Chilled man Posted August 16, 2017 Report Share Posted August 16, 2017 I think the rear bumper is mounted kinda like the front bumper with those brackets. You should be able to grind them off and put new brackets in ? ( its been awhile since I chopped a car so .. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted August 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2017 (edited) Only had about an hour to work on this last night, so I focused on removing the rear bumper and inspecting the body for rust problems. (Cleaning up the shop will need to happen before I do any more work on the car.) I was able to get the driver's side bolt out without breaking it somehow but the passenger side broke right off. I was however able to mangle the bottom of the bracket enough to slide the bumper down and off. Here are the results of that. Definitely ordering new brackets and bolts this week. My Saab 900 Resto project is now being used as a shelf lol. Too many projects going on at once. After getting the bumper off, I went under the car to inspect the rust situation. Thankfully it was better than I expected for being a daily driven Michigan car it's whole life. There are several areas of surface rust above the subframe, but after poking around with a screwdriver nearly all of them feel solid enough to be cleaned up and treated with POR15. That should take care of them for a long long time. There was however one rust hole that I found on the front left mounting perch for the rear subframe. I poked through it with a screwdriver and ended up with a bit of a hole. I'll have to weld in a patch in this area. Also discovered that someone has been in here before, although they did take a shortcut through the floor to get to the fuel pump. Not too thrilled about that, but it does look like they sealed it up reasonably well. I'll inspect it further when I get the carpet and back seats out. That's all I've got for now. I probably won't get a chance to work on this again until the weekend. I also think I've got my suspension figured out. I'll be going with IPD front springs with Koni Yellow struts, and in the rear I'll be using the Euro Nivomats with stock rear springs (minus ~2 coils) and drop bolts as needed to match ride height to the front.. Then IPD sway bars front and rear. I really didn't want to go with coilovers since this car gets driven in the winter and coilovers will get ruined very quickly in the winter even with the proper care and cleaning. Here is the thread that has sold me on this setup. The height looks great for a daily driver, and I like the idea of keeping the Nivos in the rear since This car often gets used like a truck. http://v70r.com/forums/topic/38045-the-re-birth-of-a-martian-floggingmikes-build-thread/ Edited August 25, 2017 by tuner4life 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted August 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2017 (edited) Over the weekend, I got the rear subframe apart and stripped of everything except the bushings. It was a bunch of work, but nearly everything came apart relatively easily. There were a few bolts that broke off but nothing that I don't think can be taken care of with some heat and persuasion. I was impressed overall at how easily it all came apart for being a 240k mile Michigan car. Now that it's apart, I'll be going through each piece 1 at a time and cleaning them up and replacing any bushings, joints, etc.. Also have a box of parts started that will be going to the powder-coater. I also think I have most of the parts I need either here or ordered. I spent a bit more time and $ than I was originally planning on, but I managed to source nearly every nut, bolt, and washer for the rear subframe new. Should make things nice and easy going back together. In addition to that, I'll use a bit of thread locker on the threads and anti-sieze on the shafts of the shoulder bolts. Should make things easier if this ever needs to be done again. Not sure why this batch of pictures looks so bad... Edited August 21, 2017 by tuner4life 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blockpartie Posted August 21, 2017 Report Share Posted August 21, 2017 Before you reassemble compare all old bolts with the new replacements. Volvo has a habit of changing things, so the part "behind" the part number can change. Most of the time that is not an issue, like changing from a Torx head to a regular head. The other times it might compromise fitment. I've had the happen with bolts that from the factory had an integrated washer, but the replacements had seperate washer that had very little overlap with the bolt head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted August 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2017 Good to know! Thank you! I have all of the originals bagged up and labeled where they go so it should be pretty easy to check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p4eAaLcLe Posted August 22, 2017 Report Share Posted August 22, 2017 I would have to disagree on the coilover/winter statement. I live in WI and I've had kaplhenke's for four years, adjusting them twice a year, without the slightest issue. A good coat of silicon spare when installed and never-seize every time I adjust them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiksilver Posted August 22, 2017 Report Share Posted August 22, 2017 1 hour ago, p4eAaLcLe said: I would have to disagree on the coilover/winter statement. I live in WI and I've had kaplhenke's for four years, adjusting them twice a year, without the slightest issue. A good coat of silicon spare when installed and never-seize every time I adjust them. Curious, what shocks and springs are you using with your Kaplhenkes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p4eAaLcLe Posted August 22, 2017 Report Share Posted August 22, 2017 12 hours ago, quiksilver said: Curious, what shocks and springs are you using with your Kaplhenkes? Came with Koni Yellows, Eibachs up front and 600# rated in the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted August 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2017 Didn't take any pictures but last night I only had a short time to work. I removed the mounting bracket that is mounted to the body under the back seats that holds the front mounting points for the fuel tank straps and the forward VC mount. That was a bit tedious as the bolts were pretty corroded, but they did come out without breaking. I also disassembled the VC. Removed the bearing and bushing. I need to clean the housing up before reassembling. The bearing in the VC was definitely bad. It growls even when spinning in my hand. I also believe that the Pinion bearing in the diff may be questionable too. There are some light radial score marks inside of the VC housing where it looks like the VC may have made slight contact with the housing. I'll replace the pinion bearing too for good measure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted August 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2017 Worked last night on getting the old bushings out of the subframe.. Got 2 out so far. Had to burn the rubber out, then very carefully using a sawzall I made cuts in the old sleeves and pried them out. The bores look pretty good but I'll clean them up with a wire brush before installing the new bushings. Besides a couple of pry marks around the holes I'll call these 2 a success so far.. Only 4 more to go on the subframe and 4 more on the control arms.. Also got a weird look from my wife when I brought a box of new bushings inside and put them in the freezer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted August 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2017 Last night I got the rest of the bushings pressed out of the subframe. Wasn't all that bad really using the big c-clamp style ball joint press. Got to work cleaning all of the grime off of the subframe. Had a bit of help. Once I got all the thick/nasty stuff brushed off, I sprayed it down with simple green and let it soak for a while, then scrubbed it down again and rinsed. It's not perfect, but plenty good for who it's for. Here is the only part that I'm a little worried about. The surface where the subframe meets the body on the driver's side is a bit pitted. I've scraped and wire-brushed away anything loose and this is what I was left with. Still structurally solid, but I'm worried that the texture will invite more corrosion later on. Looking for suggestions on what to coat that area with? Spray with epoxy paint and call it good? Slather it with anti-seize? Heavy Grease? It will (hopefully) be many years before I have to take the subframe down again, so I want things to be as protected as possible. Especially since this car will see winter use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p4eAaLcLe Posted August 26, 2017 Report Share Posted August 26, 2017 What about POR15? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted August 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2017 Thought about it.. I've used it on steel before with pretty good results, but idk about aluminum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmsgltr Posted August 28, 2017 Report Share Posted August 28, 2017 great pic with the boy getting ready to take aim with the hose! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted August 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2017 (edited) Spent the last couple evenings fighting with the lower control arms to get the bushings out. The worst being the bushing at the end of the arm that connects to the knuckle. The steel sleeve and the aluminum arm had bonded together to solid that even after cutting a slot in the sleeve, it still took quite a lot of effort to remove it from the bore. There is quite a bit of chalky oxidized/corroded aluminum here, I was able to remove some of it with a wire brush, but I need to go at it with a sanding barrel on a dremel before pushing the new bushings in. Happy to have the lower arms stripped bare now though. Just a few more bushings and broken bolts to remove and then I can work on other parts of the project. Edited August 31, 2017 by tuner4life 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.