Ok, My 1994 850 Turbo is sitting down on the front end. It has kind of the 80's muscle car jacked up in the rear look. Not real severe but it definately has settled in the front.

Questions:

Are the front springs prone to this "sagging" or is it most likely the struts are so worn there is no "Gas Spring" left in them?

This is a daily driver, driven mostly by my wife, I would like to know people opinions on the following options for upgrades.


1: Replace all 4 corners with Sachs/Boge OEM struts and replace front springs with OEM

2: Bilstein Touring @ all 4 corners with replacement front springs

3: Some combo of Sport Springs and Struts...loking for suggestions. Remember I like my teeth in the jaw and my kidneys healthy so no 2" Slammed School Bus hard springs here. I keep the 2" drop on my Jetta.

 

Ok, I feel you pain.

The coil springs should be all right, unless they are physically broken. However, if you want a firmer ride, there are some mod springs available. Without looking at the car, I can only assume that the "De Carbon" struts have allowed the nitrogen to escape as you've described, if you do not see any oil leakage. Also, check for ALL suspension components just to be certain. A while ago one person had similar problem, I suggested that he suspect the strut, people disagreed ([8D]), but in the end it seemed to have been the strut, as the person heard air leakage kind of noise as he lifted the front end, and did not note any other component being damaged.

I would definitely stay away from Bilstein HD's. Axelm can tell you his horror story about them. I replaced mine with Bilstein Touring and was happy with them. Or you could go with Sachs (OEM) but Bilstein is more popular throughout the world. If your 850 allows too much roll, you may want to search for a firmer set of coil springs.

Well, this is my personal opinion and others may have different opinions so listen to others as well before taking things apart. You seem quite knowledgeable, so this is probably redundant.


JPN

 

Actually the handling is pretty good. I am also thinking that the spring rubbers are also shot which could account for some of the "sag". I have a Tokico "HP" kit on my Jetta and I LOVE it, I will search for a kit for the Volvo.

I am leaning towards the Bilstein Touring setup also, most info I have found seems to point in that direction. Living in the Northeast U.S. makes for some very hard treatment of the suspension, especially a car as heavy as the 850. I had a similar issue with my old VW GTI where the shocks worked fine for Damping but their increased spring rate from the Gas was gone. Should I also replace the sway bar end links and all bushings with Polyurethane?

 

>Living in the Northeast U.S. makes for some very hard treatment of the suspension, especially a car as heavy as the 850.

Been there & done that for 6 years myself...but I consider the North Eastern U.Sas my homeland. I love snow (and driving in snow too), and the Spring & Fall are nothing like the rest of the world. And the air feels so clean (not sure about the cities, though[8D]).

On some models, replacing the bushings alone on the stabiliser (sway bar) is not possible; you have to replace the entire bar assembly (unless you can improvise). But if you could afford, a beefed-up bar seems to improve handling like a ton, as far as I heard. I only replaced the link rods with aftermarket (Hamburg Technik, German) and even they improved handling noticeably. If you could afford, I would buy beefed-up link rods, that have much thicker diameter/different shape (rectangular cross section instead of round)than the OEM.

I hope this gives you some ideas.


JPN

 

I think Bilstein HDs are wonderful if you live in Germany or Switzerland, but here in Argentina they were not a good choice at all. Way too rigid. The handling is great on the freeway but when I hit a pothole I really suffer.

 

Axlem,

What do you mean by "suffer"?

 

JPN,


Do you have a sway bars with the touring set up? I am curious. The Struts on my 850 are not so bad yet but they will need replacing soon along with the spring seats...blah! I figured if I went with the touring I should toss in some sway bars since the springs are still in great shape. Or I could get some eibach springs and just go with a strut brace along with the Strut and shck replacements. ANy ideas or personal exp. would be greatly appreciated.

 

Complete stock suspension for 100 bucks on VolvoSpeed (6k miles). Take a look at it.

 

No I do not have a beefed up sway bar, but if you can afford one, it would improve handling. I believe some 850s have replaceable sway bar bushings, while others do not. It is usually the bushing that deteriorates.

Bilstein Touring sets are excellent, as they are neither too firm nor too soft. Bilstein Heavy Duty sets, the yellow ones, seem to make the ride a bit too firm. If you can afford, Koni or other adjustable sets may be an option.

Also, I would replace the sway bar link rods with beefed up version. The stock ones perform fine (I replaced them with less expensive German units that are identical to the OEM) but it may not satisfy those who really want to make thecar handle sharper.

After I replaced the shocks & struts & all hardware except the dust boots & cross-shaped nuts, the car handled like new. After I was done with everything, I had an alignment done at a dealer, which also improved handling.


JPN

 

i have a 96 turbo and 03 jetta gli. both are very different cars. the volvo is 5 cyl turbo auto where the jetta is a v6 6 speed, the volvo is slightly quicker on a dead stright away. the GLI is much better on the twistys. how can i get the volvo to handle like the gli. the jetta does weigh in at over 3100lbs. both are all factory. i really dont want to lower any cars

 

I recently replaced my stock suspension with the H&R spring/Bilstein HD combo, and i like it a lot. It is a bit firmer for sure, but nothing uncomfortable, imo. I know some people dont like the HDs, but my family has only had good experiences with them. I think they're probably the best bang for the buck. But from what you say, i'd recommend stock springs with firmer shocks/struts. That should have minimal effect on ride, but help make the handling a bit more crisp. But if you do want to replace your springs/shocks with oem, i still have my Sach oem setup for sale. Both the shocks and springs are in excellent shape. Let me know if you're interested, i'm sure we could work something out.

Cheers!

 

hit me up in a pm...I am curios as to the millage on the old system.