Suspension: 70: What make of front strut top mount.

[Tweedle12]

I need to replace front top (middle) strut mounts
before I spend £40 -50 on Volvo parts, are there any alternatives that are quality that folk could recommend? I have read this part used to be made by Sachs, but even Sachs have several versions at a range of prices.

Many thanks.

[Martin Cox]

Do you mean the spring seats?

When I did the struts on my V70 Tdi a couple of years ago I sourced the parts from PFS, apart from the strut to steering knuckle bolts which came from FRF. I opted for Sachs dampers, genuine Volvo spring seats and their own springs which turned out to be Lesjofors.

I'd read that some of the aftermarket spring seats weren't anything special so hopefully opted to play it safe by going for the genuine article. Given much of the work is in getting to the things, a few pounds more may be money well spent. The originals lasted over 20 years and 220,000 miles. Mind you they were pretty sad at the end.

I didn't bother replacing the strut bearings since the originals were still fine and some of the aftermarket ones are of questionable quality. Also they an be changed if necessary without having to dismantle the strut so it's a much easier job.

Hope this is of some interest.

Martin

1998 V70 Tdi auto 228,000 miles

[Tweedle12]

Thank you - yes it is the spring seats I mean. I can see various good brands such as Sachs, Meyle, Lemforder, Monroe, Corteso, etc. Prices range from below £20 to close to the Volvo part. I need to order 4 of them for two different cars, so if there might be a OEM part of equivalent quality that would be more economical, I would be very interested.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Tweedle12

Thank you - yes it is the spring seats I mean. I can see various good brands such as Sachs, Meyle, Lemforder, Monroe, Corteso, etc. Prices range from below £20 to close to the Volvo part. I need to order 4 of them for two different cars, so if there might be a OEM part of equivalent quality that would be more economical, I would be very interested.

To be honest, any of those parts are decent brands. My pick would be Corteco or Sachs.

Sachs were fitted originally to Volvo.

[cheshired5]

I used Febi spring seats and Corteco bearings.
Different car but exactly the same principle.
Old and new comparisons can be seen from around 2:40 in my video here.

[Andys101]

I used Febi, quality and a good price.
About £15 each from memory.