replacing front anti roll bar bushes

[steveo59]

Hi everyone,
today I tried to replace my front anti roll bar bushes. I tried using several extensions and a universal swivel onto a 12mm socket and going in from the top of the engine bay. No matter how I tried couldn't seem to get the right angle , so I disconnected the drop links and removed the 6 bolts holding the subframe. The subframe dropped about 1 inch and with a pry bar I managed to make it about 2 inches but still couldn't get extensions into the swivel. I also couldn't get a ring spanner on as the bolt head is behind the rollbar clamp. I spent about 6 hours and still not got old ones off.
Has any one done this before. I can't seem to get the subframe to drop further, does the steering rack have to be disconnected,I have already slackened the bolt securing the clamp that secures the steering column to the steering rack. If so how do you get the heat shield off to get to the right hand clamp. Oh also I cant remove the crossmember as the 2 bolts athe front are siezed solid, in fact I've sheard off the head of one of the bolts and dare not risk shearing the other.
If anyone can help please do as I have my MOT on Friday, Thanks.

[druid]

Have a look here. http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=164455

[pierremcalpine]

My understanding is that it can be done without removing steering rack from subframe however based on everything I've read it sounds to me like you avoid about 2hrs of cursing if you just resign yourself to removing the rack heat shield + the few bolts holding the rack in place. I believe that this allows you to get sufficient access without needing to perform a miracle with sockets, etc. I'm about to undertake the job over the next month. Will definitely report back on my findings. This does seem to be one of the most inconvenient jobs out there for this vehicle. If you try it by removing the rack be sure to support the subframe from below!

[steveo59]

Hi ,
Thanks for the replies. The link is very good although I cant understand why I couldn't find it when I searched. My problem is I dont have a 4 post ramp and also I've sheard off one of the front bolts holding the engine support cross member. Consequently I cant lower it and that is stopping the subframe from coming down further and also the subframe is already touching the exhaust and I don't want to start disconnecting that. The annoying thing is I've managed to undo the bolt for the two clamps but can't get the anti roll bar out and with it in situ can't get the bushes off to replace them. Consequently I've put everything back but not connected up the anti roll bar, so the old clamps are there but not fastened to the subframe, also the drop links are not connected to it so it is just loose. I'm thinking of driving it to the garage like this and let them sort it. They quoted my wife £60 pound over the phone. Since I've already spent 3 days on it, I think this may be well worth it, although it annoys me to have to do it.

[rager]

I recently replaced both my bushing/housings without dropping subframe or removing anything other than the wheels.

All I used was a 1/4 drive ratchet (smallest one I had was a gearwrench pass-through), and a pry bar to manipulate the sway bar.

I accessed the bolts through the wheel wells and honestly it took a lot of time and wrist pain to get the sockets on properly to the point where I wasn't worried about stripping.

Once I had sockets attached it was a matter of ratcheting, and ratcheting, and ratcheting for literally like 20 mins on each side because of how little space I had available for the handle.

At one point I was actually considering pulling out my sawzall and removing a tiny bit of metal from the wheel wells.... Thats literally all thats required in order to easily access the bushings. The fact that Volvo designed the car so you pretty much have to drop the subframe for sway bar bushings is infuriating...

[happy diver]

where the 60 pound mechs will disconnect the exhaust and the steering knuckle

Hey man, what peoples are missing is a 1/4 inch drive
socket, swivel, extension, joined to some 3/8 stuff reaching all the way up, level with the top of the wing
and tape them all together.

Stab bar disconnected from links both sides, you masking tape up the swivel so it doesn't flop
then poke it down behind the bracket, use fingers to attach socket go back upstairs and
crack the bolt then start cranking.

Clamp the new brackets plenty grease, to the bar outboard of the final position then slide in.

Tape the 20mm longer bolt that you bought from the bolt shop to the socket, hook the bracket into the slot and push down with a broom handle with the broom at the top where you can use the bonnet to hold pressure whilst you start the bolt whilst sitting inside the wheel well.

When the bolt screws past the encapsulated nut, grab it by the thread to finish the bolt laying underneath the car, then reattach socket to tighten

or something like that, blah blah blah

or you can drill a hole in the floor

Hey new dude from up above, you're right about the pry bar

[steveo59]

Hi Lad's,
Thanks for the replies and ecouragment. When I managed to loosen the bolts it was with extensions from the top of the engine bay with my brother turning the ratchet and me in the wheel arch holding the socket on the bolt head. My fingers kept getting trapped as the swivel would not stay upright and the socket kept coming off. I think it's a good idea to tape up the swivel and I may well try this. After the bolts had been loosened I did in fact remove them with a 1/4 drive 12mm socket with a 3/8 -1/4 adaptor and a 3/8 drive ratchet. I'll try with a
1/4 ratchet and swivel. The thing I'm struggling with lastly was getting the bushes off the sway bar and how do you get the new ones on in such a confined space. You cant even put them on further out and slide them along because of the bends on the sway bar. I'm not sure whether to try again or not.

[pierremcalpine]

Yikes, this is not making me feel confident about undertaking this fix on my vehicle.

You mentioned early on that you were not able to get the sub-frame as low as you would have liked - is this because you chose not to disconnect the exhaust? Why not give that a go to see if that simplifies it for you. On my vehicle you can disconnect the exhaust without remove much of anything so it is something you could probably attempt before taking anything else apart...

I'm thinking that if my wife asks me how long this job will take that I'm going to play it safe and say half a day!!!

I'm having a lot of trouble visualizing how you could possibly get the new bushes on without more clearance...maybe you can put them on before the bend (greasing them) and then shimmying along past the bend? Sounds problematic to say the least.

[druid]

When i do mine i will use the split bushes, if i can.

[happy diver]

So here I was, chest all pumped up with the guts not too far behind, telling the boys how with a bit of dillygence
and some dally, how straightforward the dreaded stab bar bushes are, easypeasy

and they sure are dreaded, I dread them, like a car crash, where you may be collecting numbers
but you're sure not making any friends.

But what was really going on was an irrational fear of the forthcoming job, since one of my brackets popped a few weeks ago, causing much waking many times during the night, some times to perform ablutions, but more often writhing covered in a lather of sweat, thinking you may have to practice what you have been preaching with such vim and such vigour, something you must practice one day verrry soon and prove to yourself that all these theoretical type fixes that you non stop constantly espouse actually work.

Well today was that day, and here it is ....ten hours twenty minutes.... later, the result is that
there is one side disassembled ready to start assembling again tomorrow?????




Yippee ki yay mum, wanna beer

Ok so it was 4 hours to jack up the car, well the drive is sloped and there are sixteen different angles of "pebblemix" yeah bloody wogs
concrete underneath the car and where the stands go is such that when I lift the car under the towing eye with a garage style jack
with a 487mm lift the tyres are only 1 inch off the ground with the stands are at their lowest, just.

Oh and 3 hours to scratch some tools together for cobbling
now come on anals, I'm not old enough yet to have a silhouetted pegboard
plus doing three cars intermingled with 113 other projects, if you don't bolt the propeller
onto the steering column it has been a good day and we have success.

Ah and 3 hours of vogue quality photographs for six thumbed people
hey you'd be off to the optometrist if they were club international quality.

and then a whole 20 minutes to complete the meaty part, in removing the front wheels, drop links both sides, and on the
right RH side where I'm working, disconnect tie rod and wire it and the sway bar out of the way

see the red wire with the black paint

and fortunately due to the way the bracket had broken I had complete ratcheting ring spanner access to the bolt, but not satisfied
with being fortunate, a piece of dowel in an electric screwdriver spinning the bolt clockwise from below almost shot it into the firewall
within 10 seconds.

So how is it so?
I have a rattle gun and an electric screwdriver with a dowel and zero rust.

hey "to be continued" doesn't impress me either, and I only posted one photo
but who's the one waking up in a puddle


wow look at all the room in there

hark, I hear the beach angel sing