Hi there, I have a non technical ? about struts....

i'm thinking about buying a 90 240 and was told it would need new front struts. any idea's of how much this should cost?

thanks.

I'm sure there are many ways to go about getting front struts installed. About a year ago, I purchased all of the components and took them to a local repair shop to have them installed. Here's the breakdown:

KYB GR2 Front strut inserts - $60.00pr.

OE Lower spacers - $16.00pr.

Upper strut mounts(KYB) - $100.00pr.

Installation w/alignment - $215.00

PepBoys will charge about $300 to do the front struts - give them a call.

Pep Boys leads the Attorney Generals List here in NY of shops that do unneeded work, over charge, shylock the old folks and women, etc...followed by Midas, Meineke, Firestone and Great Bear. I would not let them change a flat tire much less do any serious work on my ride!

Find a good Independent shop that can do the work (1.5 hrs total) and you should pay no more than $100-125 for labor.

It will cost as much as the struts themselves cost. In other words if you buy cheap struts that is what you will pay, but if you purchase Bilstein HD's as a lot of us have it will cost you plenty. Look for deals on the Bilsteins. As for the installation well that is up to you. If you wish to do them yourself the only real cost is the coil spring compressor,,around $10.00 or less. You can do it with the help of the people here. It is not that big a deal to do. Took me abouy 2 hours and that was taking my time.. Good luck with whatever you decide to do..As I said most people here will be willing to give you all the help and some pictures to do it with.

Don't forget the tool for the top nut on the strut.

I redid my struts and shocks within a year after
I bought my 245. I had to buy Volvo's special
tool to get the top nut off. It cost $57 and
failed on the second time it was used. Not a
wise investment.

IPD now has a tool that looks better than the
original Volvo tool at

http://www.ipdusa.com/ProductsCat.aspx?CategoryID=1416&NodeID=4503&RootID=629

This is all irrelevant if you have an air ratchet
and impact socket set.

Donald E Booth
1984 245DL, B23F engine, M46 transmission, 237,000

The IPD tool is made of pretty soft metal (unless they have improved it recently). See the picture of the one I bought and tried to use for top nut removal. Obviously the nut was on there fairly tight.
I did end up using an impact wrench for removal. I kept the IPD wrench, straightened it and used it for installation.
--
'80 DL 2 dr

Just for clarification, I never bought the IPD tool. I
was just planning on it based on the photo, it does
look like a good design.

The Volvo tool was hardened steel. It looked like a
socket with the drive side cut off, and a crow's foot
welded on the side. It was the weld joint that failed.


Tool Analysis

Volvo tool IPD tool
Cost $57 $20
Uses 1 0
Cost/use $57 undefined

It looks like I got the better deal, why is it that I
am still not satisfied?

Donald E Booth
1984 245DL, B23F engine, M46 transmission, 237,000