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Have heard that ALL of the new S90 models are going to be made in China. I have started wondering about where Geely is going to be manufacturing parts for our older cars, or whether they might simply stop making them. No one else makes cooling system hoses of the quality that Volvo does/did, for example. What are we going to do?
Anybody have any info?
--
1955 Human, Scott; 1991 745 Turbo, Thunderbolt; 1994 940, Straxx
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Volvo/Geely has no effect on parts quality. Volvo is a car designer and assembler, they do not make hoses or nuts and bolts. Just like Ford never made parts for Volvo. All parts are contracted to a 'supplier' and this is where it gets interesting.
OE parts that are stamped Volvo are made expressly for Volvo, where they are made may or may not be indicated. My last OE rear brake rotors were made in China and probably outsourced to Bangladesh where the labor is cheaper!
The Mann oil filters are made in Brazil, not Europe. I doubt any OE parts are made in Sweden, they just don't have the raw materials or 'cheap' labor.
What Volvo did with parts is demand high quality. The same OE supplier probably makes the same looking parts with a slightly lowered quality to maximize their profits. Eg., Volvo OE control arms for the 850 last 150K+ miles, while Lemforder who also made the Volvo branded control arms last for 75K+ miles. The problem is that Lemforder cannot afford to make 100,000 control arms per year and have them on the 'shelf', like when FWD first started.
It is up to us to find 'good' quality parts suppliers and tell others what we found and where we found them. Word of mouth is better than 'if it is made in China, it sucks' - not true for I phones.
--
Keeping it running is better than buying new
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"Word of mouth is better than 'if it is made in China, it sucks' - not true for I phones."
This has been a misconception for years. The reason most folks equate Chinese goods with crap quality is that is what they bought...often on purpose...but they did not know how bad bad could be.
Most Chinese factories make multiple levels of quality, colors, and other differentiations in the same factories for different "OE" companies (Metabo, Hilti, Dewalt, Ryobi, and Harbor Freight angle grinders...as an example I experienced). In my example, Metabo and Hilti used ball bearings and metal gears...Dewalt used brass bushings and metal gears, Ryobi one brass bushing (one plastic) one metal gear and Harbor Freight about the same.
Moog has three level of on their ball joints and tie rod ends available for most GM vehicles.
Timken's best bearings for BMW Motorcycles are their Chinese made ones.
The list goes on.
The enthusiast community is your best source of information. We have to support each other.
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I think it's been alluded to by knowledgable sources in the thread already ---- but the notion of "OEM" for a model that was first produced over 40 years ago and last produced 23 years ago, especially for a manufacturer that's gone through 2 ownership changes since then is a bit laughable. If you're serious about "OEM" parts - you need to hunt NOS (new/old stock) parts. Anything manufactured recently, even if the current manufacturer is the same company as before (Bosch for example), has virtually no connection to stuff available from Volvo a couple of decades ago. Bosch has bought more alternative parts manufacturers over the decades than you can imagine....so just because it says Bosch on the box doesn't mean the same "Bosch" that built or contracted for it 25 years ago is building it today. The same is true for any supplier of size.
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Most of the parts (all for pre-240) have already be sold to a company with a name of Volvo Classic Parts (or similar) so no change there. The majority of our wear parts were already made by OEM's like Bosch, Cibbie, Hella and Lemdorfer. that will continue.
Most of the non-wear parts are already or will be phased out (interior trim and exterior trim for example).
In short, their Chinese verses Ford ownership will have little to no effect on pre-ford parts.
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Thanks Onkel Udo. Does that mean that if I can figure out who the OEM for Volvo cooling system hoses is, then I can still get those superior parts? Would you know who that OEM is?
And Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, by the way.
--
1955 Human, Scott; 1991 745 Turbo, Thunderbolt; 1994 940, Straxx
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Get your cooling hoses from Eric (Planetman) on this forum. I got some from him that were excellent quality
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In theory, sure. Since discount online Volvo dealers like Tasca sell OE(M) hoses for reasonable prices, I would not shop those things. Radiator and heater hoses are one of the thins I go volvo on.
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I agree. I only buy Volvo OEM. The radiator and heater hoses in all my Volvos seem to last almost forever!
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Howdy KGV,
In this specific case, I meant only the OEM radiator and heater hoses. I don't necessarily buy OEM for all my Volvo parts needs. For example, it has been much cheaper to buy Lemforder engine mounts and front end parts for my 850 as they are about half the price of OEM. Personally, I think the quality is just as good and they are probably the OEM anyway.
Hey, Hey Kitty - I am well aware of the OEM strut mount issue as I read the BB regularly...:)
J (Jim)
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Hi Jim,
Yep. I guess I take it a little personally since that's where I started, when actually paid to repair these cars is exhaust and suspension.
In the 1980s, Volvo used a another vendor to make a 240 strut mount with a sealed bearing, and not the open to the top, yet covered by the dust cap, much like Meyle makes now, if not the whole lot of after market. Oh, they sucked.
So, I take it a (too?) personally. I don't have a signal generator with oscilloscope to trace circuits. So, the dirty, rusty, greasy, road grimey crap under these cars is sort of what I'm about. And folks not being able to buy quality strut mounts for 240 is sort of a safety issue. I get up in Volvo Cars AB face on their facebook postings about it occasionally. Jousting at Chinese-Swedish windmills.
I have read posts here that components for early overhead valve redblock-era manual transmission parts have sucked and don't work.
So I gyrate the M47 IIs gently. Third gear wind up feels good, yet bad for M47 II with the aluminum alloy case flex, so I read.
Sorry.
Mac and Duff.
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Give your brickboard.com a big thumbs up! Way up! - Roger Ebert. 
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No apologies needed. I totally understand your frustration with the lack of quality in Volvo OEM parts. It is something we grew to expect over the years and now I feel we are being let down by Volvo and their parts suppliers. Part of the problem could be that the Chinese owners don't care about the owners of older Volvos? Most likely...
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But again...is this Volvo or the "contractor" that owns the rights for the vintage parts? Sure, they get sold through Volvo dealers but I would be good money this falls in the "not really Volvo" category.
It might seem like I am splitting hairs but I am not. Identifying which side is is letting us down and what falls in their area parts-wise might help make more informed decisions about future OEM/OEM (contractor supplied/selected) parts.
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