S60 coil spring / shock recommendations please

[cooltide]

Got a broken front spring was investigating a cracked abs ring and dropped it off the jack a bit quick. I'm going to be doing the abs ring and replacing the wishbones at the same time.

Never been too happy with the ride quality on the front end so thinking of doing the shocks at the same time (though no rebound or leakage) so what do you think?

Standard ride height. What are my options on the aftermarket? Any recommendations and advice will be much appreciated.

56 plate d5 geartronic

[Longhouse21]

This is what I fitted a few months back and have vastly improved ride & handling on 130K miler with no obvious poor dampers - rides better, handles better & much quieter.http://www.partsforvolvosonline.com/...oducts_id=7727
Couldn't find a better price for Bilstein anywhere else.
Can't comment on springs though as I didn't fit new.

[cooltide]

Nice Linky cheers. Do like bilstein from past experience. Worth considering.
Was it an easy job?

[oragex]

Broken springs - front and rear - is not that a rare occurrence. A few had bad luck with them going bad while driving. They rust and break. Good idea to pull them from there and inspect them closely. Spring price at the dealer may cause some trauma, however there are not many aftermarket options out there.

[4candles]

Fitted new front springs on my V70, brand was 'Killen' if i recall correctly....
Difficult to assess them as i fitted an utterly disappointing set of BOGE shocks at the same time which have ridiculousdly low compression and rebound properties. A 'shocking' discovery given i paid north of £140 for them!

I'm sure the springs are good though as they raised the front back to a normal level stance.

[Longhouse21]

Changing rears was very easy, fronts not too difficult but more of a fiddle.
Include for new rubber spring cups and top bearings as well (I used Febi for both) and use good spring compressors (I used 3 per spring with the overlocking clips). Bought rubber cups from e-bay (Aceparts) and top bearings from Andrew Page over the counter.
Don't forget to mark/measure the strut to hub position and have the alignment checked afterwards.
I did control arms & drop links at the same time, but beware of overextending the half shaft CV joints or you may need new shafts!

[4candles]

Originally Posted by Longhouse21

beware of overextending the half shaft CV joints or you may need new shafts!

Yeah, happened to me, although you don't need new ones, you just need to fathom how to reassemble them, first attempt i locked the shafts with no movement, second attempt after a head scratch had them back together with the correct articulation, but if you drive and they are not correct you will burst the ball cages and no doubt wreck the CVs.

[cooltide]

Food for thought. Didn't realise I'd need be spending on rubber cups and strut tops.
Sounds like the CV advice was well worth me posting too and I'll give boge a miss.

[Longhouse21]

4C is correct.
I was worried about popping the joints so I tied the half shaft back with some tywraps and bungie cord to stop them extending but leave some movement to allow juggling the components in & out.
I also released the hub bolt to reduce the likelihood of pulling on the shaft when juggling the hub and so needed to replace the bolts with new (they're a SEMS screw, or stretch bolt. I bought these from Volvo but there are other sources), but I sure it can be done leaving it in place, I just preferred to play safe.
Have look on PFS web site as they list aftermarket springs but I'm sure most good factors will be able to get them.