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Volvo AWD Forum

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READ ONLY    PRINT   SAVE  Viscous Coupling Guru Question posted by  Oliver on  Thu Jul 2 13:51 CST 2009 Author: [PROFILE] [EVERY POST] [THREADS] [BEST POSTS]     [IGNORE ALL POSTS] last visit: Fri Nov 20 13:09 CST 2009 [RELATED] The viscous coupling on my 99 S70 AWD is failing, (at least it makes lots of noise in tight turns) and I really don’t want to remove the rear driveline, or pay the dealer to remove and replace. I have done quite a bit of research on the internet and have a theory question for the guru’s out there. The viscous fluid is what makes the rotating plates inside the unit transfer torque because as the plates rotate at different speeds the fluid gets thicker. Since the fluid can not be easily replaced to make the unit function normally again, could the fluid be removed, flushed and replaced with a less viscous fluid like power steering fluid or automatic transmission fluid? That way the unit could stay in place, but the new fluid would never get thick enough to cause any friction and transfer torque while providing lubrication. This would render the AWD all but useless, but would allow the rear drive line to remain intact. Does this sound possible? Also is there a way to drain the viscous fluid out of the unit with out destroying it? Thank you in advance Oliver Over a million Volvo miles and still smiling :-) Mark this post as an answer to my question<- Use this feature to mark quality replies to your post. Select, copy to buffer, and paste anywhere: <a href="http://www.brickboard.com/AWD/volvo/1357854/viscous_coupling_guru_question.html">Viscous Coupling Guru Question </a>

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  READ ONLY    PRINT   SAVE  Viscous Coupling Guru Question posted by  jadnhm on  Fri Jul 3 06:15 CST 2009 Author: [PROFILE] [EVERY POST] [THREADS] [BEST POSTS]     [IGNORE ALL POSTS] last visit: Sat Nov 21 17:44 CST 2009 [RELATED] I'm no guru but I do have some thoughts for you: Firt of all just to make sure you understand what is going on inside there, there is no friction between the plates per se. The shearing of the plates through the liquid makes the liquid become more viscous, to the point where lots of shear makes the liquid almost solid. The solid fluid caused whichever set of plates is shearing fastest to drag the others along. Next, you don't really need to remove the rear driveline at all. If you picture the system it looks like my little ascii diagram below. T = transmission - = wheel facing driveshaft | = center driveshaft/propeller shaft B = Bevel Gear V = viscous coupling o = road wheel O-T=B--O | V O---R--O All you need to do is remove the center driveshaft. Just leave all the rear end gear in place. O-T=B--O V O---R--O I have done this and it works beautifully. You should not be scared of this operation. It was not difficult or time consuming and so far for me there are no consequences, except that the AWD is disabled and gas mileage is better. Also, I would not worry about the VC until you get much worse symptoms than the low-speed-turn-shimmys. Check that your Bevel gear has new fluid and it's not leaking, and your system should last a long time the way it is. On to the VC: There are no built in drains/fills/etc. I think you could probably drill a hole in the casing and drain the fluid out, and then stop it up with a bolt or weld it shut. I suppose you could refill the same way, esp if you took it out of the car first to do all this. Again, I don't see why this would be preferable to removing the center driveshaft. Eerie Volvo offered to sell me one for $350 plus shipping with a lifetime warranty. Pretty good if you ask me. -- 1998 V70 AWD Turbo 190k+ Mark this post as an answer to my question<- Use this feature to mark quality replies to your post. Select, copy to buffer, and paste anywhere: <a href="http://www.brickboard.com/AWD/volvo/1357938/viscous_coupling_guru_question.html">Viscous Coupling Guru Question </a>

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    READ ONLY    PRINT   SAVE  Viscous Coupling Guru Question posted by  Oliver on  Fri Jul 3 08:55 CST 2009 Author: [PROFILE] [EVERY POST] [THREADS] [BEST POSTS]     [IGNORE ALL POSTS] last visit: Fri Nov 20 13:09 CST 2009 [RELATED] Thanks for the response. Found out about Erie yesterday and will more than likely go that route. Seems like they have plenty in stock. Oliver Over a million Volvo miles and still smiling :-) Mark this post as an answer to my question<- Use this feature to mark quality replies to your post. Select, copy to buffer, and paste anywhere: <a href="http://www.brickboard.com/AWD/volvo/1357956/viscous_coupling_guru_question.html">Viscous Coupling Guru Question </a>

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      READ ONLY    PRINT   SAVE  Viscous Coupling Guru Question posted by  KlausC on  Sun Jul 5 21:11 CST 2009 Author: [PROFILE] [EVERY POST] [THREADS] [BEST POSTS]     [IGNORE ALL POSTS] last visit: Sat Nov 21 21:14 CST 2009 [RELATED] I put 55K on my vibrating VC without any problems, except for the low speed sharp turns in the summer. It feels bad but has no effect on your mileage or the awd. It is like driving a Jeep that is in 4WD low, without the adverse effects of overheating the transfer case. The fluid cannot be replaced, it is a sealed unit. Klaus -- Common sense trumps a PhD Mark this post as an answer to my question<- Use this feature to mark quality replies to your post. Select, copy to buffer, and paste anywhere: <a href="http://www.brickboard.com/AWD/volvo/1358330/viscous_coupling_guru_question.html">Viscous Coupling Guru Question </a>

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