Hi, y'all! I was hoping to collect some opinions on the subject of suspension. I am getting ready to replace my ball joints and tie rod ends, and at least the links and bushings to my sway bar--possibly replace the whole thing with something better than the original. My goal is to tighten up the whole suspension, make it perform better for tighter cornering and more responsiveness in demanding driving conditions. I'd like to be able to "feel" the car better, if that makes any sense. I might eventually upgrade the shocks and struts, too--they're about 5 years old.

I ran across a Website called IPD USA, specializing in Volvo parts. Has anyone had experience with this retailer? What brands and/or products might everyone reccommend for improving my suspension?

Hi Whammytap,


They are like a small family who are crazy about Volvos just like us.

Give them a call and ask them how you can upgrade your car. They will tell you everything they know.

Is your car close to or at stage 0?

Uhhh, haha, if I read you right, yes. The car is stone stock, except for one motor mount--the local parts shop goofed and gave me the motor mount for the turbo model, but it fit so I used it. I don't want to go crazy and make a race car--she's a daily driver and I probably put 150-200 miles on her every week. At sixteen years old, she'll ton-up just fine--but I've been feeling some body roll, some vibration and some looseness in the suspension lately. Just normal wear and tear, but I thought if I got good quality replacement items that are tuned a little tighter, they'll last longer and combat some of the age-related issues I'm having.

...but I do love to drool over the iPD catalog. I've noticed how many of their things are blue in color--blue sway bar kit, blue silicone radiator hoses, blue spark plug wires, blue rear overload springs...makes me want to install all of that, paint my brake calipers to match, and airbrush blue ghost flames down the sides, LOL! But seriously, as a stereotypically practical Volvo owner, I mostly just want to preserve this car so I can drive it forever!

Hi Whammytap,

LOL My bad. I focused too much on "upgrades" thinking you want to turn yours into weekend racer.

Before I joined this forum, I got hold of their RWD catalog. They helped me so much along the way. It's like my Bible/Coran. My Swedish Baklava (87 245) wouldn't be here without them.

LOL, my wallpaper is actually a T5R wagon on two wheels! As much as I'd love to have a race car, what I need and can afford is a daily driver. No reason I can't make a few improvements to a daily driver, though, right? I just don't want to modify so much that it takes constant tweaking. I turned down a '69 Ranchero at an unbelievable price when I was a teenager for that reason.

I have always thought it would be fun to take my Brick to the local race track and put her through her paces, though. Maybe once I've done the ball joints, tie rod ends, and timing belt I'll give it a go!

IPD is an excellent place, and they specialize in suspension upgrades, quite a few of which they design and manufacture.

As the other post mentioned, also check out FCP (Foreign Car Parts) Groton.

They have excellent pricing, good selection and free shipping.

Thanks, everybody, for the reccommendations and warnings! One question, and it might be kind of a stupid one, but I am just now learning what all that crazy stuff behind a front wheel is and does--when replacing the ball joint, does one simply replace the control arm? It comes as a unit? Thanks.

It is one unit and I suggest going with OEM if you can. Some of the others tend to break. For best OEM prices try http://www.tascaparts.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=213668

Tasca is only online weekdays.
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My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic

IPD has performance sway bars, and is a good company. They have sales from time to
time that help save some $. IPD also offers heavy duty strut tower bushings and
sway bar end links that are high mortality suspension items.

You can shop around for suspension parts, but the cheap Shanghai Control arms/
ball joints are rubbish. I had a set from FCP fail in only a few months where
the locking pin for the ball joint was in fact just some crappy soft steel bolt
and it deformed fast and introduced slop at the ball joint. There should be a special hardened locking pin there with a machined surface and not a thread where it has to engage the ball joint. FCP sent me a better set of control arms
made by Meyle (in Turkey not China) and so far they are OK. FCP however disappointed me by applying a credit for the bad control arms and then a few months later the credit disappeared with no reasonable explanation.

Some parts are best from the dealer and you can find Tasca Volvo or Tasca Parts
on the web for discounted Volvo parts when needed.

If you are battling a loose front end, then be sure to check out your motor mounts. There's a top mount by the firewall and another at the front of the engine that you access through the front passengers side wheel well that were
gonzo on my car when I first got it.

It makes sense to do the struts at the same time as control arms/seats/etc since you need a quality front end alignment afterward, costing around $75-80 around here (Boston), you save hours of labor by spending maybe $225 extra for
quality struts up front.

Bill

I have had excellent service and quality with IPD. I am maintainer of 4 volvos and buy a lot of parts from them. I just wish they would offer free shipping over $99 like FCP Groton.

Mark,
240'2 and 850's