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FCP Euro Service Kits

FCP Euro Kits

What's worse than a saggy rear end? You might think it just looks ridiculous, but there are other detrimental side effects of this common Volvo nuisance.

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As these FWD cars begin to age past the 10 and 20 year mark, an increasing number of weak points start to crop up. For one, the rear springs on P80 chassis Volvos are now famous for losing their height. Want to take your friends out to the bowling alley tonight? You'll look conservative and stylish in an S70, but it'll have the ride height of an overloaded Toyota Truck cruising the streets of India.

Rear height affects front alignment

When the rear end of a car is significantly lower than the front, a few things happen. Forget about comfortably carrying passengers, you'll be riding bump stops the whole way. The geometry of the front suspension is also altered in a way you may not expect. When the rear sags, front caster dips negative a bit. Depending on the vehicle, this may firm up the steering feel more than you'd like, creating an overly heavy sensation that requires more effort.

Perk up the back   8852mg42L

Springs are cheap and so is your labor, so eat a good breakfast and get your sockets ready - this is an easy one.

Snag two Lesjoförs (Sedan and wagon P/Ns differ!) rear springs, a pair of bump stops and bump stop retainers. All in? About a hundred bucks.

Jack up the rear of the vehicle and support it on jack stands. Remove the two 18mm nuts holding the shock absorbers on to each delta link. Pop the shocks off of their pegs, but do not completely remove.850-rear-shocks

With the shocks off, the springs can be removed. Each spring is held into the lower delta link cup with a 15mm nut. Zip these off, and you can pry each spring out with a bar, or sometimes even by hand. Wear gloves.

*Note the orientation of the old spring, mainly how the lowermost coil is rotated in the perch. This should ideally be matched when the new spring is installed*

The upper spring seat will come out along with the old, tired, and likely destroyed bump stops. Replace these with new retaining pins and you'll never have to worry about blown shocks in the future. As you can see, my girlfriend's 850 had nothing but a crusty shell for bumpstops, which I'd imagine wasn't very good when carrying five passengers.

That's it. No, really. Installation is reverse of removal. For a first-timer, estimate about 30 minutes per side. This repair is a great way to restore your Volvo's load carrying capacity for humans or towing and is but a fraction of your monthly Volvo repair budget.

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Shop Volvo Suspension at FCP Euro


About the Author: Alex FiehlAF Headshot

Alex is FCP's Blog Editor and an IT technician from Endwell, NY. He has over 8 years of experience working on a wide array of import makes, but lately is partial to Volvo . For some reason he just purchased a Volkswagen, and is excited to see what breaks first.


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Written by :
Alex Fiehl


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