1986 Volvo 240 DL

Now that it's winter, i'm driving my Volvo more than normal. I'm wanting to fix up some of the stuff that was wrong with it when i bought it in June. High on my list is the suspension and shocks...mainly the shocks.

Here's what i've seen so far:

- When i ride over bumps (especially at slower speeds) i feel it in the steering wheel and floor more than i should.

- When driving at highway speeds, it's not as smooth of a ride as i would expect.

- I followed a checklist for the front suspension that i found elsewhere in this forum. Everything is tight. The control arm bushings are showing signs of cracking, but there's no metal on metal that i can see.

- When i push down on the front end, it bounces up, then back down and up again before coming to a stop.

- Coming to a stop sign, the front end sags down as the car halts...feels unnatural.

It wouldn't hurt to rebuild the front end, but my gut feeling tells me that the majority of the problem lies in the shocks.

Examining the shocks, i see that there's a rubber protector of some sort that covers them. It's torn quite badly on both sides. Please see the picture attached here.

Does all of this sound like my shocks need rebuilt or replaced? I'm sorry if this is a general type question. I've only worked on one other car in depth before and it is quite different in every way from this Volvo...so most of this is new territory for me.

Thanks in Advance,
Jon Zaremba