240 Estate rear suspension

[4plus4morgan]

I hear a clunk from the rear suspension on my 1987 estate and from what I have read I believe it must be due for some new bushes? Can anyone tell me what bushes I should be replacing and where to get them from, is it best to go to Volvo or can they be bought from a pattern supplier?

[ALLOA]

Its probably the control arms. They connect from the top of the axle to the body. I'm saying 'probably' as there are also bushes on the axle that are known to fail and also a bush at the front of the trailing arm. It should be fairly obvious if you check (see pics). If not get a garage to check. I ordered replacements from Simon at Brookhouse Volvo but it depends how comfortable you are to change them. Its not that difficult. You could probably order the complete control arm but this would be expensive. I would avoid second hand ones as these will all be over twenty years old!

Best of luck

Scott

[4plus4morgan]

Thanks Scott, I'll get my garage chap to have a look on the ramp

[Antz]

I guarantee its your bushes that will be well past it.

As said above you have ones in your control arms, axle casing, panhard rod and the front of the trailing arm which are probably all due for replacement.

I would stick with genuine Volvo bushes OR go for good quality polyurethane bushes from the likes of Superflex. Poly ones are harder and stiffer but last longer.

Its a job you can do on your own but beware, its a ballache to do and took me about 12 hours to change all of mine on the rear. Or get a garage to do them quicker but pay for the costs.

[classicswede]

Instructions here http://volvo200crazy.co.uk/viewtopic.php?id=19

[Clifford Pope]

The 3rd thumbnail picture of the failed bush shows that the bush has been fitted in the wrong position, which is why it has failed.

Originally the rods had solid bushes - impossible to do yourself but they lasted for ever.
The later ones had voids in the rubber between the inner and outer sleeves, and it is important that the bushes are positioned so that there is solid rubber in the fore-aft line, to resist the thrust.

The sure indicator of reaction rod bush failure is a thumping noise when you apply torque to pull away, especially up hill.
Trailing arm bush failure is not so noticeable. In ordinary driving the car just sits on the bushes, sagging a bit if they are worn. You need to jack the car up and let the axle hang, and do some levering with a crow-bar.

I have sometimes confused wear of the front reaction rod bush (the big one in a bolt-on carrier) with rear bush wear - the rattling noise seems to travel through the chassis.

[Volvorama]

Yes, replaced the bushes many times. Invested in a spare pair of used arms that I've put new bushes in. Job is then just a quick swap-over and makes sense if you can get cheap arms.
I have the good fortune to know a chap with a 20 ton SnapOn hydraulic press which makes bush removal and fitting a 15minute job for all 4.
Another source of noise is movement at the point of the fixing bolts themselves, particularly at the end attached to the body. Seems these need to be VERY tightly done up or you get a loud click every so often.

[4plus4morgan]

I've ordered some bushes from Volvo and getting them all changed next week, should see me and the car out! Thank you everyone for your advice

[Antz]

Good choice going for genuine ones. They are far better quality than the cheapo aftermarket ones.

I repalced them all on my old 240 with genuine ones and the difference was huge over the old soggy ones. My current car Im doing in polybushes purely because Im running more power.