Thanks for reading this. I have a 2002 Volvo S60 with about 135,000 miles. I've been happy with this car -- except for the maintenance costs.

My mechanic at my local Volvo dealership says that I need the following:

• Motor/Transmission Mounts
• Struts/Spring Seats
• Wheel alightment
• Control Arm Bushings
• Inner Tie Rod Ends

The cost of these repairs is significant for me and will run about $3,000, which is just about what this car is worth, according to Edmunds. I don't want to put a lot of money into this car, yet I of course don't want it to fall apart while I'm driving it.

Are these repairs critical? Am trying to save up for a new vehicle, but it might be a while. Was hoping to run this vehicle into the ground.

Thanks,
David

 

First off, where are you located?

Transmission mount... $90
http://www.ipdusa.com/version.asp?st...=403&V_ID=7903

Motor Mount... $26 (IIRC you have the round mount in the '02 S60, if so all you need is the Poly bushing)
http://www.ipdusa.com/Volvo-S60/Perf.../p-74-403-235/

Struts... $165 each
http://volvowholesaleparts.com/partl...layCatalogid=0

Spring Seats... $34 each (IIRC, these are the same as the spring insulators. Some one please correct me if I'm wrong).
http://volvowholesaleparts.com/partl...layCatalogid=0

Wheel alightment... Get a tire shop to do it. Shouldn't be all that expensive, and cheaper then a dealer.

Control Arm Bushings...
Front, $35 Rear, $25
http://volvowholesaleparts.com/partl...layCatalogid=0

Inner Tie Rod Ends $65 each
http://volvowholesaleparts.com/partl...layCatalogid=0

Looking a just shy of $800 for all the parts. I guarantee you your dealership will charge you a lot more for the parts. Usually Indie shops don't charge as much for labor as the dealers do, so you should be looking at quite a bit off from the $3k the dealer is trying to charge you. Nothing your doing is dealer specific so I really wouldn't go to the dealer on this one.

 

Thanks for your hard work getting those prices! I live in the Bay Area, where things are pretty expensive. I imagine I'm getting screwed over the dealer -- most of the charge will be for labor. I'll try to negotiate based on the information you provided. I guess you feel these repairs are necessary?

Thanks again!

 

Not a problem. I Think it would be a good idea to get them done. I would get the parts from the sites I listed. Just do one thing at a time. And seriously find an indie shop to do the work for you. You'll save some good money on labor.

Read this thread about friendly dealers in your area...
http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=106779

And read this thread, All pertaining to the Volvo entheuests in the Bay area. If you don't find any answers your looking for, just join up and ask away.
http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=106916

 

If you live in San Francisco, there are two independant shops you should check out: Popular Mechanix on 14th St. just east of Royal Motors and Volvo Centrum. I have used Popular Mechanix and was very pleased with the work. Others might have personal knowledge of Volvo Centrum.

 

Thanks for the pointers and advice. Meanwhile, I'm ok driving this vehicle around now, correct? It'll take a while for me to get through these repairs.

Thanks

 

The struts could probably wait. Ditto for the alignment. Tie rod ends -- you don't want them to fail. Motor & trans mount -- probably priority #2, followed by control arm bushings coming in at #3.

The only issue I see is whether the labor costs overall are significantly cheaper to get all the suspension work done at one time. You don't want to pay to have them replace some parts only to have to reinstall your new parts when some other suspension pieces are replaced.

With essentially a new suspension, you will feel like you're driving a new car; and if you get a better overall price from an indy shop, its probably worth it since by definition, you avoid the big depreciation hit of any new car in year #1. Good motor, trans, body & interior (in the Bay Area, probably so), you'll have that "new car feel" for a couple of years at a relatively cheap price.

(BTW, I own a CRV which got the suspension treatment at 170K and my daughter is perfectly happy with it--overall way cheaper than any new car)

 

My '01 with same mileage as yours needs all those things too. I just did struts, spring seats, and bearings the other day. Got Monroe struts from RockAuto for $60 ea.

 

Nice find! There's your struts for you!

 

+1 This is what I would do.

 

i would not wait on the spring seats - they fail and your strut can go right through your hood. Because you will be in there you might as well do the struts at the same time.

I say Don't wait.

 

Check to see the condition of the dust boot (bellows) on the struts too. If they are torn you'll need new ones. Most struts do not come with new bellows. The Monroes didn't anyway.

 

Thanks everyone for your comments, I appreciate it!

 

I have the same car with the same mileage.

I replaced all those things because I knew I was going to keep the car awhile.

here are my suggestions:
-Do NOT do these at the dealer, rip off to the max
-buy the parts at Darrell Waltrip Volvo by calling their service department, search, you will get parts for 50% off dealer cost
-get a craigslist and interview mechanics, you may find one that knows Volvos and even if he doesn't, it takes no special skills to do what you need done.
-motor mounts, unless you have noises, forget about them. The top motor mount is something you could do in a half hours without special tools. The subframe mounts is something altogether different and very expensive.,
-the single most important thing to have at your mileage is a new timing belt, serpentine belt, and tensioners.

find the right mechanic, do your homework, and do this piece meal, if you intend to keep the car. You can do it for half of what the dealer was going to charge you easily if not 1/3.

I did.

 

To the OP: don't worry, that won't happen. It's a myth of sorts, unless you really really bump ride the car for a long time with shot strut mounts. This sort of thing may have happened a few times with the 850's and Possibly a S70 (very very doubtful), but on this platform, it is NOT going to happen. It will make a bunch of noise if yours is shot which I very very much doubt at that age.

For parts
Darrell Waltrip Volvo, in TN
fcpgroton.com
eeuroparts.com
ipdusa.com

Those are the top 4 places on the other forums. For genuine parts you won't find a better price than Waltrip period. For aftermarket try groton but they also handle genuine, just ask. For specialty aftermarket and upgrades go ipdusa.

Most of those prices already quoted (especially the struts, which can be had at Waltrip for $119 for genuine instead of the $160 someone else said), can easily be beat. Most were aftermarket and if scantech parts, run don't walk away... Mark my words there.

 

Hi JP I need your help. I have a 2001 S60 2.4T I believe my ETM has gone bad again. I had it replaced in 08. The first problem I had was rough idle so I took it to an independent mechanic with a check engine light on. He said it was a 0422 code main catalyst efficiency below threshold bank 1. After he replaced the converter the car still did not run right but we did not have a code. I was then told that coil on #3 cylinder was bad so I had him replace that along with installing new plugs. The car still did not run right, but because he said he corrected the original problem he demanded payment for services rendered. This was on the 27th. Today the 28th I took the car out on the highway only to discover I had no cruise control and the car was still running rough. Idleing between 600 to 1200 at stoplights. I also noticed at 40 mph the cars rpm was at 1500 but as soon as I let off the gas the rpm's dropped to 1000. After everything I have read in this forum I believe it to be a faulty ETM, but before I take it to a dealer and maybe spend $90 I want to see if maybe the fuse for the cruise control is bad. I looked in my owners manual and it lists every fuse known to man except cruise control. Do you know where this fuse is located? A bit more information I put a can of Sea Foam injector cleaner in the car before I ever took it to a mechanic and it temporarily made the check engine light go off after a few days. On the 27th the light came back on and you know the rest of the story. Can you or anyone who reads this help me. I am disabled and on a fixed income and spending $560 yesterday I am stuck between a rock and a hard place not knowing whether to take it to a dealer or not. I would appreciate any help I can get from anyone.

 

I'm sending you a PM.

 

Certainly NOT a myth. I have seen a couple S60s with HUGE dents in the hood (as in baseball sized).
Our hoods are aluminum and not that much stronger than a beer can.

Agree with all this, but wouldn't get any rubber parts from FCP Groton - they tend to use the crappy recycled rubber. When getting spring seats get XC90 seats. they WILL fit and are MUCH stronger