Advice on front shock mounts please ?

[Jools99]

2002 V70 D5 - passenger side shock absorber has been leaking so I removed it yesterday. I hadn’t noticed anything bad in the way it handled but I drive gently most of the time. It came out ok apart from the rusted drop link nuts - I ended up cutting the link off at the lower connection.
My spring compressors enabled me to take it all apart and I’m looking at the bits and hoping for some advice – I run the car on a shoestring but am happy to spend where safety is important.

The rubber top mount is split around the entire circumference of the upper side – the split goes down to about half the thickness of the rubber, the bush still feels well supported and stiff. I reckon it’s the original mount – so in 17 years its cracked half way thru and I guess the car has got another 5 years in it – what to do ?
Re-fit the old one and hope it lasts 5 years ?
I’ve rejected fitting a cheapo ebay one as I read they only last a year or less !
Fit a genuine volvo one - a bit pricey for me at £40 ish ?
Or is there a reasonably priced one that people trust other than volvo ?
The shock on the drivers side is dry (no leaks) but I would guess the top mount is similarly worn/split – and I intend to leave that side alone until it needs work.

The top bearing seems fairly good – slightly rough but I intend to reuse it – I’ve seen one or two people on forums say to repack it with grease (but they didn’t explain how) – I can’t see how to get any grease into it ? Can anyone tell me how ?

For the record I bought an Anschler replacement shock from Europarts and then read how bad people think they are – so I’m going to return it and get a Sachs unit. The spring has signs of some wear (slight grooving), no obvious cracks and a little rust, so I’ll derust and paint it and refit - at least it will match the spring on the drivers side !

Thanks
Jools

[b1mcp]

You can buy Meyle or Febi top mounts for £20-£25 each. Maybe not the best but would be much better than an already cracked original.

If budget is really tight then my personal view would be put the cracked top mount back on and use the money to buy another shock absorber.

Although your drivers side is not leaking it will be goosed - no question. I would not drive a car with a brand new shock on one side and a 17 year old shock on the other. That is a safety issue.

[oragex]

I will have to disagree with the suggestion above. Do not buy Meyle or Febi for this part. Buy only Sachs or Rein/CRP. I had this part in Febi (Made in Germany), it cracked 1 year later

For the strut mount (bearing plate) hang on the old one with both hands - these are no longer available in quality aftermarket brands so your original one must make it through the live of the car. Here's how to clean and repack it - use a thick quality bearing grease. May also want to repaint it while there. Careful not to let the grease touch the three studs (wipe them clean with acetone because it can cause problems when tightening them back) https://youtu.be/Pnoy6ixh2WA

You may want to look inside the strut tower while the suspension is out https://youtu.be/a3gNNboxytg
.

[cheshired5]

I used these febi mounts which were great quality and reasonably priced and I bought Corteco strut bearings from the same seller. One again, excellent quality as you would expect from Corteco.
Charlton Volvo Centre were used for the upper and lower insulators.



You can see the old and new parts comparisons in my video here.

Originally Posted by oragex

For the strut mount (bearing plate) hang on the old one with both hands - these are no longer available in quality aftermarket brands

See above.

[oragex]

Originally Posted by cheshired5

I used these febi mounts

For how long have you had the Febi mounts ? Mines cracked after 1 year on one side (cracked underneath, I noticed the crack when replacing the strut one year later). In the Ebay link, there is another owner who reported premature failure as well. Mines were genuine, sealed and stamped Made in Germany.

About the Corteco strut bearings, do they work well after a while ? These seem to be the only aftermarket option as of now, still need to be tested in the long term.

Lemforder also offers strut bearings at a very cheap price and it doesn't seems to be of good quality

[Jools99]

Thanks gents for your thoughts – very very helpful
The shock I removed had no damping in it at all yet I didn’t notice anything amiss when driving – probably just shows how bad a driver I am ! I did a bounce test before removing it and the one I left on the car definitely has some damping in it as that corner bounced a lot less.
I too saw one or two people leave feedback saying the febi top mounts didn’t last long – which is a dam shame as they are readily available on ebay for a sensible price.
It’s so confusing that some people feedback the mounts don’t last & others say they are fine.
I found Monroe ones on ebay for £26 – I know their shocks are considered good but who knows about the mounts ?
I did a lot of browsing and decided to get a genuine volvo top mount – painful at over £40 but at least I can be confident in it.

Thanks to Orangex I was able to clean and regrease my top bearing and it seems fine now - tho’ the splined plastic centre was tight on mine and I had to knock it out with a hammer and suitable drift. As the bearing is obviously not a precision item I'm puzzled why these wouldn’t be available in the aftermarket with a reasonable quality.

And yes the inside of the strut tower was starting to rust which I wouldn’t have checked without the advice.

After I had paid my money I continued browsing & found these three websites:
Buycarparts.co.uk / Autodoc.co.uk / Autopartspro.co.uk
A little digging revealed they are based in Germany (hence the £8.25 postage I guess ?) – poss all the same outlet ?
What was amazing was the choice – for example they had loads of brands of top mounts from £9 to £15 with Sachs ones around £12 which looks amazing value compared to £40+ for the volvo item if they really are OE quality. Some brands have a cheap option and an expensive one – once again it’s so dam confusing knowing what’s worth fitting and what’s not ! Febi ones were available in cheap & not so cheap – maybe that explains why some last and some don’t if they come in two quality levels ?
Has anyone used these German websites and if so was it ok ?
Once again doing what seems like a simple job ends up being another big learning experience – just the same as the condenser change I did recently (which I’m writing up to post on here).
Thanks to everyone – great forum
Jools

[davebb]

Hi The 1st time I used autodoc, it was ok, but took 2 weeks for the parts to arrive,
the 2nd and the last time I will use them,i ordered front koni shocks, that they listed as in stock and told me they are with the on line chat, and still do,
I then asked them when they will be sending them , they said soon?
after 5 days they sent a email and said they could not get any stock, and would not,
but if I gave them my VIN they would find a part that fits,
but I ordered konis as they are adjustable ,
then I asked for a refund, that took another 5 days,
Dave

[bkulcsar]

I remember fitting some aftermarket (Sachs or Rouville I don't remember) top mounts years ago. They lasted about ONE year (26.000 km). Painful.
After that I went for genuine Volvo spring seats. Expensive, but they last long.

[MarvinMitt]

I agree with Oragex and I also am interested to know how much mileage Simon has put on his Febi top mounts? Altough not all miles down the road are equal.
I've been using SACHS top mounts (cost me 10£ a piece) for 50k miles and they're still good.
My parts supplier told me to avoid anything else but maybe Lemförder is the same part.

[cheshired5]

The Febi top mounts were only fitted 6 weeks ago so I can't vouch for them long term but they certainly compared favourably in looks and quality to genuine Volvo mounts I've seen previously.
They were also only £25 for the pair so it is a cheap experiment.

The bearings also looked good and I've been very happy with Corteco parts in general.
Regardless, compared to what was taken off the car, anything new was better than nothing.

From the negative comments, I'm wondering if they have also fitted new insulators as shown in my video.
They add an extra level cushioning between the spring and top mount and it's essential that they are fitted as per the Vida parts diagram.