1994 944t 130K

My wife reported an alarming noise coming from the rear of her car. It turned out to be the passenger’s shock absorber. The bottom end of the rod had broken off. I had purchased replacements along with strut inserts some time ago. I had done the swap on the struts 18 months ago. So the good news was the new shocks were on the shelf waiting for me to get motivated.

The bottom bolts were rusted solid to the rolled sleeve on the bottom of the shocks. Luckily the trailing arms have a generous sized opening on the bottom that allows access to the bolt. After removing the rubber that surrounded the sleeve I was able to get a 6” blade in my Sawzall and cut through the sleeve and bolt on both inside edges of the trailing arms.

I had anticipated the bolts needing to be cut off when I ordered the replacement shocks. Having dismantled a number of Volvos in the past I had an array of hardware that I had saved. I was happy to find 12mm bolts of the correct length (110mm?).
--
Any twenty minute job is just a broken bolt away from a three day ordeal