To take entire knuckle and control arm out? I though volvo makes special tool to disconnect ball joint and it is only $75 for both sides. Also a big control arm depressor tool(look up Astro pneumatic )is like $60 and will make this job way easier. Plus maybe a tool to spread the knuckle spreader tool if you live in rust belt and/or don't want to hammer entire day($20).
I don't mean to be a know it all but wouldn't it have been easier to put the strut on by itself first then put the steering knuckle and brake disk on. That way it would only be one man job. It still would be the same procedure to attach the lower control arm as if you put the strut and steering knuckle on as one piece. Thats how I would have had to do it being that I would have had to do it by myself.
Great video. Super helpful. I am in the midst of this and I have a question about replacing the coil springs. Did you re-use the coil springs in this video? I have purchased new Bilstein shocks and the new coil springs but I am convinced that I cannot safely replace the springs even though I have a variety of different bench top compressing tools. I can, however, compress the existing springs enough to release the hardware and then install the new struts back into the existing springs without too much trouble. There is no visible damage to the original springs and I did not experience significant sagging prior to disassembly. Do most people re-use the front coil springs, or would that be dumb? Thanks again for the videos and for any advice.
Compressing the spring and changing the entire strut is a different job for sure. Replacing the strut does require you to compress and remove the old spring. If you don't have the proper tools or experience, it can become extremely dangerous. We did not cover that portion in this video. We wanted to show DIY's what they will run into while removing the front suspension components etc. If you are replacing struts, like you mentioned it's not likely you will have to replace the spring unless it has been damaged. We reuse factory springs all the time after replacing struts. Thank you
Thanks guys! There's a real chicken vs the egg problem getting this apart. The knuckle is just sandwiched between the strut and control arm.
That's a great way to put it! No real easy way, but it's all doable. Thank you for the comment.
I didn’t know Eddie Van Halen was a mechanic as well as a fantastic guitar player. 😊
LOL!!!! That's right
I don’t get any noise but I’m having alignment issues. Should I change that bushing at 220k miles?
To take entire knuckle and control arm out? I though volvo makes special tool to disconnect ball joint and it is only $75 for both sides. Also a big control arm depressor tool(look up Astro pneumatic )is like $60 and will make this job way easier. Plus maybe a tool to spread the knuckle spreader tool if you live in rust belt and/or don't want to hammer entire day($20).
I don't mean to be a know it all but wouldn't it have been easier to put the strut on by itself first then put the steering knuckle and brake disk on. That way it would only be one man job. It still would be the same procedure to attach the lower control arm as if you put the strut and steering knuckle on as one piece. Thats how I would have had to do it being that I would have had to do it by myself.
Great video. Super helpful. I am in the midst of this and I have a question about replacing the coil springs. Did you re-use the coil springs in this video? I have purchased new Bilstein shocks and the new coil springs but I am convinced that I cannot safely replace the springs even though I have a variety of different bench top compressing tools. I can, however, compress the existing springs enough to release the hardware and then install the new struts back into the existing springs without too much trouble. There is no visible damage to the original springs and I did not experience significant sagging prior to disassembly. Do most people re-use the front coil springs, or would that be dumb? Thanks again for the videos and for any advice.
Compressing the spring and changing the entire strut is a different job for sure. Replacing the strut does require you to compress and remove the old spring. If you don't have the proper tools or experience, it can become extremely dangerous. We did not cover that portion in this video. We wanted to show DIY's what they will run into while removing the front suspension components etc. If you are replacing struts, like you mentioned it's not likely you will have to replace the spring unless it has been damaged. We reuse factory springs all the time after replacing struts. Thank you
Is it anything like a Land Rover?
I'm sure this is similar to Land Rover. We are Volvo specialists, but have seen a lot of this cross over to Ford and Land Rover.