I opened my door the other day to a nasty metallic "snap". My first thought was the door spring broke, being the smart guy I am. Of course I was on the right track - the door now easily moves without resistance.

I seem to recall back when I owned an 850 that typically welding might be needed to fashion a repair. I have no idea if that memory is accurate, a dream, or whatever. Or if things are any different on the S70.

I found one report online where someone said it may just be replacing the spring, and then someone else commented welding may be necessary. Obviously removing the door panel is a first step, but anyone have a guess of whether more than a part will be needed? A guy in England said he paid 13 pounds for the part.

Thanks!

Well, my $55 door stop arrived today, and everything was going swimmingly until I didn't put the T40 bolt in straight. I was working in tight quarters, and didn't have enough room to swing the door freely. So I tried forcing it when the strap wasn't aligned just right, thinking the bolt would straighten the strap. Didn't happen, and I stripped the first few threads. Off to the grinder to take down the stripped area, and the needle file to clean the threads. It didn't go in quite right, but good enough to tighten completely.

The new strap is smooth as silk. I'll put some lithium grease on there. Thanks for listening to me whine. It's good to know you have someone else who has been through the same misery.

The only good part was FCP has free shipping over $50. That and the stealer was even $20 more for the same exact piece.

Alright, times have changed. There is a good YouTube video showing S70 door panel removal, which looks very easy. There is an 850 door check YouTube, which reminds me the issue was the attachment point on the pillar ripping loose - which required welding and/or a repair piece. A nasty job. I don't have this situation - I believe just the spring broke - there is no visible damage.

Now I just need to find the part. FCP says "Not currently available" or something like that.

Looks like it may be called the "door check".
http://tinyurl.com/qz6ug9t

My memory now is that when the weld on 850's broke, people could not close their doors. I don't have that problem. My door closes fine, it just doesn't have resistance. I'm thinking what appears to be the spring broke, not the mount. I may be talking apples and oranges and/or my memory is faulty.

On to figuring out how to take off the door panel. Taking a quick look around, some of the DIY threads from the late 2000's are gone or the pics don't work. I'll have to see if Bay13 is still open...

Of all things ... I had my Volvo dealer fix it, and it's the only time the car has been to the dealer (for service) in more than 10 years.

Their price for the repair was the best around, by far. I don't know if it's because they've done so many that they've gotten very very good at fixing it, or there is some sort of a hidden warranty that splits the repair cost with Volvo, but their price was the best.

-bdc

'98 V70T5M, 206K

Good grief. FCP doesn't have the generic in stock, and the OEM is $55+.

The stealer's price is $75+ now, and even they have to order it.

Sure enough, all that broke is the spring itself. The mechanism is fine. Grrrr I hate cars, but they beat walking. And fatigue wears worse on me than the metal in the car after 16 years.

http://volvospeed.com/volvo_repairs_how_tos/doors_latches/x70_latch_repair.html

What the above doesn't show; the plastic around the door handle is pulled away from the rear side first, it is easy to break the plastic retaining pins so it is best to use a pry tool that can get to both sides of the clips holding the door panel to the door, there are a bunch of them, after the door is loose lift up on the panel to get it out of the window chanel and free, the electrical connectors need to be unplugged from the door panel.

The door check strap is not difficult to replace, you will need a T40 and a 10mm socket.

Make sure the strap is still connected to the A pillar before you do anything.

I suggest spraying the two small rollers in the new door check strap with white lithium grease before installing it.

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My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic

Wish I had seen this warning before proceeding. It was not cautioned in the video I found on YouTube either. Now the front clip is broken. Ah, alas. By the time I had the bezel out on an angle, I couldn't get it to go back in to bring it out straight. Then I got impatient, and that was the end of that (:. I had stressed it enough so that when I did pull it went pop.

If the plastic piece is broken, you will need good glue and 24 hours to let it set up and harden. I have used "GO2" glue by Loctite, an all purpose glue that comes in a 1.75oz plastic bottle.

I am sure that there is an epoxy that sets up faster...
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My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic