Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998
Glenn,
I've recently purchased a 1965 P1800, from the original owner, no less. I'm currently gathering the parts necessary to redo the suspension and am having difficulty finding the idler arm. Do you know where I may purchase the part? Do you know what the part number is? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Wayne Mock themocks@earthling.net
Wayne - Congratulations on your project. The steering idler arm is one of those things that is probably not available new from Volvo. According to my parts book, the part number depends on the chassis number and whether the car is left- or right-hand drive. Assuming you have a car for the American market, for chassis numbers 3323-16499, the part number is 666355. For chassis numbers 16500 up to at least 21539, the part number is 671454. My book quits about there.
If your idler arm is worn, you might be best off to buy new bushings for it and take them to an automotive machine shop for fitting. Volvo used to sell a repair kit that included the bushings, washers, pivot bolt and locknut. If anyone has new parts, it would be John Sharisky at Boston Volvo (1-800-336-2355). It is possible that you won't be able to find new parts, and in that case, Don Thibault (508-888-9715) might be able to send you a good used idler arm.
There are other possibilities. I've been using an idler arm from a '67 or so Volvo 122 on my P1800 for about 15 years now. The design of the all-steel 122 part is sturdier, and it's easy to adjust the vertical play of the pivot using shims. The light alloy of the original P1800 idler arm housing is sexier, but the bronze bushings seem to be a weak point. If you're interested in a used 122 idler arm, contact Hirsch Industries at 1-800-544-4517. Anything from '64 to '67 should fit. -Glenn.