thoughts on suspension refresh?

JohnIreland · Sep 1st, 2023, 14:11

hullo all, I'm based in Ireland with a 1989 Volvo 240 GL estate, bought from Darrell Denning at Genuine cars. Very pleased with the car in general, but with a over 150k miles on the clock, its a bit roly-poly around corners and crashy over even minor bumps so I'm thinking it could do with an all-round bush refresh and new shocks.

So just wondered if anyone had any thoughts on rubber bushes, ie. what brand would you go for, and would you replace the whole lot or just select ones? Hard to tell which ones really need replacing.

I'm generally inclined to keep things standard, but wondered if Bilstein B4 or B6 shocks would be good upgrade without making things too stiff? I'm happy with the ride height as it stands, but if the springs turn out to be tired, I would also consider slightly lowered ones, - say -15/20mm. Worth doing?

Any thoughts very welcome!

classicswede · Sep 1st, 2023, 22:13

Bushes in rubber regardless of brand are not going to last too well. If you want rubber keep as many of the original bushes as are fit to keep.

If you want to tighten up the feel of the car stiffer springs will help -15mm lowering or 40mm are both good for a daily driven car. Dampers just some decent gas pressure ones is all you need. The Bilstein B6's are very harsh and you would need to send them off to have the valves changed before fitting them to make them work.

If you still find the body roll too much after doing that you could upgrade the anti roll bars to 27mm ones

Juular · Sep 4th, 2023, 12:55

I think my GLT has the 27mm anti-roll bar, and after fitting PU bushes to it there's hardly any body roll.

I've also just fitted -40mm springs and new Sachs Touring dampers. I think it handles very well without being remotely crashy.

When I rebuilt the car I fitted new droplink rubbers as well. Fitting PU ones would probably be a nice cheap and easy upgrade there.

Don't neglect the engine mounts. If they're tired, it'll be like driving with a tank full of water up front.

Blitzp · Sep 6th, 2023, 11:54

i changed to a set of lesjorf (poor spelling) springs and Bilstein b6 dampeners and its improved the handling hugely. ride isn't hard, still comfortable and made it feel like the steering wheel was attached to the wheels

Sep 1st, 2023, 14:11	#1
JohnIreland New Member Last Online: Feb 19th, 2024 15:45 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Celbridge	thoughts on suspension refresh? hullo all, I'm based in Ireland with a 1989 Volvo 240 GL estate, bought from Darrell Denning at Genuine cars. Very pleased with the car in general, but with a over 150k miles on the clock, its a bit roly-poly around corners and crashy over even minor bumps so I'm thinking it could do with an all-round bush refresh and new shocks. So just wondered if anyone had any thoughts on rubber bushes, ie. what brand would you go for, and would you replace the whole lot or just select ones? Hard to tell which ones really need replacing. I'm generally inclined to keep things standard, but wondered if Bilstein B4 or B6 shocks would be good upgrade without making things too stiff? I'm happy with the ride height as it stands, but if the springs turn out to be tired, I would also consider slightly lowered ones, - say -15/20mm. Worth doing? Any thoughts very welcome!

Sep 1st, 2023, 22:13	#2
classicswede Trader Volvo in my veins Last Online: Yesterday 23:53 Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Anglesey	Bushes in rubber regardless of brand are not going to last too well. If you want rubber keep as many of the original bushes as are fit to keep. If you want to tighten up the feel of the car stiffer springs will help -15mm lowering or 40mm are both good for a daily driven car. Dampers just some decent gas pressure ones is all you need. The Bilstein B6's are very harsh and you would need to send them off to have the valves changed before fitting them to make them work. If you still find the body roll too much after doing that you could upgrade the anti roll bars to 27mm ones __________________ http://www.classicswede.org www.classicswede.co.uk

Sep 4th, 2023, 12:55	#3
Juular Senior Member Last Online: Today 16:03 Join Date: Sep 2020 Location: Falkirk	I think my GLT has the 27mm anti-roll bar, and after fitting PU bushes to it there's hardly any body roll. I've also just fitted -40mm springs and new Sachs Touring dampers. I think it handles very well without being remotely crashy. When I rebuilt the car I fitted new droplink rubbers as well. Fitting PU ones would probably be a nice cheap and easy upgrade there. Don't neglect the engine mounts. If they're tired, it'll be like driving with a tank full of water up front. Last edited by Juular; Sep 4th, 2023 at 13:20.

Sep 6th, 2023, 11:54	#4
Blitzp Junior Member Last Online: Apr 20th, 2024 09:41 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Paisley	i changed to a set of lesjorf (poor spelling) springs and Bilstein b6 dampeners and its improved the handling hugely. ride isn't hard, still comfortable and made it feel like the steering wheel was attached to the wheels

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