Suspension: 70: Lower control arm

[JimDay]

Or track control arm mine has just failed MOT on excessive play in O/F lower ball joint. Am I right in saying the ball joint is all part of the lower arm, if yes does a ne arm come with the inner bushes already fitted I have found one on GSF for £49.50 but it does not say if the bushes are already fitted

Any advice greatfully accepted
Jim Day

[SteveSarre]

Hi Jim

If you mean the wishbone, I am 99% sure that (whether from German and Swedish or anyone else) it comes complete with the ball joint and the inner two bushes.

Hope that helps.
Steve

PS
I replaced my own (1999 V70 ) recently. I used an after market brand which cost about £30 but the quality of the finish is not quite as good the original Volvo part that I took off (which in fact turned out not to need replacing after all). I would check out getting the part from Volvo if not too much more expensive. Fitting is straight forward. You should refit with new bolts.

[capt jack]

Hi Jim

Yes, the lower ball joint is an integral part of the lower 'wishbone' control arm, and yes, you get the bushes ready mounted when you get a replacement. Ideally you'll need to get new mounting bolts too.

My V70 needed exactly the same repair last MoT time, and so I had both sides down at the same time. After having read up on here and in Haynes, I was all set to have a go and do this myself, but then the MoT garage pointed out that if they did the work my MoT re-test fee would be zero, and I'd get a 12-month warranty on their work.

I reckoned that the tracking would need to be checked after the new control arms were fitted, so that would have been another £25.

They also said that sometimes the old bolts can be a bu@@er to undo, and that with the car up in the air and with access to air tools the job would be best left to them.

The total bill for both arms, supplied and fitted, plus the tracking and MoT re-test was £210 inc VAT.

If I'd done the job myself, the bill would have around £65 per side for the parts (inc VAT), plus £25 for the tracking, plus the MoT re-test fee. Plus of course the hassle-factor!

I believe that all Classic 70's share the same wishbone, with the exception of diesel and plodmobiles.

It is possible to get polybushes for the inboard mountings, but this of course still leaves you with a wonky ball joint.

The only thing the garage didn't do was to grease the steering stops!

Cheers

Jack

[JimDay]

Thanks Steve & Jack I am not to bothered about doing the job myself as I am an ex mechanic so it holds no fear for me in that respect. just didn't know if the arm came with bushes, it's off to GSF tomorrow morning, I might even get the old one off today if it ever stops raining

[IC]

Originally Posted by capt jack

Hi Jim

Yes, the lower ball joint is an integral part of the lower 'wishbone' control arm, and yes, you get the bushes ready mounted when you get a replacement. Ideally you'll need to get new mounting bolts too.

My V70 needed exactly the same repair last MoT time, and so I had both sides down at the same time. After having read up on here and in Haynes, I was all set to have a go and do this myself, but then the MoT garage pointed out that if they did the work my MoT re-test fee would be zero, and I'd get a 12-month warranty on their work.

I reckoned that the tracking would need to be checked after the new control arms were fitted, so that would have been another £25.

They also said that sometimes the old bolts can be a bu@@er to undo, and that with the car up in the air and with access to air tools the job would be best left to them.

The total bill for both arms, supplied and fitted, plus the tracking and MoT re-test was £210 inc VAT.

If I'd done the job myself, the bill would have around £65 per side for the parts (inc VAT), plus £25 for the tracking, plus the MoT re-test fee. Plus of course the hassle-factor!

I believe that all Classic 70's share the same wishbone, with the exception of diesel and plodmobiles.

It is possible to get polybushes for the inboard mountings, but this of course still leaves you with a wonky ball joint.

The only thing the garage didn't do was to grease the steering stops!

Cheers

Jack

Hi the diesel (as you said) and R wishbones are different.

[IC]

Originally Posted by JimDay

Thanks Steve & Jack I am not to bothered about doing the job myself as I am an ex mechanic so it holds no fear for me in that respect. just didn't know if the arm came with bushes, it's off to GSF tomorrow morning, I might even get the old one off today if it ever stops raining

Hi Jim, it might be worthwhile contacting John C as I'm sure that he had issues with wishbones on his 850 in the past. I would only fit Volvo wishbones myself as I think that it's false economy fitting pattern wishbones judging on what I've read from peoples' experiences on the forum.

[JimDay]

Well the car is on an axle stand now & the wishbone is off waiting for the new one

[andycallaghan]

Is wishbone bush failures common in V70s?

My 2004 V70 just had it's MOT.
Although not a failure, I was told one of the wishbone bushes was gone, and the other three were splitting.

I was charged £220 + VAT for all four to be replaced, plus £20 for tracking.
Guess this seems a fair price.

[gillsvolvov70]

Ive replaced the wishbone recently, I brought one of *bay from a company in Germany I cant remember the price but it was cheap and a good quality part it came with the ball joint attached all the bushes and bolts.
If you need the company name I could do some digging and find it for you.

[ShadeTek]

My experience of Scantech control arms has not been good. The rubber bush can perish within 9 months. Check my photos.

This is after the correct procedure of having the weight of the car on the control arm and tightening the bolts up!