855R rear suspension options?

[volvo850R]

Hi all,

Im looking to change all my suspension as its all the original stuff and is feeling a bit tired after 167k. Was just wondering what options are available for the rear end. I beleive all the 855 R's had the nivomat? suspension on the back and basicaly i want to bin it and put something a bit more exotic on like koni damper adjust shocks. Ive had great results with the konis on several cars in the past so hopefully it will be good on the volvo also. In a nut shell how hard is it to get rid of the nivomat suspension and what is involved?

[Nealevo]

Bin the shocks and nivo top mounts buy standard top mounts for about £16 each (Genuine) and buy some koni's..... Simple!!!

[volvo850R]

Liking the sound of how easy that sounds neal cheers mate. Is there any pipes that need disconecting etc? and are the original springs still okay to use?

[volvo850R]

....so i take it i will be able to buy any suspension kit that says 'excluding self levelling suspension' as its all going in the bin. Also just went on partsforvolvoonline.com and noticed the rear spring lower mount is either nivomat or non nivomat so guess they will need changing also? Prices are coming up for 2x koni shocks, 2x non nivomat top mounts and 2x rear spring lower mounts non nivomat for £325 for the lot delivered which is not bad in my eyes. Will probably change all the springs aswell i think. The koni FSD kits are coming in at good prices for a set of 4 but i know little about them yet. Think i will do a bit of shopping around as i recon i can find the konis cheaper than partsforvolvoonline.com have them listed for, although they arent to expensive. The front end will also need changing but at the moment the back is priority as it doesnt feel the best on certain lumpy islands around here, downright dangerous actualy in the wet :biggrin:

[endo-t5]

You need to change rear springs as nivomats are softer springs.
Take the boot floor out to access the rear top mounts but undo the shock nut in the centre of the top shock mount as the shock has to drop down not up as it says in Haynes manual. The rear springs are held by a bolt that has no head as its got serrations on the top which lock into the washer and you may need an impact gun due to age and mine were a pain plus shock bottom nut was semi seized so lots of penetrating spray and breaker bar and impact gun it came off.
If your doing the front I'd get new spring mounts as well and the top spring mount had a special socket for it but I just used a hammer and chisel to drift it round and the front you'll need long spring clamps as the standard springs are very long.

[endo-t5]

Eibach or h&r springs work very well with Koni's or any other descent dampers.

[volvo850R]

wow cheers guys this is a great site for help and info :smile:

Will crack on with gathering all the parts, will keep you posted..

[Theador]

If nivomat top mounts were used by mistake when using standard shocks and springs, would the rear of the car sit lower?