S60 Suspension: Front Wishbone (front) bush replacement?

[Thassos]

Hi,

I recall that the front bushes on the S60 can wear out, although ive not noticed anything odd with the steering or handling on my 06 S60, occasionally theres a slight clonk when accellerating at low speeds over a bumpy road, so I had a look at one side to see if this could be the cause.

Attached are some pics, and it certainly looks worn out to me.. you can see thru part of the bush (should this be solid rubber?).

A couple of questions, does the outer diameter of the rubber bush have a metal ring that is pressed into the wishbone? or is it just a rubber 'donut' that is pressed into the arm?

How easy is it to do, and can it be done without removing the wishbone? or do you have to get the wishbone off the car and have the new bush pressed in?

On the subject of using an original volvo part or a poly bush that might not wear so quickly again which is best? would a poly bush produce more steering or suspension vibration? Would be interested to hear from anyone who has fitted non original parts, did volvo change the material or design of the bush to improve its longevity?

I found a pic of the replacement bushes, has anyone fitted the 'heavy duty' ones listed on this website?

http://www.partsforvolvosonline.com/...oducts_id=4970

Hope someone who's replaced them before can point me in the right direction!

[S60D5-185]

Originally Posted by Thassos

Hi,

I recall that the front bushes on the S60 can wear out, although ive not noticed anything odd with the steering or handling on my 06 S60, occasionally theres a slight clonk when accellerating at low speeds over a bumpy road, so I had a look at one side to see if this could be the cause.

That could be the drop links. If it is, then very easy cheap repair

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=102267

Attached are some pics, and it certainly looks worn out to me.. you can see thru part of the bush (should this be solid rubber?).

A couple of questions, does the outer diameter of the rubber bush have a metal ring that is pressed into the wishbone? or is it just a rubber 'donut' that is pressed into the arm?

See attached thread, the ring you mentioned is discussed

How easy is it to do, and can it be done without removing the wishbone? or do you have to get the wishbone off the car and have the new bush pressed in?

Wishbone has to come off for bushes to be pressed in

On the subject of using an original volvo part or a poly bush that might not wear so quickly again which is best? would a poly bush produce more steering or suspension vibration? Would be interested to hear from anyone who has fitted non original parts, did volvo change the material or design of the bush to improve its longevity?

Polybush is definitely the way to go. Iv'e heard nothing but positive feedback about using them compared to standard

I found a pic of the replacement bushes, has anyone fitted the 'heavy duty' ones listed on this website?

http://www.partsforvolvosonline.com/...oducts_id=4970

Hope someone who's replaced them before can point me in the right direction!

Ben,
this is the way i will be going when i need to replace them. The bit about an internal sleeve is also covered in this thread.

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showth...ight=powerflex

Darryl

[chopper_harris]

Without a beefy fly-press, you will not get the OEM replacement front bush into the wishbone.
I refurbished a pair of wishbones with Powerflex bushes, and this is achievable with a minimum of tools.

You should budget for having the car off the road for a day per side, to remove, clean, re-bush and re-fit.
Pick up a pair of used genuine wishbones on eBay, and refurb those to minimise the time off the road.

Genuine Volvo wishbones are around £90 per side, avoid the crappy Scantech wishbones which are widely available on eBay.

[Thassos]

Hi Chopper,

Many thanks for the info, did you notice any noticeable change in vibration levels after fitting the powerflex bushes?.

I also wonder if the powerflex fix means the bush can rotate in the wishbone at all or is it a really solid fit such that its the 'poly' material thats doing the flexing, with the outer of the bush firmly in place? rather than the whole bush potentially turning in the wishbone as the suspension moves?

I dont mind getting the bushes pressed in if its the better fix, just trying to get a feel for the differences in fitting longevity and driving afterward.

[swedishandgerman]

I'm a big fan of the Powerflex bushes. They are easy enough to fit (I folloed the above mentioned thread), cheap and perform extremely well. I am delighted in the improvemant of stability of my car since fitting. With reference to longevity, I noticed (concerningly) in my car's service history that within it's 143,000 miles, it has had 3 new sets of Volvo wishbones prior to my fitting polybushes. I hope these bushes will outlive my car!

The only thing to bear in the back of your mind is that the front bushes are designed so that the wheels toe-in ever so slightly under heavy braking. I wonder if the Powerflex bushes give the same effect. I haven't noticed ANY reduction in braking performance

Judging by your photos, yours are WELL expired and you'll notice a nice improvement once done

I recommend a proper 4-wheel alignment afterwards. Somewhere that has Hunters wheel alignment equipment, like Protyre. Anything inferior is not worth it

With reference to your clonk, as per my write up mentioned earlier in the thread, it's REALLY easy to check and replace your anti-roll bar drop links

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=102267

[fungus]

As everyone has said, powerflex. If the rear bush looks worn change it for a Volvo oe one while your at it not scan tech, I used scan tech and can see cracking in the bush after 20000miles.
I used a 3 inch kitchen knife to cut the old rubber from the front bush, then a stanley knife to remove the old rubber from the central pin, seemed easier than endles twisting in a vise or burning the excess rubber away. A hacksaw blade will soon remove the outer metal cage from the old bush. Fitting the powerflex is easy with a 6" bench vise and a length of scaffold tube.
Removing the right hand w'bone I used a 17mm combi spanner with the open end cut off and a steel pipe to fit on to the spanner for leverage, this alowed access on to the forward bolts without jacking the engine.
Took me ALL day to change the four bushes and a ball joint.
The drive shaft bolts are one use only upgrade to the XC90 bolts at the same time this will get rid o any axle ping.
Do the drop links at the same time, get rid of the locking wheel bolts and enjoy!

[Thassos]

Many thanks for the posts, still would like to know on vibration per the previous post,. As for the geometry of the wheels giving more toe in under heavy braking i would imagine it might be giving the opposite if the front bush is moving such that the outer edge of the wishbone is moving toward the rear of the car ! Surely there shouldnt be much intended movement of the wishbone assuming the bushes arent knackered !

Was looking to see how to remove the wishbone, is it possible to just remove the 2 smaller bolts (yellow arrows - view looking skyward) and leave the balljoint on the wishbone or do you have to struggle with releasing what is usually a tapered fit into the wishbone? Im sure theres a technical name for it !

What size spanner/socket is used on the bolts that go through the subframe to secure the bush, and do you need any special spanners to reach them? Fungus what is the 17mm cut off spanner used on? Apparently one side you have to lift the engine to get to them.?

[swedishandgerman]

Originally Posted by Thassos

As for the geometry of the wheels giving more toe in under heavy braking i would imagine it might be giving the opposite if the front bush is moving such that the outer edge of the wishbone is moving toward the rear of the car ! Surely there shouldnt be much intended movement of the wishbone assuming the bushes arent knackered !

You're right! I'm wrong. I meant toe-out not toe-in. You're also right in saying it's such a tiny amount, it's hardly worth considering, for sure

Whatever you do, don't forget to secure your drive-shafts once you've undoen them to prevent them falling apart

I haven't noticed anything in terms of vibration that you refer to. Car feels more taut on the polybushes

[fungus]

No change in vibration.

17mm heads for the two bolts that retain the forward bush. 17mm socket and its driver will fit the left hand side off the car and one only on the right, insufficient access for the last one hence a ring spanner will do the job. A crows foot or off set socket would also do the job ( I had two spanners and a hacksaw!). I did not lift the engine.
Leave the ball joint where it is if it is good, and undo the one nut.
Hammers are used to fit ball joints!

[Thassos]

Fungus many thanks for the useful info, how are the bushes aligned before you push them in? presumably they need to be in the right position to avoid some major cursing when you re assemble !

Also re the driveshafts coming out too far and the ballbearings doing a nasty once the wishbones are off, how do you suggest avoiding this, can you wire the strut to somewhere inboard to keep it from moving out too far? The rear bushes on mine 'look' OK so i think ill just be doing the fronts.