fcp groton, who co-sponsors this forum. link on the right column.

if you do use stiffer springs, you also should have stiffer dampers (shocks) to balance it out, or the car will 'pogo' on rough roads. conversely, too stiff shocks with stock springs, the suspension can pack down on bumpy roads as the spring rate is too weak for the damping factor of the shocks. I would *NOT* upgrade the back suspension with stiff springs and shocks without also using upgraded anti-sway bars, all new bushings, and putting equivalent matched shocks on the front, or your handling will suffer, possibly dangerously

I kinda wish someone who knew as much about suspension as the motorcycle experts would go through the various combinations of springs and commonly available volvo shocks to match up what works with what via bench testing. High end sport motorcycle spring+shocks tend to have as many as 5 adjustments (preload, low speed compression, high speed compression, low speed rebound, high speed rebound).

the commonly available shocks for 7xx/9xx's and my personal opinions (primarily based on reading and analysis rather than my own real world experience)

• Boge/Sachs - OEM supplier, pretty much the stock shock. Currrent Mexican made versions are apparently inferior quality.
• Bilstein TC (Touring) - Affordable upgrade from Boge, still give comfortable stock ride <= my choice for a daily driver. These are the stock shocks on many Mercedes.
• Bilstein HD - serious upgrade, much stiffer. expensive. I'd not want this on my daily driver, but would be my choice for a upgraded/stiffened suspension for a car I was going to drive hard or on the track.
• KYB - I used these on previous non-volvos, they didn't last very long
• Koni - expensive, adjustable from stiff to really really stiff.

and I left out the Nivomats, which are a special case, used on the back of many 760/960's. Nivomats are a dynamically adapting shock that is matched to a weaker-than-normal spring and self-levels the car by pumping itself up as you drive. expensive, but give a very nice ride until they wear out then your car bottoms out with any sort of load. If you have nivomats, you have to use them, or replace your rear springs.

 

I ordered the Volvo factory rear shocks (p/n 1329500) for my 1993 940 Turbo wagon. I was concerned that they would be the Boge/Sachs shocks made in Mexico. They are not. They are made in Spain.