My 97 960 had a slight mishap on some black ice a few days ago. It hit a high curb head on and busted the front tires, and then slid down into a deep ditch rolling the left rear tire off the rim. The left front driving light is toast, and the bumper is going to take some adjusting. Other than those items, the only things that I can find that needs replacing are the strut cartridges. I've been all over the internet and can only find the complete strut assembly, which I don't need. Does anyone know where I can buy the cartridges for this vehicle, and are they the same as the older 760s since it looks like Volvo used a bunch of parts from that era in this car.

Thanks,

Well, I had some good news today. Yesterday while signing my books at a local gun show, I ran into the manager of the Firestone store where I bought my new tires. Since I had road hazard insurance on the tires, he wanted me to bring the ruined rims in and have them checked along with the two front tires. I went home after the show, pulled the rims out of the trunk of the 960 and saw that the inside of the rim with the flat that had been driven for over a mile had a section bent out about the size of a fist. I took a two pound hammer and beat it back into position before taking them to Firestone this morning. It turns out the the rims are not out of round, the flat aired back up, and the busted tire was replaced for $27.03! God is good!

Dear Big Harry,

Hope you're well. Does "the flat aired back up" refer to the bent rim, that you banged-out? Or, does "the flat aired back up" refer to one of the front tires, that went flat after impact?

If the former, monitor the pressure over the next few days. If there's no loss of pressure, then you restored the rim perfectly, which is pretty impressive and speaks to your skills with a hammer!!

If the latter, I'd not use a tire that was driven for even 100 yards, after it was completely flat. Such a tire likely suffered internal damage and could fail suddenly. If both front tires stuck a curb, even at 10 miles/hour, I'd replace them.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Hey Spook, you old prophet you. That tire went flat in the trunk. I took it back down to the Firestone store and had them break it down(they only aired it back up before). The inside of the tire had at least a gallon measure of black rubber piled up. If I had driven on it, very likely it would have failed almost immediately.

They replaced it under warranty for $11.96

There is a lot more bent on the car than I thought. The left fender is pushed back at least 1/2 and the fasteners pulled out of the door frame, and the bumper is pushed back about the same distance on that side too.

I've installed the new struts and sway bar links. Tomorrow I'll change the ball joints and repair the steering cooler line. Maybe she'll be in the alignment shop by the weekend.

Regards,

Dear Big Harry,

Hope you're well. I'd be leery of a tire place that did not inspect the interior of a tire, that they knew had hit a curb and then had been driven more than a few feet. They should have known to do that.

If a tire goes flat, and then is driven more than a few meet, the tire is "junk". Tires are engineered to be used only while inflated. Without air pressure, the steel cords (thin multi-strand wire rope) can flex freely. The steel cords become knives, and quickly cut themselves free of the rubber, that encases them. If that happens, even in postage-stamp-sized area, the tire is "junk".

One question. You wrote, "...the left fender is pushed back at least 1/2...". Is that "inch", "foot", etc. As to the door, what fasteners pulled out of the door frame? Do You mean the hinge mounting bolts?

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Hi Spook,

The upper fender mount bolt in the door jam is pushed back which jerked the fastener out of the frame. Since there is no apparent movement of any of the fender mount bolts, I'm thinking that the whole front left side of the car was shoved back 1/2 of an inch. I'm putting it on the ground as soon as I get the power steering cooler lines repaired today. After that, I'll take some photos of the sheet metal problems.

I have one more tire to take in to have the grass cleaned out of the rim, and then I'm through with these idiots. There is a good alignment shop close by that has been recommended.

Regards,

Dear Big Harry,

Hope you're well. If the left side sheet metal has been pushed back 1/2", that can be fixed by a body shop, without much ado. A frame machine can be used to pull forward the left-side fender. The machine uses hydraulic rams, which allow precise process control.

I'd guess the bolt hole - into which goes the bolt, that secures the fender tab to the frame - can be re-tapped. If not, new metal can be deposited with a torch, and the hole re-drilled and tapped, using factory-specification threading. A quick coat of paint will put things to rights.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Hi Spook,

Well, I finally got it on the ground and out for a test drive this afternoon. It did surprisingly well, and the alignment doesn't appear to have been affected. The front damage is worse than I thought with the driver's side being uniformly pushed back at least 3/4 ". This caused the hood latches to bend backwards and the right from fender is showing a gap of about 3/4 " with the hood.

I've decided to get the lights aimed and not put anymore money into this one. I'm thinking a Tank for the next vehicle. ;)

Regards,

Hi Spook,

The rim that I beat back out is still holding after two weeks. I was suspect of that tire, but Firestone assured me that it was fine and still under warranty. Even so, they will both be on the rear when it goes back on the road.

Regards,

Dear Big Harry,

Hope you're well and glad to hear that no one in the car was hurt!! Volvo VADIS - the superseded parts/service database - shows that the front shock absorbers (#271911) are supplied as a "kit". That is, the shock absorber and its housing come as a unit. The full retail price is about $140. At Tasca Volvo or Borton Volvo the price is likely to be closer to $100 for each unit.

Even if the strut cartridges were available separately, I'd replace the mounting tubes, because the severe impact you described is likely to have to damaged them in inobvious ways. As the mounting tubes are a safety-critical part, they should be replaced.

The spindles and hubs - on which the wheels are mounted - could also have been compromised. I'd be surprised if the wheels are not bent.

A decade ago, my '93 940 hit a man-made road hazard, i.e., the leading edge of a 3"-tall layer of fresh asphalt, which had not been feathered, to allow the tires to rise gradually to the new surface. The road-builder's paving crew simply were grossly negligent. In the dark, no one could see the hazard they created. Because these imbeciles didn't recognize that they'd created a hazard, they did not put up any sign, e.g., "BUMP", that might have provided some warning.

At highway speed, the impact with this asphalt ledge so damaged a front tire, that on the inside of the tire, the steel cord was exposed. Fortunately, the tire did not "blow out", but got me home, where the tire deflated quietly in the garage.

As the impact was at highway speed, I required the road construction company's insurer to cover the cost of replacing both struts, strut mounts, strut tubes, hubs, wheels (all four of which were bent) and tires.

After replacement, I inspected the factory-original hubs. The bearing balls - made of very hard steel - had been marked by the impact. There was a "line" on the mirror-like finish of the bearing balls, caused by the impact of the bearing race, the part that contains the bearing balls. That "line" told me that the bearing was damaged and that the hub was going to fail long before the 250,000-300,000 miles that I might have expected from the factory-original hub.

In short, if the impact you described occurred at highway speed, I'd replace far more than the strut cartridges and their housings.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Hi Spook,

Well thank God the accident was a low speed one or I would probably have to total the car out. I've checked everything under the car, but the only things that got torn up were the struts, bumper, driving lights, and the steering pump cooler. I'm pulling everything out of the front for a detailed inspection, and I am going to freshen up the timing belt and water pump while the radiator is out. I found strut assemblies for around $85.00 so that is the way I'll go. I do appreciate your input.

Regards,

Big Harry,
You may want to replace the bump stops on the struts while your at it. The ones on my 95 960 have completely disintegrated with age. Take a good look at the top mounts and bearings when you take them out also.
John

Hi John,

I'm doing a 100% replacement on the front. The struts needed changing anyway with 192k miles on them. If I can get the bumper aligned properly, I will probably keep this car for a roady (29.9 mpg @ 80mph), but my next vehicle will be a four wheel drive Ford truck. West Texas is really rough on cars. :)

Regards,