My 02 S40 is in need of new front shocks / struts.

Is this something I can do myself or should I take it to the shop?

Thanks.

 

Depends on your tool kit and skill set :-). You will need to buy/rent a spring compressor ($50 at Sears) to start, and then have a pretty good assortment of wrenches. Not sure about the S40s but I've done the struts on 850s about 4 times. General workflow (from doing my 850) is 1) jack car from center / remove both front wheels (otherwise you'll have trouble removing the sway bar end links) 2) remove end links/unclip brakeline/ABS sensor line from holder in strut and unbolt end link. If the end link nut spins, there's usually a slotted cut near its ball joint boot for an open end wrench to hold the pin 3) optional - remove brake calipers and suspend out of the way (I don't bother but some videos suggest this to avoid letting the knuckle hang down stressing the brake line - I just put a block under the knuckle to keep it from going too far - not practical on a lift). 4) remove three top small nuts (12 or 13mm?) 4) you should find two bolts holding strut housing to knuckle - check bolt sizes, you may find they are 16mm/18mm - not all metric wrench sets have all the bigger evens. 6) remove bolts and drop out strut. 7) compress the spring to remove tension on the spring seat. remove the top nut (either a 19 or 22 mm) using an open end to hold the slots on the pin. 8) inspect all parts - best to replace the spring seats and bump stops/boots etc if torn. Take pic or note the order/orientation of each part on the stack 9) reassemble with new parts. Key step here is to make sure the spring's end points fit exactly into the slots in the new strut on the bottom and into the spring seat on top. Torque top nut(s) to spec (hard to do actually given the tools/pins. Dunno if the S40s use a butterfly nut like the 850s but that's a PITA to get torqued to spec without a special tool...). 9) Insert back and hold with top nuts first then tap into place to reinsert bottom bolts to knuckle. There will be some play here so you may need to adjust to center it. Some procedures recommend using new bolts on the bottom - if not use some thread lock. 10) connect end link, snap in hose/wires to holder etc 11) when done with both sides, get a wheel alignment.

So given you have the tools and a guide - I'd say you should be able to do both struts in 4-5 hours total. I'm now at the point I can do a pair in about 3 hours given I have all the tools and the experience. A shop will assess about 2.5 to 3 hours plus a mark up on the parts - unless you have a friendly indy who will install parts you buy online. To get an idea of part costs, FCPEURO sells kits now inclusive of struts, bearings, seats. I've actually suggested they sell complete replacements (inclusive of springs) for people who don't want to disassemble the strut (making the replacement a 6 bolt job)... in fact I just got an email from eeuroparts.com announcing their preassembled strut kits for various Volvos. They didn't list the S40, but may be worth a call to them. - the For the parts, I recommend Boge/Sachs (OEM) and OEM seats as you really want to get another 100K miles on the parts. If you reuse some parts, you may wind up spending 3 hours labor to replace a bit part...

 

I've found that using an impact wrench on the top nut works perfectly. Once the strut spring is compressed you use the impact to swiftly remove the nut without the need to hold the strut from spinning. An electric impact works as well as an air-driven impact if you do not have an air compressor.

 

shhhhh. that's my secret. having an impact wrench is also great for working the spring compressors too. Now I just need to keep my friends from stopping by for their snow tire change overs...

 

+1 on the impact wrench suggestion.

Having an 1/2" impact wrench while doing any type of suspension or front end work is a blessing. And they can be had cheap too. I found an old Rodac 606 (70-80's model) for $30 on craigslist. My compressor is also an antique, a Campbell Hausfeld 8 gallon and its Made in the U.S.A.! Paid $40 for it at a peddlers mall.

Get one and you won't remember how you managed without it.