My left rear wheel is rattling something fierce. I pushed down on the rear end and it sinks quit easliy. I was thinking I'd by some rear shocks online and have a garage here put them on. It's quit straightforward isn't it so no need for a Volvo mech? Any recomendations? The car is an 850r so I want something decent.

I replaced the rear shocks on my S70 and this was a very easy and quick job. I do have an air impact wrench but you could use a 1/2 inch wrench and still be able to do the job fairly quickly.
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1998 Volvo S70

Before you buy anything, make sure the shop is willing to put on your parts. Most shops will not do that.

You have an R, so it has sport suspension which means very hard springs. A dead shock will not make any clunking noise, but shock seats do. It might be that the shocks are OK, so have a mechanic look at it first.

On Volvospeed, someone just took a flashlight and looked up at the top of the shock from under the car and noticed bits of black rubber - the seat was dead. New OEM seats at the dealer are $60 for a pair. You will most likely need a new pair.

The 2 11mm bolts are hard to take off because the threaded ends are exposed to salt and grit. It is best to clean them off, spray them with PB Blaster, and then unbolt them.

Klaus
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The 164 has a new home, all I am left with are a 95 854T and a 98 V70R :)

If it is rattling - clunking - real bad take a look at the end links on your trailing arm(s)mount to the chassis. They are the points where the rear suspension bolts to the frame in front of the wheels. You should have no movement there.

Otherwise pull up the carpet behind the rear seats and look at the upper shock mounts.

...Lee

Upper shock mount it is.

Mine died at about 130,000. Ordered two new from FCP and aside from eliminating the clunks the ride was noticeably firmer, for a while.

The noise was driving me nuts and I was ready to pull out all the panels in the back of the wagon. Until I pushed down on the rear bumper and noticed the panel just behind the rear seat moving up when the car went down. Hmmm.

Erwin in Roanoke

I like the HD Bilsteins. You may have a bad mount at the top of the shock also. These are easily replaced and do go out. You may need to expose the top of the shocks in the car to check on that.

dick

Is ther any reason to buy an oem mount or will an aftermarket do? they are a lot cheaper.

I replaced my struts and rear shocks with Bilstein HDs about three years ago and used mounts from FCP Groton. No problems at all. And very pleased with the Bilsteins. I put the struts on one day, drove a bit on some errands, then the rear shocks. Amazed at what a difference the rear shocks made.
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96 850T, Bilstein HD, IPD swaybars-HD endlinks