S60 Suspension: Suspension refresh at 135k

[XC90Mk1]

I think my comment would be to ensure you don’t pay a considerable amount of money for very very little return.

Where a shock has misting on it, which progresses to leaking and then poor rebound etc then yes, that’s going to make a huge difference, however where something is scabby, misting and looking generally a little worn the money spent on it will really yield little.

One piece of advice I would give however is not to overlook damaged components and the massive impact they can have. Bushes are a classic example! You may spend £500 on a pair of shocks, springs and an alignment and you will undoubtidly get some minor improvement, however if you have £60 worth of bushes that have delaminates that will transform your handling!

Also, having worked on cars and driven them hard and high mileages another point people always overlook is this, replacement parts are really not as good as original. Even OEM is not as good. For example if Volvo receive their clutches from Luk (mine is an auto so I don’t know who they get them from) then you may well get 120,000 from a ‘Volvo’ clutch. I bet you won’t from a ‘Luk’ clutch’s it’s the same manufacturer not same part. Same with batteries, mine is still original at 9 years and 110K. If I find the OEM I don’t expect the same. Hence I would not be removing genuine Volvo stuff to replace with OEM*.

*weather Volvo represents better value than OEM is a different question, Luk, Lemforder, Mann, Brembo are all items I would use but they are not the same quality. Imagine your Porsche 911 turbo with Brembo brakes. When you buy a generic set from Brembo for 1/3rd price they are not the same and won’t last as long.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by XC90Mk1

I think my comment would be to ensure you don’t pay a considerable amount of money for very very little return.

Where a shock has misting on it, which progresses to leaking and then poor rebound etc then yes, that’s going to make a huge difference, however where something is scabby, misting and looking generally a little worn the money spent on it will really yield little.

One piece of advice I would give however is not to overlook damaged components and the massive impact they can have. Bushes are a classic example! You may spend £500 on a pair of shocks, springs and an alignment and you will undoubtidly get some minor improvement, however if you have £60 worth of bushes that have delaminates that will transform your handling!

Also, having worked on cars and driven them hard and high mileages another point people always overlook is this, replacement parts are really not as good as original. Even OEM is not as good. For example if Volvo receive their clutches from Luk (mine is an auto so I don’t know who they get them from) then you may well get 120,000 from a ‘Volvo’ clutch. I bet you won’t from a ‘Luk’ clutch’s it’s the same manufacturer not same part. Same with batteries, mine is still original at 9 years and 110K. If I find the OEM I don’t expect the same. Hence I would not be removing genuine Volvo stuff to replace with OEM*.

*weather Volvo represents better value than OEM is a different question, Luk, Lemforder, Mann, Brembo are all items I would use but they are not the same quality. Imagine your Porsche 911 turbo with Brembo brakes. When you buy a generic set from Brembo for 1/3rd price they are not the same and won’t last as long.

That's like tyres that are fitted to a new vehicle. A brand new set of Michelin's for example fitted to the vehicle at the factory last much longer than a new set you buy yourself.

[ilmiont]

Bought the parts now so I'm committed. I'll let you know once they're all fitted whether it makes a worthwhile difference, or whether I've just spent hundreds without really needing to...

Sachs shocks + Meyle HD droplinks from PartsForVolvos. The rest of it will be Volvo bits which the garage will source (not going to be fitting myself).

One of the rear shocks had this line of wet on it straight out-of-the-box:





I wiped it off and it seemed to be colourless. The others don't have any of that, maybe just some very light moisture, are those photos cause for concern? Performance of the pair does seem to be the same.

---

I was curious to find the fronts are significantly softer to compress than the rear... that's interesting to me, I'd have thought the fronts would be stiffer as that's where most of the weight is? Would be interested to hear the theory to explain this...

[Kev0607]

I would have thought they would have been bone dry. Is there any fluid inside the box they come in, indicating a leak?

I did notice when mine were delivered from Volvo, there was a strap holding the metal part that you’d do the compression test on, effectively holding the shock so no unnecessary strain was on it (holding it in the compressed position or fully down if doing it by hand). There were instructions that said that protective strap should be left in place & only removing it when fitting the shocks to the car. I guess this strap protects the struts from being fully extended unnecessarily. These were the first struts I’ve fitted that had protective straps on them. Maybe it was for transport purposes? Not that this makes much difference to you, but did yours have any straps on them?

A brand new shock shouldn’t be leaking any fluid. See does any fluid reappear now that you’ve wiped it down (it shouldn’t). Personally, I’d return it though.

[stuart bowes]

just while you've got them off I don't suppose you can measure the length for me please? just in the fully extended position should be fine

would be handy to know when I look at alternatives as discussed before

cheers

[ilmiont]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

I would have thought they would have been bone dry. Is there any fluid inside the box they come in, indicating a leak?

I did notice when mine were delivered from Volvo, there was a strap holding the metal part that you’d do the compression test on, effectively holding the shock so no unnecessary strain was on it (holding it in the compressed position or fully down if doing it by hand). There were instructions that said that protective strap should be left in place & only removing it when fitting the shocks to the car. I guess this strap protects the struts from being fully extended unnecessarily. These were the first struts I’ve fitted that had protective straps on them. Maybe it was for transport purposes? Not that this makes much difference to you, but did yours have any straps on them?

A brand new shock shouldn’t be leaking any fluid. See does any fluid reappear now that you’ve wiped it down (it shouldn’t). Personally, I’d return it though.

The fronts do have straps fitted, yes. They’re held compressed but not quite fully compressed. I’m pretty sure it’s for transport and to save packaging costs, the box is big enough as it is.

The reason I asked about that fluid is I’m not sure whether it’s a leak or an excess of manufacturing grease / protective oil, etc. Would a shock have a protective coating of something? It was colourless, nothing more has come down since I wiped it off, just a little excess from under the hood (don’t know what it should be called) as shown in second photo - the other one also has that to a lesser degree.

Will speak to PFV to make sure.

[ilmiont]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

just while you've got them off I don't suppose you can measure the length for me please? just in the fully extended position should be fine

would be handy to know when I look at alternatives as discussed before

cheers

Fully extended, approx. lengths:

1. Front - 63.5cm
2. Rear - 52cm

Might be +/- a cm.

I compressed the rears a few more times earlier... the suspect one rebounded with a few new speckles, like in the second photo, so not too confident. I’ve emailed the photos to PFV, got a response early this morning indicating they’re happy to replace, so looks like it’s all going to be OK just taking a little longer.

Still curious why the fronts are much softer/easier to compress by hand than the rears, that defies my expectations really. Maybe front wheel drive/weight balance related? I don’t know, haven’t had time to research it yet, the fronts can be compressed , with the top nut on the floor, more quickly than they come up; the rears feel much much stiffer and are virtually impossible to move if you try and do it fast.

[stuart bowes]

Im no expert on this in any way but it seems to me the compression resistance isn't really the important factor, but the strength of the rebound (moving back up again) would be more relevant? in that the springs are absorbing the initial 'downwards movement' ?

or.. perhaps it's because the two things work together to make one complete part, so where it's likely the front springs are stronger than the rear (engine weight, weight shifting forward under braking and so on) maybe to balance that the shocks are adjusted accordingly?

whereas the rears take less of a beating from handling characteristics, but do need to be able to handle the potential weight in that cavernous rear end (so to speak)

that's just some waffle of the top of my head but there might be an element of truth in there somewhere lol

thanks for the measurements, much appreciated

good to know they're happy to replace

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by ilmiont

Fully extended, approx. lengths:

1. Front - 63.5cm
2. Rear - 52cm

Might be +/- a cm.

I compressed the rears a few more times earlier... the suspect one rebounded with a few new speckles, like in the second photo, so not too confident. I’ve emailed the photos to PFV, got a response early this morning indicating they’re happy to replace, so looks like it’s all going to be OK just taking a little longer.

Still curious why the fronts are much softer/easier to compress by hand than the rears, that defies my expectations really. Maybe front wheel drive/weight balance related? I don’t know, haven’t had time to research it yet, the fronts can be compressed , with the top nut on the floor, more quickly than they come up; the rears feel much much stiffer and are virtually impossible to move if you try and do it fast.

Good to hear that they’ll replace the dodgy one. It definitely sounds/looks like its leaking, so you’re well within you rights to return it.

I’m not sure why the rear shocks are more difficult to compress than the front ones. Maybe the fronts are designed for comfort & the rears are stiffer for handling/weight?

[Georgeandkira]

Could shipping by air cause a shock to leak?

My old rear shocks have red paint marks 33mm below the bottom edge of the plastic dust skirt. The shocks are fully extended awaiting recycling day.

I'm guessing the ride height was marked for some reason.

Anybody know?