V70 Suspension: Rear spring replacement on a T5

[VroomVroomClonk]

I've got a broken rear suspension spring so need to replace the pair on my 2005 V70 T5.
After reading various posts on here about doing the job, I have bought an internal spring compressor that is a good fit. However, even after compressing the spring to the maximum I can get, it is still not short enough to clear the spring seats for removal.
Obviously other people have managed this job on their cars using internal compressors, so I'm now wondering if the suspension on a T5 is different to the less sporty models. T5 versions appear to me to ride lower than others, and I'm now thinking that maybe I have less suspension travel than other versions and so insufficient clearance to get a spring out.

So my question is, has anyone ever successfully changed rear springs on a T5 using an internal spring compressor?

Thank you.

[stuart bowes]

I don't know different it is to the non turbo cars but I didn't even need to compress my spring at all to take it out, I just took the bolt out of the inner end of the lower control arm ( in the middle of the car) and that drops down far enough the spring just comes out

It was awkward to wriggle in and out in fairness a compressor would have made it easier. But I managed

Getting the bolt back in required a few swear words and some jiggery poker to get back in actually IIRC having the car jacked up higher / lower on that side seemed to make a difference to how that arm sort of 'twisted' somehow. Found the right height and the holes all lined up, one smack with a mallet and it went back in

[b1mcp]

Yes we have 3 T5s in the family and I've done the rear springs on all of them.

Did you get the Sealey compressor tool? If you're using that it is necessary to modify the effective length of the tool with a spacer tube in order to get enough compression on the spring.

See this previous post for a bit more detail.

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showt...ghlight=sealey

[oragex]

Replacing the rear springs on FWD is quite a difficult job. It can theoretically be done in 3 ways, Youtube has a russian guy using a bottle jack on top of the wheel - not at all what I would call safe. Second option, I've done it by lifting the trailing arm somewhere about under the spring then removing the arm bolt near the exhaust - a really nasty job very difficult to free that bolt and also to put it back. Finally 3rd option with the spring compressor - be sure to buy a quality tool, not the chinese ones which are biodegradables and really dangerous, just read the neg reviews on Amazon. Since you already have the compressor, try compressing then for the last bit try using a bottle jack like the russian guy

[TLPower]

I have changed 3 sets using the same method as Stuart Bowes on T5's

Jack up the rear on both sides, axle stands placed under the jacking point remove the trolley jack.

Remove the shock, place the jack saddle under the swing arm as close to the inner bolt as possible and raise until it takes the weight. Remove the bolt and lower the jack.

Use multiple swears and the spring comes out, remove the rubber spring cushions. Tape or tie wrap cushions to the the new spring, "lube" the metal cushion seats with liquid soap and push the spring into the top seat/wishbone.

Raise the jack (being careful not to lift off the jack stands) until the bolt holes are level. Use more swears (prybars/screwdrivers/children) and simply push the bolt back in.

It is a bit of a faff but not a bad spring change by any means.

[VroomVroomClonk]

Thank you for all your suggestions and help.
The compressor I have is this one and the quality and fit of it seems fine. The reason I bought that rather than the Sealey one is because the Sealey one isn't threaded for the full length of the rod and this one is. I assumed that lack of thread was the reason b1mcp said a spacer tube needed to be added to get full compression?

Anyway, after many hours of struggling, I have now managed to replace one spring. I used the spring compressor and also undid the inner bolt on the lower link and lowered that on a trolley jack to get more clearance.

But realigning that bolt! What a job! For the benefit of anyone else trying it, I found the best way to put the holes back into alignment was with one trolley jack under the wheel hub raised as far as possible without lifting the car off the axle stands. Another trolley jack under the inner end of the link, and crucially a small ratchet strap diagonally from the inner end of the lower link to the hole in the reinforced plate where the axle stand goes. I found this diagonal pull coupled with juggling the heights of the jacks managed to get rid of the twist in the lower link and enabled the holes to line up.

The one thing I haven't completed yet on this first side, is tightening the inner bolt on the lower link. Does anyone know the correct torque setting please?
Also, because I used lots of WD40 to help get the bolt back in, I didn't put any loctite on it (and there clearly was some on there before), so I am planning to put an additional locknut on the end of the bolt.

[stuart bowes]

Double post

[stuart bowes]

Now kicking myself for not thinking of the cable ties and lube, that's a good shout

It was definitely a fiddle, I had my dad helping me to hold / lever / pry / swear

The worst for me was I didn't even replace the spring! I was just getting it out of the way to access the rubber fuel filler elbow and I didn't manage that job in the end.. so it was literally a total waste of my time. Other than the experience of how-to

[oragex]

Don't think you will find the torque here http://www.volvohowto.com/volvo-s60-...pecifications/
Was that a 17mm bolt ? How about a conservative 40 ft-lb torque ? And a check a few weeks later
Careful with that cheap compressor. It's the kind people say after one use it gave up. Pretty scary. I would suggest - do this strictly only on a spring compressor, never on a mounting bolt on a car - to grease the stud threads for less friction and less wear. Of course, your hands will get very messy

[VroomVroomClonk]

Finally the second side is done as well. I had a few delays due to rain and not having a garage to work in, but the job still took many hours to do. I've changed springs on several cars before, and this is by far the hardest that I've done. Admittedly I am retired now, so not as strong or agile as I once was, but this still rates as a nasty job.

For anyone else attempting it, the torque setting I queried earlier for tightening the inner / lower M12 link bolt is 80Nm, and it should be tightened with the centre of the wheel hub raised to 394mm below the wheelarch above it.
Also my use of a ratchet strap on the first side was not what was required for the second. This time I needed almost the opposite force to align the bolt holes, and did it with a horizontal bottle jack between the axle stand/ jacking plate and the brake caliper.

The whole made in China thing is a minefield. The spring compressor I bought (which is good quality) was made by a Taiwan based company, and says made in China on the box. But remember that the Taiwanese people call themselves The Republic of China, as opposed to communist mainland China who call themselves The Peoples Republic of China. So made in China on something can mean made in either Taiwan or PRC. As the Taiwanese apparently do not like the communist Chinese at all, I generally assume that anything made by a Taiwan based company will not be made in the Peoples Republic of China.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-54001811