I just bought a '94 960 sdn. The rear suspension is trashed. I've learned about the Nivomat shocks and how shockingly expensive they are. Now I know why it was being sold! Are there any alternatives to the Nivomat shocks as from what I've seen so far, standard shocks will not fit in their place.

 

Non-leveling shocks can be installed but the rear end will still be on the ground because the springs used on Nivomat cars are very, very soft. If you are determined to put normal shocks on the car, and expect to have a normal ride height, it will be necessary to use the springs from a non-Nivomat car.

 

I actually registered, just to tell you about IPD's Nivomat conversion kits.

Hmm. First post, and I'm not sure if this board works like a regular BB board. Just in case, here's the link straight-up: http://tinyurl.com/IPD-Nivomat-conv-kit

I haven't done this myself, but I've dealt with IPD before and they're excellent. From reading the reviews for the kits (especially the fourth one, by Alex), the internal spring compressor is a must.

I just bought my second 960 wagon, a 1996 model (I've had a 1992 960 wagon since '96, ironically), and I'm going to have the shocks checked out soon, so I'll find out if it's the Nivomat $y$tem then and decide which arm and leg I can live without.

On the other hand, it might be cheaper to install some of those hydraulic rams in the car so I can bounce it up and down at stoplights and impress teenagers. Yeah, that's the ticket.

 

Rear springs are easy to do (If you have a solid rear axle) A while back I went to the junkyard and pulled 2 non-nivomat springs for about 40 bucks total. Came home, jacked the car up, turned a few bolts, and about an hr later I had them on. Not much of a big hassle at all, and the car sits level and rides great.

 

Zmont: its easy on a non-IRS wagon, but not so easy on the IRS cars with the transverse composite leaf spring.