My first month and first 1k miles with a 850 T5

[Silverbrick]

+1 on the strut brace. I fitted one to my old 850 T5 saloon & it was noticable on turn in how much sharper it was and with it being a proper Volvo part it fit properly

[ovlov25]

Does it cause clearance issues at service time??

I know you have to lift the brace off to pull the spark outta cyl1 on the mazda.

Whats the preferred brand? Sparco etc.

[Silverbrick]

Originally Posted by ovlov25

Does it cause clearance issues at service time??

I know you have to lift the brace off to pull the spark outta cyl1 on the mazda.

Whats the preferred brand? Sparco etc.

No clearance issues as far as I remember.

The preferred way to get one is go into your local Volvo main dealer & ask for a strut brace for a 850 T5 The Volvo ones are the best fitting and only cost about £70 & take 1/2 hour to fit. Kalmar Union sell them but they`re cheaper from Volvo (they were when I got mine anyway)

[ovlov25]

Cool, i'll price it up next week. Need to scoot upto the dealers anyway for some odds and ends.

[Silverbrick]

If you have a look on Kalmar Unions site there a good picture of it, at least then you`ll know what it`s like
They don`t usually stock them so if you give them a bell to order it in. IMO the Volvo brace is the only one to get as it does fit properly & there`s no cursing trying to stop it touching things & bend it into shape so the mounting holes line up!

[JIM C]

I had a strut brace on my 850 and V70 and they look very nice, well finished and make a difference. No clearance or service issues when fitted.

[John_C]

Even with knackered shocks and bushes a brace made a huge difference on my 850, like the other posters have said it's worth it and the genuine Volvo one is good value.

See this (ahem, *slightly* over-excited ) post I made when I got mine and you can see from the picture it's no issue for servicing work etc:
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showpo...1&postcount=44

Cheers,
John

[itguy]

Hi Everyone

Sorry to butt in but I just wondered what the benefit of a poly top mount is on the engine?

Strut brace I understand but what's the deal with the top mount?

Thanks

Will.

[ovlov25]

Every one telling me it makes a 'huge difference' is enough lol

Stops alot of unwanted engine movement, apparent when you are really pushing on through the gears.

[Bernard333]

I have a 2003 V70 D5 with 116K mile and the top engine mount inner rubber bush is now split the whole way around , as its captive within the bush even though its detached it must be performing some function even though not very well . At motorway speed I am noticing a muffled rumbling noise when going over an uneven surface and wondering if its the detached engine mount causing it . What is this 'poly bush' that been mentioned a few times and what does it do better than a standard rubber bush ? if I am going to have to renew the top engine mount anyway should I just get a poly bush , is there a special part number to ask for ?