so ive got that anoying clunk in the suspension. other posts say to replace the spring seat. is there any reason to replace the strut mount as well. aslo what makes the noise. the spring is compressed so there should be no play. also doi need the washer that fits on top of the bump stop. i think i forgot that part when i replaced the struts. thanks dave

 

You only need to replace the spring seat imo. The strut mount is metal and it's unlikely to break/cause problems. The seats are a high failure part though.

You need every part of the suspension.

 

When the spring seat breaks the metal sleeve in the middle breaks out of the rubber.
That allows the strut to have play in it up top and causes the noise.

 

When I do the suspension, I usually replace the parts I circled in the pic. Some of them may not need to be replaced, but I only do them at every 100,000 miles or 8-10 years and wouldn't like to go back in there. The mount includes bearing for the steering and mine was rusted so replaced them, but unless they are damaged they may not need replacement. Sometimes a failed bushing on the sway bar or the link rods also cause clunk.

http://www.fcpgroton.com/volvo850shocks.htm
http://www.eeuroparts.com/home.aspx


JPN

[IMG]local://upfiles/6892/A12A63A0B9324415A2F6288301205839.jpg[/IMG]

 

I'm doing mine this weekend and I'm only doing the Spring Seat and the Sway Bar Link. I'm doing it on the V70. If you do everything JPN said to do, you will be spending three times as much as I am. Luckily I found a Volvo enthusiast who lives near me and he has a heated garage with a lift and a spring compressor. He has done this before and said we should be done in about 1/2 an hour.

Kind of strange how I found this guy. His Mom left a note on my yellow car in the parking lot when my wife was shopping. My wife got the note and it said they wanted to buy my car and was wondering if I would consider selling it. When I called she put he son on the phone and turns out they own like four Volvos and was hoping I didn't know what I had. I tried to sell them the white one for $8500, but told them it's really not worth that much. He goes to OSU and posts occasionally on volvospeed.