MOT mare: help save a 28 year old orphan!

[BigGreenThing]

Hi folks,

MOT today. All good EXCEPT a rusted offside front coil spring mounting. It is "badly corroded and seriously weakened" according to the reasons for refusal.

Am urgently looking for a replacement (within the next ten working days to get free re-test :-).

Can collect from 100 mile radius of Brighton area, outside of that range I'm willing to pay a bomb for post and packaging!

I'm only after the coil spring mounting...shocks and bearings etc etc all good!

IF I can't save this beauty it's gonna have to be scrapped I think....

Any help welcomed!

Cheers

JG

[Antz]

Like this:http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/321627579566

Or ring places like T J Stone in Hull who will post you a leg.

[Suterman]

or lakes volvo

[BigGreenThing]

Antz, Suterman....many thanks!

The ebay link has everything apart from the bit I need which is the guard or "cup" which is the bit I need.

Will try Lakes in Wyboston (had bits from them before...many moons ago). Forgotten they were still going!! Was only up the road in Brampton on the 23rd!

Thanks again fellas.

JG

[Steve and his 244]

The cup is non-removable. Its part of the strut. Yes, you wont need the actual spring and shock absorber etc because you will be able to transfer all your old ones into the new strut, but you will need a whole replacement strut.

You can see what I mean in the second pic on that ebay link.

[classicswede]

I would asume that yours must be a fairly early 240 as the later struts do not suffer from this problem. We used to repair the struts a lot 20 years ago but much less common to do now as there are so few of the early cars left.

Provided it is not a GLT strut the one in the link will sort you out. Ideally get a pair as the bearings will be bigger in that one in the ebay link so you will need to use the bearings that come with it.

If you want to stay original I can sort out a repaired early strut for you but would want some more details about your 240 to make sure you get the correct one

[BigGreenThing]

Hi classicswede,

Many thanks for your response. In answer to your questions:

It's a Volvo 240 GLE (sometimes referred to as a 244 I believe). It's the saloon version. It rolled off the Gothenburg production line on 5th January 1987.

I'm not getting any answer from Lakes Volvo, and to be honest, the last time I was there 240's were a little thin on the ground....plenty of 700 and 900 series though!

Attached are piccies of the ONE strut that couldn't make it through the MOT and another of the car itself...

I had a look at the strut on ebay. Compared to mine (minus the "cup" bit) it looks well knacked, I'm sure there must be plenty of these old struts knocking around the UK...they jut seem rare as hen's teeth at the moment!

Cheers, and Happy New Year all!

[BigGreenThing]

@ Antz (and others).

I found this on ebay today: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Repair-Pan...item43d45544de

This is the "cup" that cups the suspension spring...which is the exact bit I need replacing in order to renew my MOT. Haynes doesn't specify that this can, cannot be removed. My thoughts are, that after 28 years, the "cup" will be welded on with rust and not worth it...but I really don't know.

I'm kind of reluctant to get a whole new unit because everything else (nuts/bearing etc etc) are all fine....however, if it's easier to obtain a whole new unit, then I may have to go with that.

Has anybody tried to just replace the strut cup at all?

[Antz]

For the sake of £30 Id fit a replacement unit. Declaring a unit on ebay looks a bit knacked is a big of a weird call when the one on your car has a big rust hole in it and IS knacked.

Its far easier to buy a replacement unit that hasn't rusted out (these early units suffered from this) and then just go with that instead.

Imagine the cost of £30 for the new cup, labour to take it apart, fit the enw cup and put it back together against the cost of a replacement leg and a quick swap over.

Speak to TJ Stone Volvo spares (google for the number), they had loads, also speak to ClassicSwede and a couple of other people. A replacement unit will probably you abut the same as that cup is.

[BigGreenThing]

Thanks for your help Antz! Much appreciated! Yeah mine, as you can see, is well and truly knacked, with a rust whole the size of the Isle of Wight in it! :-).

I'll be onto TJs as soon as they're open for business.

Cheers.