Upper Engine Stabilizer

[Jules]

I'm wondering if I need to replace the 'Upper Engine Stabilizer' bushings. There is a lot of fore-and-aft movement (a few inches) in the stabilizer when I rock it by hand. This translates into additional movement in the Upper Engine Stabilizer Mount. That said, there is no movement what-so-ever when I try to rock the stabilizer fom side to side.

Is this a normal / accepable amount of free play or should I consider replacing with IPD replacement parts http://http://www.ipdusa.com/product.asp?strParents=127,379,762&CAT_ID=762&P_ID=868 (http://www.ipdusa.com/product.asp?strParents=127,379,762&CAT_ID=762&P_ID=868) and http://www.ipdusa.com/version.asp?strPageHistory=category&numSearchStartRecord=0&strParents=127,379,762&P_ID=233&CAT_ID=762&V_ID=7910

Thanks for your help.
Jules

[billr99]

I'm wondering if I need to replace the 'Upper Engine Stabilizer' bushings. There is a lot of fore-and-aft movement (a few inches) in the stabilizer when I rock it by hand. This translates into additional movement in the Upper Engine Stabilizer Mount. That said, there is no movement what-so-ever when I try to rock the stabilizer fom side to side.

Is this a normal / accepable amount of free play or should I consider replacing with IPD replacement parts http://http://www.ipdusa.com/product.asp?strParents=127,379,762&CAT_ID=762&P_ID=868 (http://www.ipdusa.com/product.asp?strParents=127,379,762&CAT_ID=762&P_ID=868) and http://www.ipdusa.com/version.asp?strPageHistory=category&numSearchStartRecord=0&strParents=127,379,762&P_ID=233&CAT_ID=762&V_ID=7910

Thanks for your help.
Jules
Jules:

I'd say that a wee bit of side to side play is normal with the OEM rubber bushing. Not much, mind, but a bit without showing deterioration of the bushings. As far as fore and aft motion you shouldn't have much even with the OEM setup. Problem is with the P2 design is that even with new bushings you have play in the top mount between the mount and the bar and then a bit where the bar is bolted to the strut towers. It adds up to quite a bit in comparison to the way the old 850-derived bodies were set up.

What I would suggest is setting up the bar mounts where they bolt to the towers solid and then using a OEM rubber top mount. I did this on mine and it worked pretty well. If there is a problem with it, it seems to accelerate wear in the small bush of the tranny mount. You can solve this by replacing just the small bush with a poly Powerflex small bush. Then the whole setup works great. You get virtually no motion of the engine with very little vibration transmitted to the body. Really makes the shifts seem crisp. I wish I would have setup something similar with my R when I had it as it would have been perfect with that car's manual.

Hope this helps

Cheers,

Bill

[howardc64]

Some play is normal on these bushings and they are meant to damping the engine vibration.

If the stabilizer bushing looks worn, replace them. The IPD bushing you've shown are polyurethane and poly bushings are harder than rubber and can come with some added vibrations depending on where it is used. But it also usually make the car feel very "firm and connected" which some people like. Seems like the IPD reviews suggest the latter so you might consider that before changing it to poly.

Basically, if you like smooth + comfort, stay with rubber bushing. If you like spirited and don't mind a little vibration, go with poly.

On the upper torque mount, I don't know if you currently have the older round one or the newer square one (the ipd link you sent). If you have the round one and the bushing is torn, you can actually just replace the bushing inside with a poly one (http://www.ipdusa.com/version.asp?strPageHistory=home&numSearchStartRecord=0&P_ID=3320&CAT_ID=0&V_ID=7808). But beware of the added vibration + feel. If you have the square one, they wear by just having more play as the rubber contact area rubs off. I got rid of the play by sticking a 1/8 inch thick rubber piece in between. Has worked for last 10-15k miles :) Here is a pic on my old post on this.

http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11593

[jmoser]

I installed the IPD urethane bushing - my OEM rubber was starting to fall apart at 70K miles.
You will get some more vibration at idle with the urethane mount but I do not notice anything at speed.

[Aviator]

I'm using the same IPD mount as jmoser, and it's been in for almost 2 years. Absolutely no problems, and no unusual vibrations (there is a procedure to set up engine mounts and trans mounts so that there is no vibration). I would personally stay away from that Volvo mount (upgraded version) you've posted; they fail in short order too. Get the poly one from IPD, and move on with more important things.

Dave.