Hello all, long time haunter of this site, first time poster. Anyway, my 1995850 turbo wagon just got a set of new tires today and about four hours later, after my wife drove to the YMCA just fine, she came out and the drivers side corner was sitting on the tire. Not heavily mind you but undriveable. Is this my strut/shock? If so can I do this myself? I did the axles with no problems other than a bad part, and it seems to be fooling with many of the same parts so... Anyways, the seems to have happened rather suddenly but I did notice some scraping type noise when I was on my way to get the tire when I hit bad bumps but I did not think anything of it as it was a construction zone. So, is this related to the tires? I think not, if not, what is it? a bad shock? If so, can I reuse the same spring, should I replace both shocks? I am kind of broke so less is better right now. If I can get away with replacing one now and the other in a couple of weeks when I get paid again, I could handle that. Thanks in advance for any and all help.

 

Hi qadig,

Greetings from Yokohama, Japan.

When I read your title, I thought it is better than the car sitting on the oil filter[8D]. Sorry, didn't mean to make fun of it.

850 uses struts on the fronts and shocks on the rears. If you can do so safely, try visually inspecting the coil spring for physical breakage on front suspension. Then, look for fluid leak from the strut assembly. This is a lot easier with the wheel removed, but if you don't have a floor jack and jackstands, visit a local shop and make them allow you to see the suspension area.

If it turns out that the strut is shot, yes you can recycle the coil spring, it is usually good for the life of the car. However, when replacing the strut, other little parts should also be replaced, such as follows.

1. Upper mount (bearing) with new nuts x 3 each side (total of 6 nuts).
2. Upper springseat (notorious for wearing out & causing clunking noise).
3. Bump stop for strut
4. Special washer for strut
5. Top cap for strut
6. New bolts & nuts for strut lower attachment.

Do both sides, not just the driver's side. The rears can be deferred until later, unless it's undeniably sagging or affecting the handling. If you have not performed strut servicing before, have someone with experience do it with you, or have it done at a shop, preferably at a Volvo dealer/shops that specialise in Swedish/European makes. You have to compress the coil spring during the procedure, but if not done right, the spring will slip off the compressing tool and hit you right in the face with an enormous force, whichmay beenough to kill you in some instances.

BTW, what kind (brand) or tyres did you get, did it match the car's spec? And the air pressure is correct? I assume it is.

Here's a useful thread:
https://volvoforums.com/m_48928/tm.htm


>I am kind of broke
Aren't we all.


I hope this helps.


JPN

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I bet the strut is fine and the ball joint on the control arm failed. - AB

 

I'm curioust to what it is also. Please post back what you find. I kind of doubt it would be the strut also.

 

I second that vote.

 

Well, I did not have time to do anythign all day yesterday as I ws running around nonstop the entire time. So I get to the car today to check my springs, look for fluid, anything obvious and, lo and behold, the car is sitting a little bit low, but not on the tire like it was Tuesday night. As a matter of fact, I drove it home, no problems, no funny feelings, nothing out of the ordinary. So here are some more details to help figure this out.

First, I got the same tires that had been on it. 205/55 R16's. They are el'cheapo's but I have always had great luck with them. Oh, yeah, and the pressure is fine.
Second, I replaced both axles less than four months ago, in doing so I checked out everything I could and the sway bar link looked fine, my bushings were in decent shape and nothing had obvious problems.
Third, about six months ago, I noticed a similar occurence with the car, it was sitting really low in the wheel well. However, we were on our way out of town for the wekend (in the other car as the Volvo had no A/C at the time) and when I got back I had forgotten and the car was fine.
Fourth, last time it happened, I had had the car on the lift at the mechanic for other reasons.
Fifth, I had the car on the lift about three hours before this happened.
Sixth, the YMCA has some awfully intimidating speed bumps (I don't care what kind of car you have, these are bad).
Seventh, after inspection just now, I did not see anything obvious.

So, what is this problem that apparently fixes itself. The struts have never been replaced according to the maintenence manual and I did the axle job for the first time. My brother and dad both think that the strut is worn out and is getting stuck when it hits a bump then releases after a while. Don't know how possible this is. Franlky I am lost and any advice is welcome. If all else fails, well, we won't go there.

 

Hi,

Manymodern strutsare charged with nitrogen gas-called De Carbon design(like airplane shocks, except airplane shocks may not beof De Carbon style) at the bottom of the struts/shocks and if the gas has escaped, theremay not have beena trace of fluid leak and it may have caused that mysterious symptom. But the gas is generally used to prevent foaming of the damper oil, so it may not be the cause. Either way, I would visually inspect all front suspension components, especially deformation on the struts but check the ball joint too.

If it had been the ball joint failure, you would have noticed difficulty steering the vehicle andit may not have been drivable. There is only one ball joint on 850s on each side of the front and it's located on the lower control arm, at the wheel-end.

Try pushing on one corner at a time, at the front to see how it responds.

Without actually taking a look at the car, this is the best guess I can give you.


JPN

 

I can't believe your life is predicated on the durability of "el-cheapo" tyres! Quality tyres can be the difference between life and death. Did you not read about the Firestone tyre issue with Ford a couple of years back? Perhaps if you are old enough you will recall the Firestone 500 tyre problem. Don't sacrifice your life for a couple of dollars!

r.

 

Well, based on the fact that I had no driveability issues when I drove it home today, I don't think that the ball joint is the likely culprit. I will, of course, check it out tomorrow when I tear into things fully. Frankly, the guy I bought this from said it was maintained but the radiator went kaput four miles after I bought it and he flat out lied about changing the timing belt (which I had checked and replaced after the radiator incident). Point being that nothing really surprises me about this car anymore. After inspection, I will let you know what I find, and when I get it fixed, I will let you know what the problem was. Thanks all for all the help, I will keep you posted.

About the tires, I simply feel that my money could be better spent elsewhere. I delivered pizzas (in my Camry) for four years on el-cheapo tires and the only wreck I ever had was when I borrowed my brother's car (goodyear tires as I recall). Personally I have never had a bad experience with the budget-level tires. Of course they wear faster but right now I cna afford $200 per tire. I'm just trying to finish grad school. Speaking of which, no I don't know anything about the Firestone issue with Ford, I guess it was before I cared about the news. However, if Ford and Firestone were having issues, I would have suggested that those in dire straits put on some cheap tires until the dust settled and settlement were disbursed as they always are when major companies are involved. Maybe when I get a real job I can get better tires. I'll kep you posted.

 

Hello again,

>if Ford and Firestone were having issues
They were Firestone Wilderness Series tyres.

A cheapo set would be ok, as long as you don't do hard/high-speed (above 65mph)driving. Keep an eye on the air pressure (check at every fuel fill-up, a good quality tyre pressure gauge can be boughtfor less than $10) or any visible damage. When you get a real job, though, I would go with a name brand as everyone said.

We'll be waiting for your update.


JPN

 

I can't remember a time when I did not have a pressure gague in the glovebox. Checking once a week is habit now so I htink I have that covered. Also, I use this car mostly for around town stuff. I don't really do much driving other than that.
Anyway, back to the project at hand. It appears to be my strut. When I jack up the car (didn't notice this the first time) the tire will leave the ground, then I get a pssst, and it descends. It did this two or three times just to get it high enough to get the tire off. I assume that not only is my strut jamming somehow, but that my spring is weak. I am waiting for parts to come in and I will let you know the results. Thanks again all for all the help.

 

Hi qadig ,

I just came back from posting all over the place; the top-dog named "Moderator Tech" is unavailable at the moment, and Tech can usually help people's problems in mere few sentences on all models. However, now that he's not available, I went to see how other forums were doing, and there were quite a bit of non-replied posts. So I volunteered (I know I have absolutely no obligation to do it) and posted some replies as much as I could, but since I'm not a dealer technician, there is only so much I can do. Well, I've done enough damage for the day[8D].

>I can't remember a time when I did not have a pressure gauge in the glovebox.

You're one ofa few "good drivers", probably about 10% of drivers on the road whodoes that, which is an excellent habit. Also, since you are knowledgeable & skilled, I won't worry about you.

In case if you haven't bought the springs, Scan-tech (Swedish) may be an option, though I've never used their springs and not sure if they're the OEM supplier. Listed $45 ea.
http://www.fcpgroton.com/volvo850shocks.htm

Good luck & please let us know how it goes.


JPN

↓Courtesy of FCP Groton.

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