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Drop link woes

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Old Oct 20th, 2019, 14:54   #1
capt jack
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Default Drop link woes

So back in the summer months the drop links on my S90 began to clunk a bit, so I changed them for new ones purchased from the local branch of a well-known motor factor. At under £20 each, and involving nothing more than about 20 minutes of my time, I fitteds the new links and thought no more of it.

Fast forward to last weekend I was really surprised when the nearside drop link cropped up as an MOT advisory. The tester commented that he could see the link was new, but that there was play in the lower ball joint. He suggested giving them a nip with a spanner just to be sure that the nuts were nice and tight. (At this point I should add that he was referring to the drop links.......!)

I did check as he'd advised and found every thing to be as tight as the proverbial duck's rear quarter, but through this past week, as I used the car I did start to hear the clunk again.

So I ordered a new pair of drop links from PFS Volvo. These arrived yesterday and this morning I fitted them - suspension silence is restored. But I was astounded to find that the "new" near side drop link on the car did indeed have a fair amount of play in the lower ball joint, and that the rubber boots at both ends were already split and deteriorating, with grease oozing out.

The PFS items were actually cheaper than the ones supplied by the motor factor, and are claimed to be "Swedish made and OE quality". Time will tell, but I guess the lesson is that you really do need to be careful about where you buy pattern parts. Now drop links are not expensive, and they are very easy to swap out, but it's made me think twice about sourcing anything else from what I thought was a reputable local supplier.

Jack
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Old Oct 20th, 2019, 15:42   #2
Clan
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Quote:
Originally Posted by capt jack View Post
So back in the summer months the drop links on my S90 began to clunk a bit, so I changed them for new ones purchased from the local branch of a well-known motor factor. At under £20 each, and involving nothing more than about 20 minutes of my time, I fitteds the new links and thought no more of it.

Fast forward to last weekend I was really surprised when the nearside drop link cropped up as an MOT advisory. The tester commented that he could see the link was new, but that there was play in the lower ball joint. He suggested giving them a nip with a spanner just to be sure that the nuts were nice and tight. (At this point I should add that he was referring to the drop links.......!)

I did check as he'd advised and found every thing to be as tight as the proverbial duck's rear quarter, but through this past week, as I used the car I did start to hear the clunk again.

So I ordered a new pair of drop links from PFS Volvo. These arrived yesterday and this morning I fitted them - suspension silence is restored. But I was astounded to find that the "new" near side drop link on the car did indeed have a fair amount of play in the lower ball joint, and that the rubber boots at both ends were already split and deteriorating, with grease oozing out.

The PFS items were actually cheaper than the ones supplied by the motor factor, and are claimed to be "Swedish made and OE quality". Time will tell, but I guess the lesson is that you really do need to be careful about where you buy pattern parts. Now drop links are not expensive, and they are very easy to swap out, but it's made me think twice about sourcing anything else from what I thought was a reputable local supplier.

Jack
The golden rule , you get what you pay for ... that's my experience working with volvos for 45+ years
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Old Oct 20th, 2019, 21:57   #3
Laird Scooby
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About 3 years ago i decided to change the drop links on my 760 as to be honest, they were pretty far gone,

Bought a pair of Meyle drop links on fleabay, fitted them and 2-3 months later (fortunately after the MoT) i started getting a knocking from the front end. I could replicate on eac side by driving over a speed hump with one side only, the other side staying level with the road.
Hitting the speed hump square with both wheels resulted in no noise but as soon as i created an imbalance, i could get the noise on the side going over the hump.

Looking at them, the threads had more or less disintegrated on both, the eyelet bush was near enough worn through and they generally looked pretty sorry for themselves!

Replaced both with a pair of Delphi units, again from ebay, that were in fact cheaper. I suspect i was the victim of a pair of fake Meyle drop links and as Delphi isn't such a well-known name, my theory was they were less likely to be fakes.

With your new ones from PFV (PFS if you prefer, they trade under both), are they made by "Professional Parts Sweden" by any chance?

I've had a few bits of theirs and not been happy, other bits have been fine.

Sometimes while searching for various things i've come across some USA forums where Professional Parts Sweden have been mentioned, usually in very scathing terms!

Certainly not OE quality IMHO and if you're not happy that the ball joints on yours are oozing grease and are split already, ask for a replacement/refund.
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Old Oct 20th, 2019, 23:11   #4
360beast
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I have never had a good thing to say about Proffesional parts Sweden apart from their waterpump gasket kit which is holding up nicely about a year down the line.

If the droplink is a PPS part it, I would recommend polybushes for them as they are cheap and will last a long time if not indefinitely.
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Old Oct 20th, 2019, 23:19   #5
capt jack
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Thanks Both

Yes, the PFS/PFV ones are "Professional Parts Sweden", and I can see that they are much better engineered than the ones that I got a couple of months back.

It's the old ones that I got from the local motor factors that are showing signs of premature wear and tear. The PFS/PFV ones are clearly a superior product, and as they only cost £12 each I guess if I get a year from them I can't complain.

But it does make you wonder just how safe pattern parts might be. I mean, drop links will just get noisy long before they give out altogether, and I'm well able to recognise the signs and do something about it, but what about parts that are infinitely more safety-critical?

How many of us in an effort to keep our older cars going will cheerfully fit after-market parts - brake discs, pads, wheel bearings etc that we buy from outlets we'd believe to be reputable? Places like Andrew Page, SAS, GSF or Eurocarparts, which are the same places that most independent garages use for what might be termed "service parts". The very fact that these suppliers exist and thrive is because they're generally cheaper and more convenient than the main dealers. Indeed when last I tried to buy an oil filter for my S90 from the main dealer they couldn't actually supply one.

This weekend my daughter has had new tyres, discs and pads all round on her 2008 Mini, and as always, she's taken the car to the main dealer because she believes that it's the right thing to do. It's cost her of course, but the tyres are Mini-approved run-flat tyres, and the new discs and pads will be genuine Mini parts.

Sometimes it's tempting to feel a bit smug about keeping an older car on the road through a combination of DIY, independent garages, and shopping around for spares. But this has me wondering if perhaps keeping older cars on the road in this way isn't necessarily such a smart move after all.

Jack
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