Equating mileage to wear 'n tear would point to fewer miles in Mallow.

With worn shocks, cars wallow in Mallow!

Please can I make you aware of the problems I had when fitting aftermarket products when replacing the front shocks and springs on my XC70.

I did a lot of research into finding the best parts and ended up ordering Sachs shocks and springs as these came recommended. At the same time I replaced the top strut mounts with Lemforder products. Everything I ordered was confirmed as being correct for the car yet I could not understand why the from end was raised substantially. I took the car for a fifty mile drive in the hope that it would settle but needless to say this was not to be. The steering had become vague and the car felt quite unstable.

In frustration I took it to the main dealer who were equally perplexed. They too confirmed that the parts were correct replacements and told me they were perfectly acceptable replacement parts. The workshop had my car for two days and even having compared Genuine parts with the Sachs could not suss out what was happening and could not get the car to sit correctly. In the end I told them to fit the Genuine parts so I could get the car back in the road.

It was an expense that I did not want and now have the Sachs springs and shocks sat in the shed collecting dust.

My advice... fit genuine parts and save yourself hassle!

Thanks for the advice, i think with the number of different spring and shock codes ill go with OE Springs and see how the rest is fairing out when i strip it.
I should point out that that's Kilometres not mileage at 284,000.
The roads around my way are some of the worst going
Here's a little clip a couple of miles from my house https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86yJ-yfim2o
It's not surprising I've a broken spring really

Same experience on my S60. I fitted Sachs struts, Boge struts, Monroe Struts, chinese struts, all of these did rise the front of the car by 2-3cm causing the steering to be vague and the car to be much less stable at higher speeds.

I don't know the reason. Only the struts were replaced, not the springs.

I broke a front spring and the garage replaced it with a Eurocarparts version. Lasted little over a year and broke again so I replaced both springs and struts with Sachs super touring. Fitted fine and ride height was the same.
I broke a rear spring and replaced those (and shocks) again with Sachs.
I also changed to 16" rubber to make the crap roads less jarring and give the springs an easier time (anyone got an extra 16" Mimas alloy or two spare btw?)

Charles

Got a set of springs, which are supposed to be the right ones for the car, but the colour blobs are different, orange and green on the originals and orange and blue on the replacements, the spring code is 29 I believe,
code number is 2915x1429731.
Am I ok to fit these or will they cause issues, I can't find what the paint codes mean anywhere.

Well after talking to the parts guys at the dealer the springs are right, although the parts numbers have been superceded a few times. I also found that the broken spring had punctured the top of the strut so had to fit a pair of them too.
I decided to replace the boots and the top mounts as i was at it.
All back together now and the car is sitting noticeably higher but it is level with the back end, so probably just sag over the years.
Ill have to get the alignment checked but it will have to wait till next weekend.
Thanks for the advice lads.

Having gone through all of this palaver with mine, and then reading your last post, I am somewhat concerned for you.

Like you, I checked that the springs and shocks were correct for the car and this was repeated and confirmed by the main dealer when I took it to them to sort out what was clearly a mess. When they went to do the four wheel alignment, the geometry was so far out that it was impossible for them to complete, which subsequently made me make the decision to scrap the Sachs parts I had put on and replace with genuine parts.


You say your car is noticeably higher at the front yet level with the rear. This sounds exactly the same as mine, and that is where my concern lays. Does it look strange to you? Does the steering feel vague when you drive the car?

Out of interest, and for me to compare with mine, please can you tell me your tyre size and the gap between the top of the tyre and the wheel arch. It would be interesting to see a picture too, if you could upload one.

Re the Sachs springs - I had similar problems when fitting rear springs on a 2005 C70 in April 2017.

On opening the boxed pair of springs bought from Europarts the contents didn't look much like the remains of the broken springs still on the vehicle nor did they match as a pair. In point of fact I could not find two that did match in the store stock they let me check through trying to find two matched in length, coil number, wire diameter or the end cut.

I phoned Sachs UK and later Sachs Germany. It transpired that whilst Sachs make their own brand Sachs or ZF shock absorbers for the UK market, it seems they do not manufacture springs for the UK market - the name of "Sachs" for suspension springs is wholly owned by Eurocarparts who have them manufactured for them by a third party......I wonder where?

So not "fakes" as such since Eurocarparts own the Sachs name to use on their own springs - not what I think of as Sachs as only the name has a historical link to the German manufacturer.......which might explain why quality control is not what one might expect from a German company: I doubt the springs are made in Germany.

Somehow I don't think Eurocarparts would be willing to divulge their source/country of origin.

Sachs only sell their own suspension springs in Germany and France apparently, so if you want the real deal you have to buy from Germany or France. Who knows what you get throughout the rest of Europe?

In the end I bought a matching pair of Lesjöfors from PartForVolvos who physically checked them as a pair before the were sent out.:thumbs_up:


The forum link for the saga is https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=266319

Just a quick update on this, the car has settled a bit on the front in the last couple of weeks. It looks more like it used to. However it handles much better than before, it feels much more precise and planted on the road, saying that the old shocks were well gone.
Ill measure the wheel to arch clearance tomorrow and post the results along with the tyre size.
I went with all original parts in the end.