(hate this car (740 turbo)

Began at 2:30. Seemed simple enough, did it before in another 740. First the rear wheel nut would not budge. Broke my sears rachet w/ 3ft pipe, and the volvo wheel tool craked. Got it off with a lot of Pblaster and a new rachet.

Passenger side bolt (lower shock bolt) was seized. Would not come off, with the nut removed. I could rotate it, but it was stuck solid in the shock. Trust me, one can of Pblaster. Banged it with a hammer, and damaged the threads. Moved to the other side. This one would not even rotate with the nut removed. Even stripped the bolt with the socket, trying to rotate it.

The next plan was to remove both trailing arms and take them to a machine shop. Again, damn bushing on the passenger side was seized. Would not give way. Tried and tried, choice words ect. Anyway ended up removing the bushing from the trailing arm (bushing still on the stud connected to the body) . Still would not budge off the stud. Removed the stud with the bushing and ran to a machine shop. They could not do it today, past 4:30. Called the dealer up for the bolts, about $22 bucks in parts (not in stock), and an extra $35 for rush delivery. Nope, went to Lowes and got similar (7/16 X 3.5) grade 8 bolts ($2.5). A tad bit small, but they work.

Went back home and began cutting the bolts off with dremel. The bushing came off the stud after I soaked it in pblaster and banged it (really banged it) out with a hammer. Went through 15 cut off wheels and finally freed the old shocks.

Put everything back in the dark with a flash light with A LOT of anti seize. Finally done at 10:30 and took a hot bath and had a cold beer. It rides much better now (KYB shocks).

Indeed, hit it with a torch if you need to do this job. Common problem with 700's. Also, I have a 120volt impact gun (Sears), but in retrospect, I wish all these years I wasn't so cheap and sprung for a good air compressor and impact sockets. But, for most things the 120volt guy does a good job.

If ever anyone earned a beer, you sure did on this job!

I agree with Matt re: the propane torch. It is an absolute must if you are doing suspension work. It will make your life much easier.

Jeff Pierce
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'92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver), '93 Volvo Turbo Wagon (a family car w/flair), '53 Willys-Overland Pickup (my snow-plow truck/conversation piece)

I tried to do the rear shocks on my Girlfriend's 85 740GLE. Needless to say, I only replaced one rear shock and it's bottom bolt is too a hardware store replacement. Good thing I'm good with a sawzall. Now she's riding with a clunk and one new rear shock. I need to order two bottom bolts myself (I found out no one in the country has them in stock) and then cut out the other one to finish the project. Ridiculous. Anti seize is going into the new ones. After I finished (well, for the day) her project, I went and PB Blasted the bolts in my car. I'm in need of new rears soon, and I'll be damned to go through that shit again.

Roguls
New York, USA

My dealer has them, but they need to order them. I think a grade 8 7/16 x 3.5in should be fine. The orignal is a tinny bit smaller than 1/2. I think I'll be fine with the 7/16 size. There is some play with in the shock end, I guess I should have used some grease to prevent the shock hole from wearing out.

Many years ago I overhauled the rear brake cylinders in an MB I owned. The car had rear drums so I had to remove the shoes to get the slave cyl. off. The mounting points for the shoes were rusted solid on the pin. It took my 2.5 hrs on each side to get them off. They I had to hone the cylinders for about an hour. What a PITA, but the brakes worked much better.

Too bad about your stuck bolts, glad you got them fixed.
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Warren Bain - '86 744Ti M46 >290Kmi, '99 V70Glt > 45K mi, '96 965 >100Kmi Wifemobile near Manassas Va.. Check the 700/900 FAQ via the 'features' pull down menu.

I tried to do the same but bent my extension rachet tool in the process.Decided to quit while I am ahead
.Took it to a moonlighting Midas mechanic who charged me approx $ 50 US to cut the bolts with torch he said.He said I would not have done it on my own.
Now my bolts are much longer than the original,I suspect he used the ball joints bolts cos I did the front end at the same time(Total front and back labour=150US).
The ride is much stiffer now with turbo Boge shocks and struts all round.
Tong of Toronto,90 740 GL 150 000 kms original rad

Try Adding heat(propone torch) to your mix, it has gotten me out of a few jams. I am worried to change the shocks on my 82 240 now.

Matt
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'82 240 - 144k; '87 760T 133k

sorry to hear about this. i can sympathize as a while ago i had a seized caliper guide pin and it took me a good 5 or 6 hours to get it out finally, but unfortunately it was bent so i had to buy a new set from Volvo.
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Kenric Tam
1990 Volvo 740 base sedan (B230F)
My Volvo 'Project'
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