Looking for expert advice-

I have replaced the lower control arms, struts, strut bushings/spring mounts, on my 2002 S80 non-turbo. This done in July of 2011- so about 9 months wear on them.

Recently, the car has developed a veer to the left when braking. I had my son drive it while I watched, and I could see the right front (passenger) wheel turn in (left) when stopping. Did not have to be a hard stop, just anything above "retirement community" style braking (real easy).

Pulled the RF wheel and could see the rear bushing had the rubber torn away from the center steel tube- see attached photo. When I tried to turn the knuckle assy by hand, I could see a good amount of play in that bushing.

I tried to see if there was play in any nut/bolt assy- tire rod ends, ball joints, struts, strut mounts, strut to knuckle botls, etc... but found nothing on either side. So I am guessing it is the bushing, not something else.

Can anyone confirm that a blown out bushing can cause this veer?

 

The bushings in my lower right control arm were shot and everytime i would apply the brakes my wheel would veer to the right. Mine were soo bad that I would have to turn the wheel slightly to the left to somewhat counter the veering. Had Volvo replace my bushings and all is well. I ordered my bushings from IPD and they had volvo on the package so i went to the dealer and told them I had bought them from another dealership i was going to do it myself but changed my mind. The dealer installed them and charged me 1.5hrs labor. You can try that route if you dont know of anywhere else to have them installed

 

I have replaced my bushings and/or control arms many times in my s80. At least three times. I have tried Scan Tec, Meyle, Etc. They ALL do not last. I just changed them again this past weekend and this time going with OEM from FCP. Trust me pay for OEM first and you wont be sorry later.

 

It does seem that the consensus is Volvo OEMs last longer than anyone. At about 100k miles, I have to say even this is pathetic. I have 230k miles on my Navigator and still have not needed to change control arm bushings.

The design of these bushings seems all wrong. The front bushing the rubber is welded to the control arm and the mounting post- causing it to tear as it flexes. The rear bushing turned in the wrong direction- causing it to tear and fail prematurely as well.

I have considered polyurethane, especially since the rear is designed to slip, not tear, but I know the ride would be harsh and noisy, so that is out. This is not a sports car, after all, but a mid luxury sedan, and it should be smooth, quiet.

I am considering buying a set of Moog urethane bushings to replace the bushings in the factory arms I saved. These are evidently a European spec bushing, as they have to come from overseas. I also found some euro brand rated for "taxi" duty. Not 100% sure they will fit, so I will avoid ordering these.

I'll get back here when I have something more to report.

 

I got replacement lower control arms with new bushings already installed from FCP also for my 01 V70 when it was doing same thing - veer when hitting the brakes. Well, here it is 18 months and 23,000 miles later and it's doing it again. I found this thread because I could not believe that was my problem AGAIN and was searching for other possible problems. But just now returned from garage and found front bushing shot on both sides and rear bushing is completly destroyed on drivers side!
Any suggestions other than doing it all over again and then plan to do it every 20K miles?? You should not have to replace control arms more often than you do spark plugs!

 

just purchase the volvo OEM control arms. i have done the same thing many times and the volvo ones will last the longest for about 100k others no more then 30K. it is pretty sad that they only last that long. it is almost like volvo designed them with servicing revenue in mind, as they could have made them sealed units that would never go bad.

 

did you get the entire control arms or just the bushings? Where did you buy and how much did you spend?

I spoke to FCP today and the salesman told me the Meyle (sp?) brand bushings are MUCH more durable than OEM. Is that just a salesman hawking what he sells?

THIS sounds like might be a good option. Do you know of a source?

 

I get the idea that the inexpensive control arms ($80-$90 each) are only going to last about 20k miles. That is my experience anyway. Yes, they are half the cost of OEM, but this is a huge disservice, as the cost to do the labor, or the time and effort to do it yourself is simply not worth the savings if you have to replace every 20k miles. It appears FCP offers an upgrade during a warranty replacement, but if your considering this, you should just shell out the money for the better parts to begin with.

As for whether the Meyles control arm bushings are any better, or even as good as OEM, I have no info on that. Most every thread I read says "use OEM" and little is stated about any other brands specifically. I have seen a couple of endorsements for Febi/Bilstein replacement bushings, which some seem to believe are OEM.

The real culprit, IMO, is the design of this control arm. I note that the chassis before and after this series has what I would consider a correct design- where both the front and rear bushings are oriented properly, with a sleeve inside the bushing allowing the control arm to pivot on the thru-bolt without tearing against the rubber insert. On our cars, the front bushing could be re-engineered so as to work like this, but the rear would be more of a challenge as the mounting bolt is vertical, not horizontal and front to aft.

 

don't go with the meyles...I just replaced them within a year of replacing them and with 30k on them. They lasted the longest of the aftermarkets but not as long a Volvo.
The issue with pressing the bushings is that if you can't press bushings in yourself (which will take some doing), it will cost almost the same amount as buying entire control arms if you were to purchase bushings and then pay to have them pressed in.

 

Thanks for the info on the Meyle control arms. I had not seen a definitive answer on the durability of these anywhere before.

As for pressing in, your probably correct that it is not worth it if you have to pay someone to do the removal and installation. I can do this myself, and I am looking at a couple of options.

Rock Auto sells Moog bushings that have lifetime warranty, and are supposedly made of urethane. They are marked as Euro spec only, and have to be shipped in from England I believe, but I note some of their other bushings are marked as Euro, Canadian AND US -with a single part number for all markets- so the fit should be the same for all.

Rock Auto also sells a front bushing from Lemforder that may or may not have an actual steel sleeve in the bushing so the rubber doesn't "tear". the description is: "Front Axle, Left and right, Front; Mounting Type: Rubber-metal Bearing"
I am trying to find out the details of that design.

 

NAPA carries this Lemforder bushing. I just stopped by there a bit ago and took a look at one and I see no metal sleeve that would make it any different/better than the destroyed pieces of junk currently in my control arms

Well, it would make sense that Moog would make a poly bushing. They have a line they call "problem solver". I just replaced the sway bar bushings on wife's Chrysler minivan with Moog "Problem Solvers", which are a completely differnt mateial and design than the oem. May need to give Moog a call and ask the about their Volvo bushings before I order and plain ole rubber shows up.

Oh, BTW, Advance Auto carries Moog control arms for $150 a piece, but have to be special ordered and no info available there at the store on the bushings used in them.

 

That's great info! Rules out Lemforder for sure. I have looked on Moogs website, and found no info on these replacement bushings. Now that I think of it, maybe i need to look at their UK or Euro website.

 

I have had good luck with Moog products. I have their sway bars links front and rear and one can clearly see the quality difference btween some of the other aftermarket products. I have tried a few.

BTW. From your picture, it appears that you must have a leak in you power steering or transmission. I would check that out too because the oil will make dirt and debris stick to your bushings and may cause it to wear prematurely as well.

 

My 2003 S60 control arms needed replacment at about 35K. Volvo said that was about normal. I went with aftermaket thinking they would last longer and I was back at the shop after 5K miles. Bought Volvo parts from FCP and had local shop install them. Volvo wanted 600 for install and 500 for the parts. Local shop installed free. MAybe they felt bad about installing the ones that only lasted 5K miles. Rubbing of tires during a turn went away after the new control arms as well. Volvo always said it was normal when the car was new. The turn stops on the control arms seemed to be in exactly the same place as before so I have no idea why the tire rubbing stopped.

 

your stops may have been worn out a bit causing tire to rub. See if there is wear to them if so you can swap from each side to wear out that opposite side to the stop bumpers. If they are in good shape you may have the incorrect size installed there are different versions depending on the wheel size of your vehicle. Lastly, the aftermarket control arms may be slighty different...just put spacing washers in the back of the wheel stop bumpers when you mount them. This will space them out a bit and stop the wheels from rubbing.

 

OK, folks, need some help deciding how to proceed ....
My 01 V70 non-turbo has got to have the bushings replaced as it is down right scarey driving it right now. I bought the $80 control arms from FCP 18 mos ago, paid an indy Volvo shop to install and they are now toast. The salesman I spoke to at FCP says he has NEVER heard of this type failure so fast - not sure I will be buying anything from them again.
So, how should I proceed??
I'm thinking cheapest route is new bushings pressed into my control arms but which ones?
Kinda concerned about pressing new bushing into after-market control arms - opinions?
I'm not too worried about getting the control arms off and back on, but what about pressing the bushings? Something I can do or will I need to pay to have it done? After paying to have bushing pressed, as mentioned, it may be more economical to get entire new control arm assemblies, but again, which ones??
Being "between jobs", money is tight and I want to try to choose the right path this time.

 

By the time you purchase volvo bushing and have them pressed in you will be at the cost of the complete Volvo OEM control arms which unfortunetly last the longest. Trust me, I have been through them all. See if FCP will warranty your old short lived control arms and get Volvo units from them cutting cost down with a credit and up sell. OEM units are ~$150 each from FCP.

 

From my experience, I would also go with the Volvo arms and get them from FCP. That is where I purchased mine and they have lasted 20K so far and dont look worn (opposed to the 5k aftermarket arms). I am sure FCP they has heard complaints about the arms. I know 3 people that have complained to them and there arent that many people working there. They have lifetime warranties on all the parts they sell dont they? Unfortunately these Volvos are really expensive to maintain.

 

Just spoke to FCP about a return I have to make. They said they give lifetime warranties on the Volvo Control arms as well as anything else they sell. 10% extra if non pro installs. No extra cost if installed by ASE tech. Sounds like a great deal for things like control arms on a Volvo. The other option is to get a car that does not require so much maintenance. My wife loves here Volvo so not an option for me.

 

OK, I replaced one control arm with a new OEM Volvo unit. Funny, now the brake-steer is in the OPPOSITE direction! Not as bad as before, but still a swerve when applying the brakes. Guess I will have to R&R the other arm.

A bit more research revealed that Moog has two different lines of replacement control arms- a euro spec line, and a US line that is made from steel. It is possible that the euro spec has urethane bushings, however, I decided against trying them, as for some reason, the freight on them doubled since I first looked at them- making them about the same cost as Volvo OEM from FCP.

In addition, I had purchased lifetime warranted Moog spring seats (lower strut mount- as some might call it) from Orileys. I installed these when I put in the non-OEM control arms. They didn't last either. The center post were torn out and lots of missing rubber in 10k. I ordered OEM Volvo (Boge?) from FCP and installed those too.

When I got the OEM spring seats, I also purchased some lifetime warranted upper strut mounts (strut bearings) from Orileys. One was bad right out of the box- rough bearing, so I traded it out and installed both. The first two were silver, and the replacement was gold colored metal. Well, not a week later and the other silver bearing is binding and popping. I pulled it, called around to half a dozen Orileys to find another gold colored one, and traded it out. (I think the gold are Tiawan, and the silver are China- but I cant swear to it). OK- I am stubborn. Should have gone with OEM on these too, but we will see if the Orileys parts will last a while. Honestly, my originals were not bad, I just was thinking I might not want to go back in there again. I'll let you know how these work out.

Also for the record, got around 10-15k on rebuilt drive shafts form Orileys- and they are fine. Same for the Monroe OE Spectrum struts up front. They are probably not as tight as OEM Volvo (Sachs) but they ride and handle fine. Think I will do the rears now, as they are notably weak when I have a passenger or two.