|
Hi Tony,
Sure Happy it's Happy Sat-Your-Day (all day long)!
Välkommen to the brickboard!
Yama makes a good point with Konis. You will want to match the compression rebound rates with the spring rates, and as an art, may not matter so much with any choice as all should do okay. Your best budget dampers are the Bilstein (B4) Touring, I'll guess. Yet as you express interest in the Bilstein (B6) HD, you may want to shop around on price anbd availability. The retail vendors like FCP Euro and iPd USA are great for research, yet it halps to research at the manufacturer site like Bilstein and Koni. Avoid the so called Sachs by Boge or Boge Sachs as iPd lists as these are nothing like the made in Germany Boge (not Sachs - though Sachs makes some good clutch kits I guess) when 240 was produced at the factory and for a decade afterward or so.
Though you may want to research whether the Bilstein (B6) offering will suit the iPd suspension bits you are using. Anecdotal testimonials here, turbobricks, and the facebook pages of:
Volvo 240 fan club
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Volvo240Club/
Turbobricks
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2204727570/
Glad to hepkat (halps [or helps])! I also owned a 1979 242 GT with the anemic US-DOT low compression B21F and M46 (yet Autralia had the sprightly B23E with automatic BW55, two 242 GT mismatches on two continents!) starting in 1989. The thing came with three- or five-way adjustable orange Konis at the front, yet well auld, old, owld, factory real Made in Germany Boge gas charge shocks that were well failed. I maxed the Koni adjust and installed KYB monotube high pressure Gas-A-Just. (KYB Gas-A-Just are nothing what they used to be.) I also replaced the bushing set with Boge, strut mounts (made by then good SKF or more likely the OEM Boge with the big ball bearings in the center bearing assembly. Eventually went on the once in a Volvo 240 atrocious large rear trailing arm bushes that secure at the rear axle and the front ones, torque rods buses (where they are first to go and the rest of the rear suspension bushes go also in time) and such, and all were solid rubber bushes, with final bushing securing hardware loosened and then final torque applied on the alignment rack (don't torque them with the chassis hanging in air or on stands, else they fail rather quickly).
With the factory rear 1979 242 GT 23 mm bar, and the front 21 mm bar, the heavy factory stiff front springs (forgets wire diameter and PN), and the lighter rear springs, it was a real rally car and drove on rails. Though I never put proper tires and should have replaced the dampers (wants to say dampeners [spell check not offended] yet we calls them shocks, also) with maybe stiffy Boges or Konis all around, yet was poor then like now and no rich uncles bequeathing me their Volvo 164s with M410 manual transmission. Or maybe a Porsche 365? Ha-hA!
The spacers are no longer available (NLA) from the stealership. However, you can find these used on the eBay and some after market versions from various vendors. See the brickboard ClassAds (see link at top), the classified on Turbobricks (requires account), the iPd USA Classifieds, and else where.
Let's see what we find for the spacers you'd need when not using Bilstein HD or De Carbons (if made anymore?)
Volvo part number 1229423.
You may already have this spacer in the strut tubes if your 1979 Volvo 242 GT is fitted with anything other than Bilstein HD or De Carbon. If you replaced the springs with the iPd lowering sport springs (sedan or wagon set?), did you look at the strut dampers you have now?
The struts may have been replaced with newer as rust can form at the strut spring cup that cradles the spring bottom. The drain holes at the tube to seat clog and stuff collects causing rust. More so on older 240. Like the door drains, the moon roof pan drains, the rocker panel drains, good to inspect and clear these recurring, though not needed often of checked and cleaned once.
The image here is of it upside down. You place into the strut housing from the top facing up and then insert the strut. The gland nut should take up torque while not bottoming out and when under torque, you can pull on the strut damper piston with not movement of the damper body secured under the gland nut.
Image found at:
https://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/SuperCat/2714/VOL_2714_SUSSHK_pg2.htm
So, see what you can find. Though if you inspect the current front strut damper piston and see it is a large diameter, just smaller then the strut damper itself, versus smaller diameter of other damper makes / models, you may very likely have the spacer.
I have a several of these, yet all my parts are in boxes fifty miles away.
Questions?
Hope that halps!!!
Gooey Butter Cake Boyeeee
(a Saint Louis culinary invention, like provel cheese on St. Louis style pizza.)
--
Give your brickboard.com a big thumbs up! Way up! - Roger Ebert.  
|
