I own 1995 960 with 94,000 miles. My front strusts/shocks amy need replacing. How often do you replace them. Any advice on brand, installation etc..

Thanks,

Bharat

I just replaced the shocks and struts on my 93 with 135k miles. I paid $180 for all four Boge Turbo Gas (OEM?). Took about 3.5 hours to do at the curb, including an aborted attempt on the struts (couldn't saparate the tie rod ball joint and it got dark). Bought a pair of spring compressors for $23.

I should have done it sooner, but had to wait for the thaw. Ruined a decent set of tires.

For the amount of work required, especially if you pay someone, you better get quite a savings if you buy cheep stuff IMO. That bit about the Monroe being OEM sounds cool if you actually saved money. The Boge have lifetime waranty.

When I did my struts I was too broke to afford the OEM or Bilsteins or anything real...

I ended up buying cheapo Monroe Sensa-Tracs, thinking well, they must be better than what I have now. When the time is right, I'll change them again.

Once I got them out of the box, I was stunned to see they are the exact same unit, from the exact same factory in Belgium, that produces the OEM units. Apparently the sales volume for Monroe, on that application is so low, it does not pay for them to tool up and make their own.

So they buy surplus inventory from the OEM, paint them black, slap a Monroe sticker on them and sell them for 80% less than volvo does!!

Indeed, when I scratched away the black paint I found the usual volvo blue underneath. Jump on that one.

The rears are regular shocks, even at the dealer they are only about $60 a piece. Not bad since monroe has the completely WRONG number listed for 95 on the rear.

Numbers, I want numbers. Fill us in Shad, my 965 needs 'em bad.

How often you needs to replace the struts depends on how you drive, road conditions, etc. 90K miles is about average for struts. The best struts out there is Bilsteins, but they are expensive. I recommend using original struts to maintain the ride and handling you are used to.