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Well, what are you going to do, you drive a car for 200K miles and the ball joints wear out. I've been getting some uneven tire wear on the front, the outside of each front tire wore out much sooner than the rest of the tire. God new tires and asked the shop to do an alignment. They put the tires on, but said the alignment would be a waste of money because my ball joints are worn and need to be replaced. So, I read the archives, the FAQ and stuff off the BB to get a little smarter on this issue. I have read warnings about the aftermarket suspension components and decided to order the TRW ball joints from FCP Groton. At $32/each they are less than half the price of the Volvo ones. My questions are the following.
* Is TRW, which FCP labels as OEM a good ball joint?
* Do I really need a pickle fork for this job?
* If so, what is a pickle fork? (sorry for the ignorance)
* Is this job doable in the tree shade without things like torch, air tools, etc.?
* Any tips on doing this in a tree shade setting?
I am no Mr. Goodwrench, but I have so far maintained this car as well as my '98 S70 with no huge blunders. I have changed timing belts (on S70, even), water pumps, brakes, fixed electrical problems with A/C, etc. So, I am not a total ignoramus, but not a pro either. With help of this site I have kept these cars going with great cost savings in maintenance and repair.
The ball joint job seems straight forward, but I always dread the suspension work as things often get rusty and crusty down there. Any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated.
As usual, TIA.
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Vladimir. '98 S70 base, 5-speed manual - his, '93 945 (approaching 200K miles and rolling on...) - hers
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Just did this on our 740 three days ago... not too bad. Definitely shade-tree-able. Kinda fun actually. While you're at it, do the strut rod bushings.
Yes, TRW ball joints are the way to go, supposedly OEM based on the words of a Volvo certified technician I know. Boge for strut rod bushings. My old ones said Volvo and Boge on them.
No, you don't need a pickle fork. I used a small two-jawed Craftsman gear puller. If you have aluminum control arms, expect the ball joints to be stuck. Go to Craftsman.com and search for "pickle fork"... you'll see. Basically a two-pronged fork, that you wedge in between the ball joint and control arm with a hammer, and then pry the ball joint out of the control arm with. You might also be able to just hammer the control arms off, or use a long breaker bar to pry them off... our 1991 740 has aluminum control arms, and hammering and prying weren't doing anything. Probably put a good 500 lbs of force on the ball joint using the puller to pop the ball joints out of the control arm.
Great info in the 700/900 FAQ. Do have some big sockets (17, 18, 19mm) and a breaker bar on hand. If you do the strut rod bushings, that bolt needs a 21mm and an 18mm.
Good luck!
-Ryan
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Athens, Ohio
1987 245 DL 314k, Dog-mobile
1990 245 DL 134k M47, E-codes, GT Sway Bars
1991 745 GL 300k, Regina, 23/21mm Turbo Sway Bars
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Ryan, thanks for the info. I do not have a pickle fork, nor a gear puller. I do have large sockets, but not the long ones, just normal depth. I hope that will be enough. I don't mind buying some tools I need as I will still be saving money (and own the tools in the bargain).
I got the ball joints from FCP today. On their website they stated TRW as the OEM brand, but the ones that arrived are Moog. I think that is also one of the OEMs and is fine to use. They cost $32 each. I will try to do the job in the next few days and post the follow-up after I am done.
--
Vladimir. '98 S70 base, 5-speed manual - his, '93 945 (approaching 200K miles and rolling on...) - hers
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TRW/Moog are the same things, supposedly.
You'll definitely need a deep socket for the big ball joint nut itself... that's an 18mm or 19mm. Craftsman makes a nice set of six point 3/8" drive deep sockets for a not-too-painful price.
Aside from that, you may want to develop a "contingency plan" just in case you have an impasse getting the ball joint off of the control arm.
Good luck!
-Ryan
--
Athens, Ohio
1987 245 DL 314k, Dog-mobile
1990 245 DL 134k M47, E-codes, GT Sway Bars
1991 745 GL 300k, Regina, 23/21mm Turbo Sway Bars
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