850_olaf_nz Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 Hi Ya'll. Happy new year from down here!My 1997 850-T5 Wagon (NZ Market) is a little jiggly on the suspension, and a little saggy at the back. With 144,000 km on the clock, it's getting time for some new suspension!I've looked at the pic on FCP Groton's site. I figure I need the Front Strut mount, Front spring seat, Front Dust Boot, Rear Shock mount as the bare-bones kit, in addition to a pair of front strut assemblies, and a pair of rear shocks.I've been looking at the Konis, but there's a specific note on the Koni Website for 8710-1350Sport (front) and 80-2712Sport (Rear), that these aren't suitable for T5 Wagon. I can't find any further detail.Questions:1. How do I find out if I have Nivomat rear suspension? (I sure hope I don't!). I need to eliminate this possibility.2. Does anyone know if Volvo carry different part numbers for T5 Wagon Front Strut and Rear Shocks, from T5 saloon or STANDARD 850 Wagon? If so, can you provide these numbers please?3. If there are different part numbers (above), What's the main physical difference? Eg - is it a shorter strut/shock for the lower suspension of the T5? Different valving?4. Are there any other bits (re the list above) that I need to get at the same time for shock replacement?Thanks in advance for your help!'Olaf'PS - I'm on the standard factory wheels, and with stock spec'd rubber size of 205/50/16 (I don't want to change this). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlvinL Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 Compared to the pictures of the regular rear shocks that you can see on FCP, the Nivomats have a sealed accordian or bellow-like outer shell. You'll need the chassis code to get the right shocks for your market. There's quite a number of springs, shocks combination and they depend on the chassis code, again.Get the chassis code off an R wagon and I can get you the Volvo part numbers. This information is in the pocket data booklet. Maybe someone here with an R wagon might help? Of course, I guess you'd want a chassis code that comes without Nivomats. :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAzOR Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 Make sure you need the upper mounts, usually these last forever. The rubber springs seats go out all the time. As for ride vs handling, my fav is stock Sachs/Boge shocks. I've had Koni, Bilstein HD, Koni, and Sachs. The others just are too hard for my middle-aged, daily driving ass. If you want to lower the car I recommend an aftermarket fixed rate spring set for a tighter feel with the good ride stock dampers give. If you don't want to lower it, try to find a set of 850R (V70R maybe?) wagon springs that are fresh. Then spend the money on an IPD swaybar setup and QBM endlinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
850_olaf_nz Posted January 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 AlvinL said:the Nivomats have a sealed accordian or bellow-like outer shell.Oh bugger. you mean like this?:Well that sucks. I took this snap the first time I saw her tail in the air, getting the CV boot replaced a half hour after I purchased.RAzOR said: Make sure you need the upper mounts, usually these last forever. Thanks for that, mate! as to ride, lowering etc - I'm happy with the stock setup, certainly don't need it any lower. Roads here aren't smooth but they are twisty, so handling is important. At the same time, I too am a middle-aged guy, toting wife and kids around on trips. from that point of view, stock should be fine.I suppose I am either looking at nivomat rear and the correct corresponding front strut, or a rear shock and spring replacement for the nivomats. Will keep ya'll posted...cheers'Olaf' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlvinL Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 AlvinL said:Oh bugger. you mean like this?:Well that sucks. I took this snap the first time I saw her tail in the air, getting the CV boot replaced a half hour after I purchased.RAzOR said: Thanks for that, mate! as to ride, lowering etc - I'm happy with the stock setup, certainly don't need it any lower. Roads here aren't smooth but they are twisty, so handling is important. At the same time, I too am a middle-aged guy, toting wife and kids around on trips. from that point of view, stock should be fine.I suppose I am either looking at nivomat rear and the correct corresponding front strut, or a rear shock and spring replacement for the nivomats. Will keep ya'll posted...cheers'Olaf'Then, I vote for you to keep the Nivomats. It's a terrible thing to see when a Volvo wagon has its nose up in the air when the back is fully loaded on those family road trips. :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAzOR Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 Then, I vote for you to keep the Nivomats. It's a terrible thing to see when a Volvo wagon has its nose up in the air when the back is fully loaded on those family road trips. I'd dump them. Just swap them out, you may need a new upper mount though. I have an 855 that gets loaded with two giant roof boxes, three kids and a wife and the nose is up a bit, but the sky can be beautiful while driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
850_olaf_nz Posted January 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 if I quit Nivomat and go for a regular shock, I'd need a different spring as well, yes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irf Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 if I quit Nivomat and go for a regular shock, I'd need a different spring as well, yes?different springs, shock and top mount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
850_olaf_nz Posted January 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 thanks for that!does anyone have the vadis pictures of the T5 nivomat rear suspension (and part numbers), and the T5 non-nivomat rear, please?TIA'Olaf' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
850_olaf_nz Posted January 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 I spoke with the wrecker's today, he's pretty sure the T5 uses same rear spring as the standard 850 wagon. 40each +tax. Might add up much cheaper with a set of Koni Yellows all round. He was all "Nivomats? Toss em, get rid of 'em. bloody rubbish". I like a man who knows his mind.My suspension specialist was horrified when he saw the NZ prices of Nivomat rears. He can do Koni Yellows in front for same price as the Sachs/Boge items - which shows how skewed our local importers make the prices.Still thinking my way through Nivomat/Boge or Koni Sport (Yellow) all round, and used rear (factory) springs. Either way, my suspension specialist gets a bite which I'm happy about. Does anyone know if stock 850 springs sag badly over time? Does anyone have the spring height specs for new uncompressed spring?Still need to confirm if T5 Wagon and standard Wagon springs (rear) are same part number...regards'Olaf' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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