1998 Volvo V90 Rear Inner Spring Saddle

When I bought my Volvo last June, the woman who sold it said she would have the rear end noise diagnosed and repaired. She had her mechanics put in a rear axle and a bracket.

My friend’s trusted mechanic of 30 years looked at it before the work and just recently. He said they did put in a bracket, but that it is has a broken bolt missing in the right rear inner spring saddle. And that this puts the rear end of the car at risk of falling apart.

He suggested mechanics he knows to repair this.

My significant other says that since we had two other mechanics look at it post-work and they said this bracket is enough to hold the rear end up…that my mechanic is being compulsive…but if I insist on getting it looked at, I should go to a Volvo place.

Question: could a bracket do the job of a missing bolt in the rear saddle…and should I go to someone “the trusted mechanic” recommended or to a small Volvo shop I found in the phone book?

This really sounds like a “shadetree” repair. I would not trust a makeshift repair to last long at all. Do you want you and your family to travel on an interstate highway with this repair job? I don’t think so. I would go with the suggestion of the mechanic. Make sure the repair is done “by the book”. The bracket is not the proper repair no matter how good or bad it is. The engineers who designed your vehicle did so in the safest manner possible. Don’t let a mechanic redesign and re-engineer your vehicle. Good luck.

Thank you for your input. That seems so make a lot of sense to me…and makes me feel like I am not just going for the repair, "to make myself feel better."
I would appreciate any other input people might have on this.