Removed the 4 12 mm bolts holding the top ball joint plate to the Strut tube. Then removed the 3 large (19mm nuts) from the ball joint to A frame. The front bolt was removed and the two bolts closest to the wheel left in place. The assembly did not come apart. Is there any tricks to release top ball joint plate from the strut tube? I was looking in the FAQ section for the instructions and was unable to find any details. Did I miss it?

Roger

The 3 large bolts should come out with a little tap, the mount at the strut base just needs a little persuasion to loosen up any corrosion that is holding it in. It shouldn't require any more than some gentle tapping.
Dan

I did mine 4 months ago and if I remember right, one of them required a careful tap with a hammer to knock loose what was undoubtedly 18 years of road gunk.

This page helped a lot, even though it mainly concerns itself with springs the initial steps are the same for that stuff.

http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=165499

Hope this helps.

There is a special Volvo tool no one has but you still have choices.

You can use a small ball joint splinter AKA pickle fork to pop it apart. Or places like Auto Zone sell a small wheel puller that will grip the sides of the arm and allow you pop it out by tightening down on the center bolt.

If you plan to replace the tie rod ends you can also get a hammer and beat that sucker out of there.

Regards,

Paul

I went with Paul's final suggestion and beat those suckers out of there. But I was also replacing the tie rod ends as he mentioned.

After removing the outer tie rod retaining nut, you can use a 22 oz or larger hammer (I use a 3lb hammer) on the outside edge of the Pitman arm at the front the round portion of material through which the outer tie rode secures. Try not to hit the brake rotor dust shield. Use a breaker bar or something sturdy to lever down on the tie rod while the breaker bar is using the control arm as the fulcrum while hammering the Pitman arm.

With a 3 lb hammer, it only takes a few swings while levering the tie rod out. You spare the thread used to secure the outer tie rod to the strut assembly via the Pitman arm hole.

That is, if you want to reuse the outer tie rods.

Please, don't buy URO, Scantech, and so forth. Meyle's do nicely, Boge, OEM. I learned the hard way.
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Volvo 240?? Live long!!
I've only owned a Volvo 240 starting with a 1975 (b20F) and currently own three with a 1992 240 GL as the newest. Seven 240s in all.

Took the advise of tapping the housing after spraying with penetrating oil. Today they both came apart without too much trouble. Of, course seemed to have gotten the wrong left hand ball joint so I have to wait to finish the job. But, I was having some trouble realigning the ball joint with the strut and "A" fame until I jacked the other side up and it was easy to position everything with both wheels off the ground!

Thanks again for your help.

Roger