Hello,

I just purchased a 2007 V70 2.5T. It has 48,000 miles and needs new spring seats. Bummer. I'm getting the XC90 type. The struts seem okay, but since they have to be removed anyway, should I replace them too? (I will be having a shop do this). What is the average life of the front struts? I'd rather not have to take the struts apart again for as long as I plan to own the car (probably ~8 years and 80,000 miles). And if I do replace them, what should I use? I am happy with the stock setup.

Thanks!
Steve

I use a real tire shop, a place that I have used since the 60's - I now deal with the grandsons - this is the shop that small repair businesses send their cars to.

They depend on repeat business and they have a couple of good alignment guys.

Chain stores might be cheaper, but not nearly as good overall.

I looked at a video and am considering doing this job myself. It doesn't look too bad. What else should I replace when I replace the spring seat? I probably won't do the struts now because it looks easier than I thought to take apart.

Do I need an alignment after the job? The dealer claimed so, but it doesn't seem that the geometry of the front end will change by just replacing the spring seats.
Thanks,
Steve

Are you sure that the spring seats are already gone, and not the end links? Just turn the wheel to the left and reach behind the wheel and grab the thin verticle bar and try to shake it. If it moves, replace both sides. These will rattle a lot on small bumps.

A good spring compressor is all that is required, and a little patience as tightening/loosening the spring takes a while. Do get new nuts for the 4 bolts that hold the strut in place, these are 'stretched' and probably shouldn't be reused. On the other hand, the top 6 tower nuts I always reuse.

When lowering the strut out of the car, be very careful of the ABS wires and the sensor.

You will need an alignment. Before you start, find a local shop that the small repair shops use. Not a tire store! Depending on where you live, it costs around $100 and they will also check the steering arms and other bushings.

BTW, shocks are usually good for 120K in normal driving. But it depends on the number of potholes or washboard roads.

Hi Klaus,

Thanks again! Yes, it's the spring seats - the sway bar links are fine. I had the car checked out by a volvo dealer before I bought it and they found the right front spring seat was bad and the left front nearly bad. In doing the diagnosis, they made it much worse and it really makes noise over bumps. It's clear that the rubber is broken. I checked the sway bar links myself this weekend and they are fine. Thanks on the tip for the alignment. I do have trouble identifying good shops in NYC- let me know if you have recommendations! Aren't most alignment shops also tire shops?

Thanks
Steve

Most 'tire' shops hire rookies that don't do a good job. I visited a couple of my local Mom & Pop garages and asked where they send their cars to do an alignment as they do not have the equipment.

NYC streets almost require an annual alignment! My 1996 pulled to the right slightly until I replaced the spring seats, the right one was gone. At 155K miles, I also replaced the shocks and I can now let go of the wheel and go straight.

I have since found a great local, one man shop that does just alignments.