I am starting on the front suspension of my 444 project. All of the rubber parts appear to be cracked and deteriorated so I'm expecting a major rebuild. I have removed the eight bolts connecting the suspension to the frame and have the crossmember and front suspension upside down on a bench. Yesterday I disassembled one side, just looking things over. This is all new to me and I have some questions.

1. The outer bushings (upper and lower) for the control arms were different than I expected (threaded). They seem to have a lot of play. If the clearance spec in the manual (.012"-.023") means the wiggle of the bolt within the bushing, I'm way over the limit. Guess this means new parts - at least bushings and rubber parts. I see bushing and bolt sets. Evidently it is normal to replace the bolts with the bushings for these. Is that right? I don't see the bushings alone listed.

3. The inner bushings for the upper control arm felt tight but the rubber had deteriorated so I took them apart. The clearance (?) is in spec at one end and out of spec at the other. The parts supplier I'm looking at shows a repair set (includes new pin - many $) or just the bushings and seals (fewer $). Since the pin looks OK (I may be a bit biased), is it reasonable to just replace the bushings and rubber seals?

4. Can someone help me find the post about getting around the need for the fixture mentioned in the manual for installing inner upper control arm bushings, or suggest the best way to do this?

5. I'll need to rebush the idler arm. I plan to stick with the 444 arm rather than trying to change to the beefier arm from a 1964 544 parts car that I also have. Looks like the change is much more than a simple bolt in. Any comments?

Thanks for whatever advice you can offer.

Keith
444 Moline, IL

Skandcar has some interesting front end rebuild kits, including a slighty different inner top wishbone kit than the one I bought:

Skandcar rebuild kits

1. I noticed when that the threaded bushings on my PV 444 (1957) control arms also have a lot of play. Besides this, the bolts are very corroded and worn. Because of this, I am replacing the metal and rubber bushings, and the bolts with new ones.
Worn threaded bushings


2. What happened to question #2? :)

3. Like you suggest, it is probably reasonable to only replace the inner bushings and rubber seals on the upper control arm. Don't know if the pin needs replacing.
Control arm repair kit
Rubber bushings


4. Haven't crossed this bridge yet. We may get to it this weekend...

5. Rebushing the idler arm is a good idea. We did not even consider switching from a 444 arm to a beefier 544 arm...but then again we don't have a spare 544 parts car lying around. :) The idler arm looks in very good shape and appears even nicer with a fresh coat of paint:
Idler arm repair kit


You may also want to consider inspecting and replacing the king pins. Mine are shot:
King Pin repair kit

Thanks for the comments. Question 2 does not exist - I deleted a thought and forgot to renumber.

Since, as JohnMc says, these suspensions are so easy to take apart with just hand tools, I went ahead and disassembled the suspension on my 544 parts car. This turned out to be worthwhile because the upper inner bushings on the 544 seem tight and very usable. So I have ducked that problem (after figuring out how to do it). One comment for you about these. When I checked with Joe at Swedish Treasures about replacing just the bushings, he recommended replacing the pin and bushings as a set.

In checking the kingpins I found just the tiniest bit of play. However both the 544 and 444 had not been driven for 20+ years. After I greased them, both seemed tight - no play at all that I csn feel. I'm going to try going with them and see if problems develop when I start driving (waaay in the future). Plan to update the 444 with brakes from the 544 and the 544 axles look a bit better so I'm using those spindles as well.

Give half a thought to skipping the 544 brakes and moving on up to 122 discs. Of course, the 544 drums work perfectly fine in normal driving. It's just if you use them hard several times in quick succession...
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I'm JohnMc, and I approved this message.

Since we got onto the topic of brakes, has anyone in the group tried the Kevlar brake shoes that one of the Brit parts suppliers has available (TS imported Automotive in Ohio)?

This may be an upgrade from the standard linings that could make the swap to disc brakes unnecessary.

Interested in hearing your thoughts here.

Bob Tescione

John, I have thought about this a bit and it is tempting. I remember reading some posts on this over the past year and it looks doable.

My local Volvo junkyard has two or three 122s and 1800s that have been there for years. It is all I can do to keep myself from making a run over to see what's there. I'm thinking that I would wind up having to buy all new parts as the rotors and calipers would probably not be useable from a car that has been setting for years in our midwest climate. So disc brakes would cost a lot more than the $100 or so a wheel I expect to spend for new wheel cylinders and brake shoes.

On balance I think that my platter already has enough on it just trying to get through this process doing it the easiest way I can.

But thanks for the thought. I'm delighted with the decision to go from the B16 to B20 that you and others recommended a year or so ago when I was just getting started.

I was *very* pleasantly suprised when I was raising my PV from the ded, when I went to the local greasy counter parts store to get some more generic parts. I asked, more as a joke, about the availability of wheel cylinders. A gray haired old veteran took me seriously, and looked them up in an old book. Found a part number, and said they were available. And that they had some in stock. And that they were only $15 a piece. Apparently they are domestic brake parts (Wagner) and were also used on various other domestic cars of the same general era (probably larger in Volvo fashion). Unfortunately, their book didn't ist cross fits the other way, so i didn't find out what the much more common car was. But it couldn't hurt to ask. If it's some kid who start typing into a computer, tough luck...

And to be honest, you have to drive your PV pretty darn hard before you fade those drums.
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I'm JohnMc, and I approved this message.

The front cylinders are numbered Wagner FD-7228 on the front and say USA G168 on the back. Doesn't sound very Swedish. I'll do some checking.

On a similar note I'm going to be interested to see if my generic Stewart Warner fuel gauge sender works as well in the car as it does on the bench. It is like the one I used on a homebuilt airplane a few years ago. $24 with two gaskets versus over $100 plus $7 for a gasket for Volvo parts. Fits up in the tank and seems to work well on the bench. Took a bit of float arm bending, but otherwise seems fine. But I won't have the car running for months so who knows if that "workaround" will pan out. Worth a try in my book.

Hey Keith,

I just redid the whole brake system on my '57 444. Here are the Raybestos cross-referenced numbers for you.

Part# Features & Benefits Loc. Description Application Qty
BH5784 Front&Rear HOSE - FRONT LEFT All 1
BH5784 Front&Rear HOSE - FRONT RIGHT All 1
BH5784 Front&Rear HOSE - REAR All 1
MC6086 MASTER CYLINDER ASSEMBLY W/O POWER All 1
MK137 MASTER CYLINDER REPAIR KIT W/O POWER All 1
1PG SHOE SET - FRONT PV444
1PG SHOE SET - REAR PV444
WC7379 Front WHEEL CYLINDER - FRONT LEFT All 2
WC7379 Front WHEEL CYLINDER - FRONT RIGHT All 2
WC4876 Rear WHEEL CYLINDER - REAR LEFT All 2
WC4876 Rear WHEEL CYLINDER - REAR RIGHT All 2
WK106 Front&Rear WHEEL CYLINDER REPAIR KIT - FRONT All 2
WK107 Front&Rear WHEEL CYLINDER REPAIR KIT - REAR All 2

I should mention that the raybestos rear shoes (#1PG) do NOT accomodate the 444's self-adjusters...no hole in the shoe. Otherwise it was a straight forward deal.

I bought too many sets of shoes and I also have 2 or 3 hoses left. Email me off list if you're interested. You find that the hose prices are ridiculous through raybestos. I was quoted like $35 a piece. I got them through another supplier. Cheaper, same hose... Go figure.

I also redid bearings/etc. when I had the rears apart. Might as well since had it apart anyway...


Good luck!

Aiden
Boulder, CO
1957 PV444
1966 122 Wagon

We will be attempting the same project this weekend or next. Just waiting for parts to arrive. I'll let you know what we come up with.

I don't know if you would be able to find the fixture for installing the upper/inner bushes anyways unless you took your parts to an old volvo mechanic who may have the fixture or already made something up. I tried it without the fixture and tried to make something out of wood and a vice but it completely failed due to my lack of consideration of the great forces involved (slightly bent my arms). Basically you need to make a very strong jig that will maintain the geometry of the upper arms while the bushes are installed onto the pin and into the arm. There are countless ways of doing this, if I did it again I would spend some time cutting and welding some steel together into the appropriate shape. Or maybe a volvo club has one you can borrow? If you spend the time making/procuring a good tool, the actual installation will be very easy and worry free.

Thanks for the reply. Yours was the note I could not find in the archives.

Finding a Volvo mechanic as old as I am occurred to me as well. So this afternoon I took the parts in question to the former Volvo mechanic that sold me the parts car. He has some left over Volvo tools from his past life and had let me use his Volvo puller to remove the rear drums.

He was quick to point out that although he is old, he is not that old. He had worked mostly on 140 and newer cars, had never done this job and does not have the tool.

I've been looking more closely at the picture of that fixture. It seems to me that what it does is firmly anchor the pin while it locates the control arm at about the proper angle and also has a spacer (a rod) to keep the ends of the control arm from being drawn in as the threads inside the bushing pull the bushing into the arm. I wonder if I could do this as follows: 1) bolt the pin to the cross member to lock it in place, 2) get things started with a couple of turns (per manual), 3) clamp the control arm in place , 4) use a piece of threaded rod with two large nuts as a spacer to keep the control arm ends apart as I turn bushings in. I'll be careful to clean up and lubricate the inside of the control arm before starting.

Do you think this would work?

Keith

I've never rebuilt my front end, just had it partway apart several times. I got lucky - my car had a receipt for a rebuilt front end not too many miles before it was parked for 17 years prior to my purchase.

Replacing the bolt is to be expected - that isn't a regular bolt and it is a wear item - those flattened threads are bearing surfaces.

I get the impression that you can't mix and match parts from early and late PV steering systems.

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I'm JohnMc, and I approved this message.

Thanks John,

Guess the treaded bushings were the norm with kingpins but they are new to me. I had thought that maybe the bushing was what wore and that the bolts were reusable.

I know nothing about the business, but after looking over this setup and reading the alignment instructions in the manual its starting to come together. The eccentric bushing seems a bit more elegant than the shims and bending I've seen on my few trips to the alignment shop.

Keith

It's a lovely design, you can easily just dial in whatever camber and caster you want. And for the most part, you can take the suspension apart with just regular hand tools and a jack too - no special seperators, compressors, presses required.
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I'm JohnMc, and I approved this message.

I noticed some 444-544 front suspension special tools on eBay this AM.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10076&item=4547265446&rd=1

Also some pullers - steering wheel, crankshaft pulley, etc.

Thanks for the great comment. I had missed this.

Need to expand my Ebay search to include PV544 and PV444. I had been using Volvo 544 etc. without the PV, thinking that would work.