I need new tires and new struts, but before i buy new tires, I need to know if i need new control arm bushing. My tires are wearing out on the inside. My ball joints seem to be ok. Or what else could be causing the tire wear on the inside. I took a pic of the bushing. I dont want to buy new tires until I correct the problem.
thanks Rob

 

Looks like they are pretty bad. Look on the other side of the bushings and and see if they look worse/broke on the other side.

 

Can I see more of that pic? I want to see a closer one. That used to be my problem before man.

 

I'd replace them while you can.

My S60 is at the dealer right now. Got a call that the front control arm bushings are shot. They want $800 to replace! I told them no, and checked IPD. Parts altogether are about $90. So where's the other $700? Even at an outrageous $95 per hour, they can't justify the price. I hate the way Volvo overprices its parts.

Anyway, my questions: (1) is this impossible to do myself without a lift of any kind? (2) If I bought the parts, do you think my local indy Volvo guy would do this?

 

Volvo typically install new control arms rather than pressing in new bushings. My local dealer parts price are heavily marked up so the new control arms w/bushings are expensive. My local dealer quoted me $140 to press in the new bushings.

Yes to both questions. You don't need a lift but you do need a jack + stands. Left notes when I did mine here. Look under "Lower Control Arm Bushing" Hardest part was finding someone to press the bushing in (Go to a good indy for that if they can, they probably have special fittings for the press to do this)

http://www.freewebs.com/howardsvolvos/suspension.htm

 

Howard c64, thanks for the info. This is clearly beyond anything this DIYer wants to attempt (the upper engine mount I will be replacing myself).

I have a call in to my local indie Volvo guy on his price with his parts and with mine. IPD has the parts, but the reviewers there list them as bolt-ons, no need to press them. http://www.ipdusa.com/Volvo-S60/Susp...p-74-404-3132/ Even if I buy the whole control arm I'm better off than with dealer price (IPD is $85 each with bushings installed).

 

It seems that my indie mechanic will only use his parts, which are of course 75% more than the same parts at FCP Groton. I have no qualms about paying for labor and skill, but I feel ripped off when I pay almost twice (or more for some dealers) what I should for parts, since every garage can order them for the FCP Groton price or less. Can those of you who work in the industry explain this? Is it markup, or are these places paying more than they should?

 

I think it is common practice for Indy to make profit on parts. Dealer commonly charges even more for parts.

It isn't unfair really, I've been told they have to depend on more than labor rate to keep the doors open.

Quite often, people spread profits in products and services in all kinds of businesses. In this case, it doesn't look good when they charge you super cheap no profit parts and say $150/hour labor to make up for it.

Of course online store's whole business is lower part prices + volume.

So kinda hard to get the best of both worlds... Good luck.

 

Independent guys also have to think about the warranty aspects of their jobs. If they install parts you buy, and the parts fail, they are kind of on the hook for it, or have to argue that it was your part, not his install. So they often insist on using parts they source themselves, mark them up for warranty purposes, and give you a reasonable hourly rate. Hard to blame them. I plan on replacing the entire control arms on my Volvo next week. The cost of complete arms is only about $400 while all 4 bushings would be around $200, plus the pain of pressing out and in. I know my aftermarket arms won't be as good as new Volvo arms, but the car already is at 150K, so they should last a while.