Rear Stabilizer Bar Replacement on V70

We are installing rear stabilizer bars on our 2003 V70. We thought we
were replacing them, but the car does not have them. The places the
bars would bolt are there, just no bars. The bars we bought from IPD
did not come with hardware to attach the "replacement" bars (yes, we
did go to our local Volvo dealer to buy these parts)...

My question: is it possible that *some* V70's were not equipped with
rear stabilizer bars from the factory? We bought this as a certified
preowned vehicle and I'm guessing that in that 130 point inspection,
this would have been noted if it were anything but the way it was
intended - or not

So, is it possible that the vehicle that prides itself on safety would
not be equipped initially with these stabilizer bars?

Thanks in advance,
Marylyn

 

I can't speak for the new type V70, but Volvo wagons have come without
rear stabilizer bars on and off since the 240 series. The ones that
come with a rear bar usually have a very thin one. My '98 T5 V70 came
with a 17 mm bar, whereas my T5 S70 of the same year came with a 21 mm
rear bar. Factor in the thicker front bar on the wagon (21 vs 20 mm)
and while the S70 understeered slightly, the V70 understeered heavily.
I lived with it for 6 years before I finally put a sedan rear bar on it,
and that fixed the balance problem. I think the wagons have a thin or
no rear bar so they will always understeer, even with a full load. Also
note that the stiffer rear springs on the wagons take up some of the
slack by providing additional anti-roll function.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)