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Sway bars + Bilstein shocks[ALL/1988] posted by LKB on
Monday, 19 January 1998, at 10:50 a.m.
OK, after reading this board for about a month-and-a-half, I've decided to get IPD sway bars and Bilstein shocks to upgrade both the ride and handling of my 240 sedan.
Question: Are these DIY items?(the most "complicated" repair I've done on any car is replacement of battery.
I will replace(or have replaced) the front struts first, since they keep bouncing a bit after I Hand-bounce the front corners of the car; the rears stop the motion as soon as I let go, so they're OK for now.
Will the car need an alignment after putting in the new sway bars?
TIA
Re: Sway bars + Bilstein shocks[ALL/1988] posted by Brian Killins on
Monday, 19 January 1998, at 11:44 a.m.
The most difficult / complicated part of the job is changing the front shocks. You'll need spring compressors to get the shocks out. I'd suggest looking at a Haynes manual to see what is involved. It is rather complicated. If all you've done is change a battery, you probably should have it done elsewhere.
The sway bars and rear shocks are relatively straight forward. Installing the sway bars has no impact on the alignment. When the front shocks are being installed, part of the stuff to be un bolted will be, so that is a good time to do it.
You might consider doing all of the shocks at the same time to get the best improvement.
Re: Sway bars + Bilstein shocks[ALL/1988] posted by Zack Lozoff on
Monday, 19 January 1998, at 1:13 p.m.
LKB,
I don't know anything about the shocks, but I would imagine that
you would need to either rent or borrow a spring compressor to collapse the
front spring. As for the sway bars, I've put on two sets myself, and I've
had no formal mechanical training. You will need some fairly large metric
wrenches, metric sockets, jack stands, shop towels, some penetrating oil
(Liquid Wrench is ok), and a good amount of strength, especially for the
rear sway bar mounts. The car's alignment wasn't affected, as far as I can
tell, but the handling sure will be. When I put the bars on my '87 744 GLE,
with no other improvements, I was able to increase speed around my favorite
corner from 60 mph to 95 mph. If the car was a Turbo like my 245, I probably
could have gone even faster. Good luck with the install, and if you could,
let me know if the Bilsteins are any good; I'm considering getting them for my
245 GLTi.
Cheers,
Zack :)
1984 245 GLTi "Erika"
1987 744 GLE "Inga"
Re: Sway bars + Bilstein shocks[ALL/1988] posted by Dan Bennion on
Monday, 19 January 1998, at 5:59 p.m.
First off;
congratulations for taking the first two most important steps in improving your life. Second, I would not suggest undertaking the task of the front shocks yourself if you aren't that mechanically experienced. The sway bars are a lot easier to install. Just jack the car up, and lay under it. Look at how the stock swaybars sit. Even sketch it. Then get your air tool/ratchet ready with the proper bit sizes. Start with the front swaybar, and unscrew the two bushings towards the middle of the swaybar/ Next, unscrew the nuts on the control arms, and work the swaybar off. To get the new one on, first, you need to attatch the bar to the frame with the bushings supplied. Don't tighten them yet. Next, fit the new bushings on the control arms, and put one end of the swaybar resting on the top of the control arm. Then put the other side over the top of the control arm. You have to sort of work it so that it fits over both control arms. Then put the second bushings on the control arm, over the swaybar, and put the nuts on both control arms. Tighten them so that the bushings look like jelly doughnuts, but not too tight. Then tighten the bushings on the frame.
For the rear, you need to jack the car up by the rear axle and unscrew the set of screws closest to the rear bumper. Then LOOSEN the front set of screws. You need to pull down on the bar, and angle it down. Now, you will need to fit the rear of the new bar in place of the rear of the old bar, and put the screws back in. When the screws are in snugly, but not tightened, remove the front screws still in the old bar. Now match the front holes, and reinstall the screws. Tightel all screws, and you're in business!
-Dan
Re: Sway bars + Bilstein shocks[ALL/1988] posted by James Johnson on
Tuesday, 20 January 1998, at 7:42 p.m.
Dan- I read your method for the install of the rear sway bar & wonder: could I have installed my rear bar incorectly? (I have idp front & rear on my 90 245). Well, I just cant keep the rear bar TIGHT (my 72 145E was, of course, not like this design) esp with the second bolt securing the Bilstien shock; the combo or something seems to loosen up this bols & the bar begins to rattle etc. esp over all the smooth New England Roads I travel. Any ideas on how to correct? TIA James J.
Re: Sway bars + Bilstein shocks (KYB maybe?)[ALL/1988] posted by Jess Klopfenstein on
Monday, 19 January 1998, at 8:16 p.m.
I am interested and plan on doing the same mods on my 83 GL.
A mechanic at "Martin Motorsports" suggest KYB shocks as most
efficient performance shocks.
Any experience with these out there?
Re: Sway bars + Bilstein shocks (KYB maybe?)[ALL/1988] posted by Bob Vernon on
Tuesday, 20 January 1998, at 1:27 a.m.
KYB... I have personal experience with KYB, Boge & Bilstein. I put Bilsteins on a ground up restore of a 1970 142S and found them to be excellent - great control and a firm but not harsh ride - expensive but you do get what you pay for. In leaner times, I have opted for the half price (compared to Bilsteins) KYBs on a 1968 122S and a 1974 144GL. You referred to the KYBs as "efficient" and I agree in this sense, they are offered at a bargain price and give considerably better ride & control than typical replacement quality shocks. They offer, in my estimation, about 70% of the performance of a Bilstein. Another option I can suggest - I recently put Boge gas shocks on a Mercedes 190 and they are a decent middle ground between KYB & Bilstein.
Re: Sway bars + Bilstein shocks (KYB maybe?)[ALL/1988] posted by han 850T5 on
Wednesday, 21 January 1998, at 4:42 p.m.
hi Bob,
Since you have Bilsteins, let me ask you this question. I'm soon to get new bilsteins for my 850 and I wonder how will my current stock springs do with the bilsteins. We wrote and read a lot about harsh rides and replacement shocks, but didn't hear much about springs.
can you help?
thanks.
han
850 T5 tooth rattler waiting for new bilsteins.
Re: Sway bars + Bilstein shocks (KYB maybe?)[ALL/1988] posted by Bob Vernon on
Wednesday, 21 January 1998, at 11:24 p.m.
Concerning your question about the springs on an 850...
Sorry - I can't add any specific knowledge about springs and my experience with the Bilsteins was on a 140 series Volvo. But it seems to me that if you have the turbo 850 with supposed "sport" springs and new Bilsteins don't smooth things out, the OEM Volvo springs used by the non-turbo models might be more to your liking. If you have a non-turbo 850 with "stock" springs, you might be in trouble. Most of the aftermarket offerings of springs are aimed at control and performance, not Buick-like ride!
Good Luck!
Re: Sway bars + Bilstein shocks (KYB maybe?)[ALL/1988] posted by Walter on
Sunday, 25 January 1998, at 9:42 p.m.
I recently put IPD sway bars and Bilsteins on my '95 650 Turbo. They work very well. No spring problems at all. Firmer, but actually more pleasant riding. I do not, however, know about the differences(if any) in spring rates of heights for the T5 vs. 850T.
Re: Sway bars + Bilstein shocks (KYB maybe?)[ALL/1988] posted by Erston Reisch on
Saturday, 24 January 1998, at 6:43 a.m.
I have KYB struts (front) and shocks (rear) on my 242, and have been happy with them. I haven't had the chance to compare them to a 240 equipped with Blisteins, but they were a dramatic improvement over the dead 160k stock Volvo gas units.
As a warning, the KYB shocks are quite stiff, and if you travel on rough roads more than occasionally, you will be unhappy. I've heard that the KYB shocks "wear in" over time.. I've been told at around 10k. One of the s'bricks list members likes the combo of KYB Struts and Boge shocks.
As an additional complication, there are two different types of KYB Struts available. The first are "Gas-A-Just", while the second are "Select-A-Just". The Gas-a-just are normal, gas struts while the select-a-just are gas struts with adjustor knobs on the top of the unit. They can be set from 1 to 4, adjusting how "firm" they are. 1 equals soft, 2 equals normal, 3 equals firm and 4 equals extra firm.
I have the select-a-just units, and love them. They're comfortable on setting 1 or 2, but can be cranked up to 4 for a spirited driving adventure.
All it takes is opening the hood and twisting the adjuster with the provided key. On my car, setting the struts to "4" perfectly matches the stiff KYB shocks.. the car handles like a dream and will amaze you. You won't want to commute in this mode, but it's great for smooth roads and parking lot adventures.
Gas-a-justs can be found in most places for $80-100, and the select-a-justs can be found at G&G's (414)628-1716 for around $100..
Happy Volvoing,
- Erston
<] Erston Reisch (er3@premier1.net)
<] 1980 Volvo GT (170k miles)