How do you know if your car needs new struts? I have an '89 240 I'm working on. Just curious. I'm replacing front wheel bearings today....wanted to weigh in on the struts...the driver's side wheel has some horizontal play; however, there doesn't seem to be excessive vertical (up and down) play. Car has always felt kind of "rattle" when it goes over railroad tracks, etc. Sound like struts? If so, how much $$?? What kind?? and where???

If your '89 has anywhere close to a typical amount of miles on it (mid 100Ks to low 200Ks), and the struts are original, you're probably due for new struts in any case.

But that's probably not what's causing your rattling. The most common culprit for rattles and clunks are loose nuts and bolts, followed by bad bushings, ball joints, and tie rod ends. The first thing you should do is get under there with a 17mm and 19mm wrench and tighten up everything you see connected with the suspension or steering. Especially make sure the end link grommet nut is tightened so the grommet bulges a little, and the end link bushing bolt is tight. These commonly loosen up and cause clunks. The control arm bushing bolts are also common culprits. Make sure they are tight, though to get at the bolt inside the passenger side control arm bracket you'll have to take the exhaust front pipe off. A longshot, but worth checking, are the four bolts (two on each side) that connect the suspension crossmember to the frame. These are accessible from inside the engine compartment, down low.

If you have your car up on blocks, have a friend yank the wheels around in different directions while you check for play in any of the tie rod ends or ball joints. Also check the steering U-joints for play. If there's play anywhere, you know what you have to replace.

If you have bad bushings, sometimes they will be bad enough to be noticed upon visual inspection, but not always. Anyway you're probably due for a complete new set of bushings, once again assuming average miles for an 89. This isn't a huge job, but you might want to take the control arms & brackets to a shop to have them press the old bushings out and new ones in. Be careful, the left and right rear bushings are different; label them so the shop guy doesn't get it mixed up.

My recommendation, for best response without a harsh ride, is to go with the IPD urethane bushings for the sway bar mounts, end link grommets & bushings, and then go with the OEM Volvo rubber (not aftermarket!) for the control arm bushings. Urethane bushings for the control arm will give you a noticeably harsher ride. If you don't want to spring for Volvo control arm bushings all the way around, at the very least get the OEM rear control arm bushings, and Scantech front control arm bushings as a compromise.

Together with the new strut inserts, the new bushings will make you feel like you're driving a new car.

>How do you know if your car needs new struts?

The rattle doesn't sound like struts, more like bushings, ball joints or loose hardware, most commonly the back end bushing in the A-arm. The horizontal play could be outer, inner or both tie rod ends. Helps to have someone wiggle the tire while you feel and observe. But also could be that rear control arm bushing mentioned.

The need for new struts can be difficult to assess if you have nothing but that car to compare. See if you can drive another 240 that has been well serviced or recently had new struts and note how much more sure the feet feel over lumps, bumps and pavement cracks especially while turning. Applies to rear shocks too. There are other bouncy symptoms too, where the rebound may feel good with large obstacles (rr tracks, curbs) but jittery or bouncy on relatively smooth cruises.

Biggest trouble is the pneumatics and hydraulics wear gradually so you get used to it beyond when it becomes dangerous. Like yama said, the general rule is mileage and how rough the service has been.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

The rattle doesn't sound like struts
sure it could be
what if the nut on top of the strut were to loosen up?

>what if the nut on top of the strut were to loosen up?

I'd tighten up the loose hardware and not replace the struts.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

U R SURE IT COULDNT HAVE DAMAGED ANYTHING; I SEEN A LOOSE STRUT NUT SCREW UP ALOT OF THINGS

Are they original? If so I would say you need them. I pulled some out of my 1990 Wagon last week that had never been changed and they where dfinitely shoot.
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1990 240 Sdn 277K,tach,strut brace,turbo sway 1990 240 Wgn M47II 157K,tach,strut brace,poly bushings,IPD sways

In what way do you assess that the old ones were shot?

I recently replaced both my rear shocks and the front struts on my '86 240. All were original. The old units seemed to have about the same resistance to movement in and out as the new Sachs Advantage ( = Boge Turbo Gas). The only difference was that when I pushed in on the old ones, they would stay compressed, whereas the new ones would slowly push back to full extension.

I've wondered if this is an indication of being worn out, or if the original units were "basic hydraulic" as compared to the new units being "gas-charged"

Are the original units in an '86 240 non-turbo basic hydraulic, or gas charged? Do the 2 types react differently to being compressed (ie. should all units slowly push back to full extension when compressed)?

How much $$ are struts? What kind should I get?

You will most likely want to get new shocks to. Full sets run from $200 to ~$370. It depends somewhat on your driving and ride perference and budget. Based on what I've been reading heres my take. Firm sport ride and somewhat expensive: Bilstein. budget choice:Boge Turbo's. Factory ride Boge's. Search the archives for information.
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1990 240 Sdn 277K,tach,strut brace,turbo sway 1990 240 Wgn M47II 157K,tach,strut brace,poly bushings,IPD sways