I never had any problem with the rear suspension bushings on our original S90 through 130k miles. However, the new S90 with only 54k miles seems to have a problem (possibly driven much more frequently on rough roads). In the rear suspension diagram, the upper arm attachment point #17 moves about 3/4" when shifting between forward and reverse with the brakes on, causing a noticeable jerk in normal operation. This is significantly more movement than I had ever seen on the old car. It appears that some combination of the bushings at the inboard end of the upper arms are bad, with possibly some contribution from the bushing at point #17. The factory manual indicated that replacing the bushing that I labeled "in the mount housing" would be a very difficult task without all the special tools. I do plan to pull the upper arms from the old car to swap in case that helps at least somewhat. Has anyone seen these bushing go bad? I can only imagine what a dealer might want to replace these bushings, has anyone done this with simple tools?

 

I'm also thinking about just transferring the entire IRS assembly. If I can get at the mounts, it should involve not much more just disconnecting of the common brake hose, parking brake cable(s) and driveshaft. However, I probably would also remove / transfer the shocks and large torque arm at the bottom (bracket to the body comes off with a couple of screws). Again, any advice / comments would be welcome.

 

Quick update, the local dealer wants about $800 (around $210 of that is parts) to replace the 3 bushings on both sides. I'm still considering a complete swap, but that would be replacing bad 15 year old busings with an assembly that also had 15 year old bushings.

 

Can you separate the upper axle member from the rest of the suspension to take it out for presswork? If you have to rely on the dealer this should cut down on labor. Separating the drive axle/wheel bearing would make me think twice about it.

The 9140469 bushing - if this is the one that goes there - looks like it has parallel edges. But the installation tool 5569-3 has a pretty nice angle. What's up with that?

This bushing might be easier to saw out: cut the rubber to remove the center then score the outer bushing bore with the saw, then break through it with a chisel.

Where the faces are flat and parallel I have had luck with these styles of bushing using a u joint press and impact sockets; and for large bushings I have this set of bolt/discs/cups that harbor freight sells under number 66829 (it goes on sale frequently.) In fact for the big bushings in the front control arm I'm going to make an adapter that matches the steps in the bushing face so that the disc can press evenly around the circumference of the bushing case.

I have an H frame press too but I've only used it for wheel studs and transmission work. I've never tried something like filling an old bushing with urethane glue. Hey urethane in the suspension is an upgrade, right?

 

Unfortunately, the bushing that I think is most in need of replacement is mounted in the framework for the IRS and it is not part of the upper arm. Due to the fuel tank and spare tire well in the trunk, there is little room to work around the framework for the IRS in that area and Volvo has some special hydraulic tool to work in that area (along with other tools to compress the spring, etc.). That is why the old live axle suspension would have been really nice, both easier to repair and a lot lighter.

 

Yeah, it looks like it goes into the subframe. I thought that you would be taking this off anyway to move the suspension.

 

Still trying to figure out the next steps, but I'm now sure that the bushing in the subframe is most of the problem. After cleaning everything, several cracks in the rubber insert in the bushings were visible. Since there are several voids in the rubber insertd, I found some fairly stiff rubber and made plugs to force into the voids. With that, the problem is mainly gone, but this is likely not a long term solution. So assuming the wife in practice does like getting back into a Volvo (vs our Lexus LS which she has driven for 6 months), I'll probably pull the whole IRS from the donor car, take it to the dealer to get all the bushings replaced and then install it in the newer car.