Ball joint is bad. Appears this introductory year used a different arm from the rest. Ball joint and rest of arm are a total inseparable piece. Would it be wise ,or cheaper and possible, to replace with the later style arm where the ball joint can be removed from the arm without removal of thre entire arm? Later years seem to have a bolt on ball joint separate from the whole arm assembly.

Thanks to all for the clarification on model introduction and parts advice. Pricing of the part is better than expected. Great forum.

As others have said, the one-piece is the later design. Just get the new a-arms and install them. I would go with the TRW/Federal/Moog instead of ScanTech if possible:

Left:

http://www.eeuroparts.com/productdetail.aspx?searchResults=1&code=7845

Right:
http://www.eeuroparts.com/productdetail.aspx?searchResults=1&code=7846

$80 each including shipping is a good price for a good name brand part.

John

P.S. The 850 was introduced in the US in 1993 and in most of the rest of the world in 1992.

I think TRW may be the original part supplier. I bought tierod ends from the dealer which were in Volvo labeled sealed bags - the parts were clearly marked "TRW".

My dad worked for TRW automotive from not long after WWII until the early 80s. They supplied parts for high-end cars over the years, including Packard, GM (superchargers) and Porsche (engine valves).

Actually I think it is the other way around. The introductory model in the US was the 1993 and the '93 thru midyear '94 used the separate ball joint bolted to the control arm. The later '94's on(identified by chassis number or also by the two bulbs in each headlamp) used the one piece control arm. The advantage to replacing the one piece control arm is that the control arm bushings are replaced at the same time. I had my front control arms replaced by my Indy using non-Volvo parts. That was a mistake as one of the ball joints failed within 12,000 miles. I replaced both sides myself using original Volvo parts (from FCP Groton) and plan on sticking with Volvo parts whenever possible. I had the same experience with a non-Volvo water pump. I don't feel it's worth the price difference to have parts fail prematurely - too much labor involved.

Yes i agree you have it the other way around.

You can buy the whole A arm for 100 bucks at one of the resellers..ask fcp groton... will still be cheaper than pickign up an older style A and redoing the bushings and the ball joint. That can save you a big hastle!