I need to replace the lower control arm bushings on my 2002 s80. I have been looking and have found several different brands and prices. Are these all basically the same? Are some better then others? Are there any to STAY away from? Any recommendations for which is the best choice?

I want something that will be durable and handle well.

I am also planning to change my struts and have been looking at the bilstein HD. Are these really worth the price? Or are there fairly comparable struts which would work almost as good for much less?

I want my car to handle as good as possible, but I also want a comfortable ride. Stock seems to handle decent but if I could improve that without sacrificing comfort is what I am looking for.

Any other parts I really should be inspecting as well and possibly replacing?

 

For the control arm bushings if you never want to replace some of them again do urethane bushings for the front on the arm. These are a little expensive but will hold up good and handle way better than OEM style.http://store.powerflexusa.com/volvo-...ngs-p1122.aspx #1 is what you want to get.
We install them where I work and never had a failure yet.

The HD's are decent struts as well.

 

Thanks for the reply. What would I use for the rear position bushing then? just anything else? They don't have those ones listed on that site.

You also mentioned the HD struts as decent. Is there something better? Or is there something comparable for less price?

I mean, What Would Tech Do? :P

 

For the rear bushings use the Blisteins most sites list.

For the S80 me I like the OEM Boge struts but that is just me.

 

Unable to find a Boge application for my vehicle on any of the parts sites. Most common seen are bilstein, sachs, KYB and Monroe sensa-trac. Checking out autozone they list Gabriel Ultra.

Also, the reason I started this project was because I took the car to Midas to get the alignment done and they advised me my lower control arms need to be changed as well as Front upper mounting kit. They listed part SM5475. Which is the KYB upper upper mount with bearing. Obviously the only parts actually needing changing are the lower control arm bushings front and rear position. but on the mount kit listed, should I change both the mount and bearing/bushing or does only one need to be usually changed. They didn't say my shocks were bad, but I was thinking I should probably change them while I am in there.

I really appreciate any suggestions on what to look for or parts I should probably change just for good measures.

 

Look at the Sachs they are also the Boge one. The company's were just combined.
You should replace the mount and not worry about the bearing plate. Well here in FLA I have only ever replaced one in like 15 years. If you are in the north try looking ahead of time and if they are rusted bad then replace them to.

I do not like the Monroe or gabriel struts at all.

 

I ordered the powerflex for the front position lower control arm bushing. They were $59.99 + S&H for both which is actually fairly comparable to buying 2 of the Bilsteins.

Looking for the strut mounts etc, some of the sites are very confusing on these as they can't make up their mind which is which it seems.

Do you have specific site/part number you recommend I should order?

 

I would order from these guys.
http://www.fcpgroton.com/

 

I ordered from IPD in Oregon. Make sure you replace the upper strut mounts at the same time. These are what fail about the same time as the lower bushings. You can order new lower control arms with the bushings for a faster repair.

 

Yeah, I originally was going to order the entire arm until I found out it was just the bushings that were bad. Originally I found the arms for about $150 (midas was charging $342.99 ea)+installation. Bushings for the bilsteins are $14.99 for the rear position and $24.99 for front/inner position. I ended up getting the power flexes being they are supposed to be a LOT better ( well at least from what they say :P) and they have been highly recommended and they were only $30 each plus about $12 S&H. So total cost only about $36 each which is still a HUGE savings and once completed should be a much better control arm.

 

the bushings alone will do the trick if the cost to remove and press in are inconsequential. I bought the Monroe struts because of the cost factor. They are fine and with the bushings replaced, the upper strut mounts and struts replaced the 10 year old car rides like new.

Replaced the front brake pads and missing tension spring yesterday, Now to address the black window trim decals wrinkling and falling off.

 

Are you going to try to install the bushings yourself?

 

Yep,
I am going to try. Any tips or tricks?

So for the mount I should just need to replace the spring seats? Is that the same as the upper strut mount? I am looking at fcpgroton.com and I do not see anything for the mount other then the seats.

Thanks for your help

 

yep, sorry, meant the upper spring seats, amazingly made up of rubber that just deteriorates and lets the springs flop around. IPD sells several types including some heavy duty ones. I had my alignment shop install the shocks, spring seats and lower control arms since they are reasonable and aligned it all up after the makeover. It did not take them very long at all. I would have taken all day. Monroes were cheapest at rockauto.com a great place for general parts including filters, brake pads, etc. IPD is great for specialized Volvo parts.

 

For the power flex bushings there is a way you need to do it. When you are ready let me know and I will explain exactly how to do it. It is not that bad at all either.

 

Do you need a press to both remove and install these new bushings into the control arms. I have gone through 3 sets of the aftermarket control arms with bushings and they wear out rather quickly.

 

I have the power flex parts now and am ready to start taking the car apart and replace the bushings. Please advise exactly how I should install the power flex bushings as well as maybe removing the old bushings.

As for the strut upper seat, I am wondering if maybe this is all I need to replace as well. I was looking at changing out the struts and maybe the coil springs but am thinking those are probably still good and don't need replacing yet.

Looking around at the parts I am guessing that what some people are calling strut mount spring seats, others are calling strut mount bushing. fcpgroton has an aftermarket one for $12.25 and and an OEM one for $23.45. Do you think the OEM or even the HD ones listed on some of the other sites would be that much better? I don't want to waste money if not needed, but I do want to make sure it is done correctly.


Do I need to completely remove the strut to change this mount?

Just wondering because I have the parts for my lower control arm and if it would be easier to change the mount when I am changing those anyways, then I will wait, otherwise I will probably change out the lower control arm bushings while I am waiting for the other parts to come in.

Thank you everyone for your input.

 

Ok this might be a little hard to understand with out pics. I have not been able to take pics to make a walk through yet.

When you look at the OEM bushings they have the metal sleeve that is pressed into the control arm. You will be leaving the metal sleeve in the control arm. I secure the arm in a bench vise. Then take a big pipe wrench or adjustable wrench and turn the center part that the bolts screw into. That will break the bushing(center portion) the rest of the way out.Keep turning it till you can tap it out of the sleeve. Then if you look in there you will see there is still a section in there. If you look closely there will be like 2 squares in there that are holes in what is left. That is the part you will need to get out. Now carefully take a chisel and go just inside the sleeve and start tapping. What you want to do is kind of fold it in on top of one of the holes. This way once you have some folded over you can use a long screw driver to pull the insert out of the sleeve. Once that is done spray some silicone in the metal sleeve and work the power flex bushing into the metal sleeve. Tap the bushing in till it is flush. Then if the bushings did not come with the metal inserts you will need to grind the rubber off the old one. Once that is done use the supplied anti seize looking stuff and put a decent layer inside the bushing. If they did not supply any regular anti seize will work fine. That is to stop then from creeking when driving. Then press the center sections into the bushing and you will be done.

Sounds kind of complicated but once you do it then you will think it is easier that I explained.

Hope this helps.

The rear ones are just press the old out and new in and done.

 

IPD writes the following:

We often get calls from Volvo owners about knocks, squeaks, rattles and clunks. Common failures that can create these noises are worn out upper front spring seats or worn out upper rear shock mounts.
Volvo front wheel drive models commonly develop a clunk in the front suspension that can be caused by worn out upper spring seats. This can occur in some models with as few as 30K miles and can be perpetuated by performance springs and shocks.
To provide increased longevity and better shock damping performance ipd has developed our own heavy duty upper spring seat. Our design incorporates more virgin (non-recycled) rubber which encourages a stronger bond between the rubber and the spring seat center mounting sleeve which is the most common point of failure on this part.
ipd’s heavy duty spring seat features additional material in key areas to increase longevity and consistent performance without adding additional noise or vibration into the chassis. Get your vehicle back to handling like a new car and keep it that way!
We also offer standard replacement front spring seats (used on '97 and newer models) which was redesigned by the manufacturer to reduce separation between the inner steel sleeve and outer rubber insulator. While these are an improvement over the original design, we have still seen failure in as little as 30,000 miles.
We recommend replacing the upper spring seats whenever the struts are replaced as part of regular maintenance. The expense is minimal in comparison to having to do the job over later.

I replaced the bushings and lower control arm first, but still had clunks, so I had to replace the upper Spring seats (and struts since I was in there) and now it rides quietly and like new. I would do it all at the same time since you will be in there and have to do an alignment afterwards.

 

I know one side is definitely bad, makes a lot of noise, and if I push on the passengers side, the strut top lifts up from the car chasis. Would this just be the spring seat or also the mount as well.

I am looking at a MOOG part MOK80931 which says it includes the bearing and is a strut mount kit. Does this include everything I would need if both were bad, or do I still need the spring seat?

I keep reading some that says includes bearing, or bushing not included, and when I look up bushing it is the spring seat.

I have also seen the kits for Mevotech (MEMP904903) and KYB (KYSM5475). These are both less expensive but they say they are the mount kits. I am considering using the Mevotech if it includes everything. Trying to get the best price and quality to finish the job.