The FAQ states that I need a 22mm and a 15 mm socket for this job.

Can anyone confirm these as correct for my '93 940? I do not have a 1/2 socket set and am going to purchase these along with a 1/2 breaker bar, but seem to recall that when I did my now dead '87 740 the sizes were different from the 22/15 listed in the FAQ.

Thanks,
Ian

The best value to be had with socket sets is from a company called Great Neck (I think I bought mine at Advance Auto). Here’s a link that tells you where their products are sold: http://greatnecksaw.com/productinfo/where/index.html

Get the Impact Driver sockets. I bought a standard-depth set (14mm – 24mm) and a deep-well set (12mm - 19mm). They were $16.99 per set. The nice thing about them is that they are 6 point – great for heavy wrenching. They are very strong – strong enough that my Craftsman breaker bar gave out and the socket still held.

Great Neck is certainly NOT a very high-quality tool manufacturer. But in this case, they are more than adequate, and an excellent value.

Jeff Pierce
--
'93 945 Turbo ( one kickass family car ! ), '92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver), '53 Willys-Overland Pickup (my snow-plow truck/conversation piece -- sold to a loving home), '85 Jeep CJ-7 w/ Fisher plow

Hello Ian:

Buying a couple sockets at a time usually doesn't pay. You can get stuck precisely the way you described with your 740. See if there is a Harbor Freight where you live-- you can buy excellent 12-14 pc 1/2" 6pt deep impact socket sets for ~$20 and a breaker bar for about another $10. If you do your own work (even occasionally) these will pay for themselves in no time.

My $0.02...


--
Herb Goltz, London, Ontario, Canada '92 245 w/109K mi

Harbor Freight is 3 hours away.

I thought about a set, but in the last 10 years of Volvo maintenance, I found that I have only used the 1/ inch drive only a handful of times. In addition, the sets usually come in sizes 9-15 and 17-19 which still leaves me out in the cold for sizes 20 and up.

Ian

If you're going to do suspension work, you'll need a set of 1/2 inch sockets 15mm-22mm. Even if you can get the fasteners off with a 3/8", you can't get them tight enough when you reassemble.
Also, Volvo isn't very consistent about the head size of bolts with the same size thread; for instance, I've found bolts in the end of the strut rod with 15, 16, and 17mm heads.

Get a 1/2" socket set from Sears. P/N 34556 is a 10pc, 6 point, set 9mm-19mm w/o 16mm... $30. That's the newer laser etched style. I prefer the older engraving, but that's just me. To that set I've added the following 1/2" sockets:

10mm InHex (Allen) bit (front calipers)
7mm InHex bit (Bilsteins)
16mm 6 point socket (strut rods)
22mm 6 point (B21FT crank)
24mm 6 point (B230FT crank pulley, Bilsteins)

Keep in mind that the 15/16/17mm bolt on the strut rods from Volvo 'requires' a female Torx socket (E18 I believe). A similar sized hex socket will fit over it okay. The IPD kit includes a longer bolt with a hex head to fit their bigger bushings (16mm I believe).

The bigger sockets are hard to find in six point metric varietys at Sears. I went with Hazet for most of the above tools. The finish isn't very durable, but they fit very nicely and feel like nothing else in your hands.

For the 19mm, 22mm, and 24mm, and 25mm sizes you can find suitable standard sizes in a pinch (3/4, 5/6, 15/16, and 1" I believe).

For a breaker bar, I love the 18" SK bar that I've 'borrowed' from a friend. It's a bit pricey ($50), but an excellent value IMO. It's round, so it's far more comfortable, plus it doubles as a big ass flexible extension.

--
alex

I think that is exactly what I am going to do. (get all the sockets 15-22).

Do you use a breaker bar for this work? if so what size? 18"...24"?

Thanks

Yes, sometimes you do need a breaker bar, and sometimes a piece of 2" pipe ~3 ft. long to go with it, especially when removing bolts that haven't been touched in >10 years.
I'd buy the longest bar that fits in my toolbox.