IMO, the weak link in the 850's and S70's is the front suspension. It has a lot of torque, weight, etc. up front so it simply takes a lot of beating. Maybe all cars do, what the heck. I just read about suspension stuff all the time on this site and others. I put about 400k on my 740 and can't remember doing any suspension work. I read about people replacing parts on these cars year after year. Maybe they use cheap parts, non the less it worries me all the time.

Well, my wagon has 200,000 on it and it's time for me to get to work on, you guessed it, the front suspension. Something is going on with my daughters S70 as well.

On the S70, the shocks were blown and the sway bar end links were shot. So I put used Bilsteins units on it and new Meyle sway bar links on it. It is pretty tight right now but maybe the right control arm is going bad. I have to check it out when it comes this way next month.

On the wagon, the struts are hard. It's not bouncing but my guess is that they are not absorbing as much as they should. It just feels to hard. Not as nice as the Bilsteins. As you know, it's pulling to the left a little under braking and I did find the front bushing loose on the right control arm.

There is really NO GOOD thread that I have found that has a complete suspension write up. How to inspect, replace, etc. different components. So, I'm not sure what to do, just stabbing at it.

Besides all that, I would like to know what part replacements will require a post alignment?

1. Control Arms (yes)?
2. Sway Bar End Links (no)?
3. Strut Mounts (no)?
4. Strut Spring Seats (no)?
5. Inner Tie Rods (yes)?
6. Outter Tie Rods (yes)?
7. Strut Brace (no)?
8. Steering Rack (yes)?
9. Sway Bars (no)?
10. ? Axels, left and right (are these considered CV joints?) (yes)?
11. Transmission (yes)?
12. Struts (yes)?
13. Tires (yes)?
14. Wheel Bearings (no)?
15. Brake Calipers (no)?
16. Engine Mounts (no)?
17. Hydraulic Motor Mounts (no)?
18. Rotors (no)?
19. Wheels (yes)?
20. Wheel Spacers (yes)?
21. Springs (lowering or stock) (yes)?

Did I miss anything?

 

What are chamber bolts and where do they go? I see them on iPd's website for $82.50 a pair.

 

are the camber bolts required for lowering springs?

 

The camber kit replaces the strut to spindle nuts on the lower part of your strut assembly. The camber kit can gain you up to 2.0 degrees and are a must when lowering your vehicle.

 

I was reading my manual about doing an alignment and was a little surprised to learn that your car is suppose to be empty of contents, have the spare, and be FULL of gas. Alignment shops never mention this stuff. All they want to do is tell you what parts they need to change.

Besides that, I could not wrap my head around CASTER. Can someone dumb that down for me to understand?