Both of the outer cv boots on my 97 850 are torn. When checking the price the boot cost $36 each with the half axle costing $82.00 (rebuilt)including both boots. So how hard is it to replace the outer boot? Is it worth drivng it until the "clicking" starts then replace both half axles. Since I am asking questions, this car ('97 850 GLT) burns alot of oil. Compression is good, any ideas? Thanks for the inf0 in advance

Ron

no point in just trying to do boot...cheap aftermarket shaft assemeblies are out there and its so easy that even if you have to do it sooner than you would a real V part, its worth it.
i am assuming yours is like my 94 850 but i am amazed at reading the posts that everyone says you have to disconnect the ball joint. I tried that and got nowhere...beat and pried my brains out for 3 days!
THEN i asked a V master mechanic if he had any tips - he sure did!! told me to just pull out the two A-arm bolts at the subframe and pull away the hub and lower A-arm! WHEW! SUPER-EASY!!! did each side in about 40-45 min, including jacking up the car!!

That's what I did too, except I then removed the A-arm completly. It makes the axle replacement that much easier having it out of the way. Also, check out Raxles. They are the best rebuilt axles out there, but more expensive. They don't grind components (use only new in the rebuild) like most all others which can lead to premature failure. I believe price includes shipping the core back to them. Great customer support too.

I did it myself on the passenger side...not too hard, but you do have the remove the hub nut and pull the brake caliper, and remove lower BJ nuts and then pull the spindle hub off the drive shaft. Shafts can then be removed (need to remove also the brcket which supports the pass driveshaft. Haynes manual has a decent description on this as well as how to remove the circlip and replace the boot. If you are a decent DIY mechanic it will take you about a half day, maybe a little longer.

If you go with a replacement unit, make sure you get one of decent quality, not just a cheap one...I know the volvo ones are pretty expensive, that is why I did just the boot...

I'm not sure, but if the '97 850 and the '98 S70 axles changes are same, then e-mail me and i can give you a pretty good description as I did this just a couple of weeks ago

I would think they are quite simlar. did you do the 1/2 axle on both side or just the boots

Thanks

ron

If the compression is good and the engine burns a lot of oil, the valves seals needs to be replaced. How did you checked the compression on the engine? What are the results?
--
Ken

Mark

I think the compression was either around 120 lbs or 150 lbs. I used the screw in type compression gage with all the plugs out.

I agree it may be the valve seals but I have been living in denial.

Thanks

Ron

Hi there,

Is your engine turbo or non-turbo? Because to be within specs, the ULTRA MINIMUM compression should be at the very least 150lbs for a turbo and 180 lbs for a non-turbo. At 120 lbs, the compression is waaaaay too low, (SPECIALLY if the engine is a non-turbo) and no wonder why the engine burns so much oil. Try again by adding a full tablespoon of clean engine oil inside the cylinders before a compression test. If the compression immediatelly raise to specs, it's the rings if it's the same as before: it's the valves. Keep me posted!
--
Ken

Ken

thanks
I will try the oil. I hope my memory is correct but I think the compression was 150.
the engine is the low pressure turbo

thanks ron

Why not just bite the bullet and spend the 82 bucks now and replace both axles. I do this shit for a living and it would be worth the extra 46 per side not to have to deal with the boots. I have all of the tools and the experience and can tell you that it is not that bad at all but if you have never done a set it is a bit of a learning curve. Furthermore, doing just the axles and not the boots is really a cake walk. It takes me maybe 10 minutes a side tops to blow both axles in and out. If the boots are already blown open and slinging grease out of them and allowing everything else to contaminate it I would not even consider booting them in the first place anyhow, you need axles and not boots.

Mark

Mark

I agree it would be better just to do both axles. However since it is my sons car and he has no money, I thought the boots would get him by. I am an okay mechanic, but I have never done the axles on an 850. If it takes you only 10 minutes or so per side, I should be able to do it an a couple of hours? are ther any special tolls or tricks? Please let me know if you can. I looked on Bay 13 and could not find anything on replacing them.

Anyway if you are anwhere near grand Rapids, MI you want a job.

Thanks

Ron

Ron, sorry I did not get back to you sooner. If you are doing it on the garage floor I would really recommend the axle replacement as opposed to re-booting them. The down and dirty on them would be something like this:

1) Put it on jack stands and remove the front wheels.
2) Remove both of the axle nuts, one per side.
3) Remove both of the tie rod end nuts, one per side, and pop the tie rods out of their place in the steering knuckle. The job can be done without this step but I find it easier to lean the strut assembly out of my way with it disconnected from the steering. The quickest way to undo tie rod ends is to remove the nut entirely, the reinstall it as far as you can thread it on by hand and then take a 18-36 ounce hammer and smack the knuckle where the tie rod goes through as hard as you can 1-2 times and it will pop right out, take the nut back off and slide it out of the knuckle. Both sides.
4) Remove the link rods from the stabilizer bar, both sides.
5) Remove the pinch bolts from the lower ball joint, both sides.
6) Undo ABS speed sensor harness, again it just makes it a little easier.
7) With the ball joint still in the bottom of the knuckle give the end of the axle (where the nut goes on) a couple of really good whacks with a dead blow to see if it is going to cooperate and come loose.
8) Now here is the bitch, getting the ball joint to slide out of the bottom of the steering knuckle. I have see 25 year+ master techs loose their minds trying to get one of these out. The only trick I have (and it works everytime) may not be so hot on the garage floor. I reach up from underneath (I work on a hoist), grab the lower control arm in both hands and give a fast, hard, yank and most often it will slide right out. If you try to coax it out with a prybar it just seems to get bound up big time and not come out. So, if you can get under it and give it a mighty yank it will probably pop right through, do not be afraid to use liberal amounts of PB Blaster or something like it.
9) Once the balljoints are undone you can pull the strut and knuckle assembly towards you and stuff the axle back through. Push it through and peel strut and knuckle assembly off to one side.
10) With it seperated you need to pop the driver's side out of the trans. This is best done with the biggest screwdriver you have. The factory tool for this is very cool but I always go for the big screwdriver first and on the very rare ocassion that I cannot get it with that then I have to go factory all the way.
11) On the passenger side just shoot the two 12mm bolts out of the bearing cap that attaches on the bottom of the engine block and the axle will slide right out as an assembly.
12) They always preached to us in Vovo school that you had to put these plastic keepers in the holes where the axles go while you have them out or the spider gears could fall down or out, I've always used them just because they keep it from leaking out of those holes but I know techs that never have and they don't seem to have problems with "falling spiders".
13) On the install it should be a cake walk. The passenger's side should all but fall back in with no hassles and the driver's side made need a little persuading. Get it started back in the case, all lined up and engaging the splines in the trans and then give it a few love taps with a big ass dead blow and it will pop right back in.
14) Once in, it is a straightforward reversal of the above procedure, bearing cap, axles through the bearing hub in the knuckle, ball joints and pinch bolts installed, link rod installed, tie rod installed, axle nut installed, ABS wheel sensor installed, torque everything torqued down, spin the brake rotor by hand to see if anything hits, adjust for it, put the wheel on and torque it down.

That is it in a nut shell, I am decent on a key board and I'd have to say that it took me as long or longer to type this up than it would to bang out the axle. Now re-booting it takes about 30-45 minutes per side.

Mark

Looked this up once for someone and posted it over on Swedespeed. I'll repost it here:

Vadis says this:
Remove wheels and then:
detach bracket for brake hose and ABS cable, let bracket hang loose, detach link from anti-roll bar, then detach link/ball joint from the stub axle (both sides). Install protective sleeve #999 5562-7 (protection-balljoint pinion).

Next (left side- driver's side) detach the shaft from the tranmission by using disconnect tool 999 5462-0 (Jimmy tool) used between the transmission and the inside of the drive shaft joint. Fold out spring strut and remove drive shaft from transmission. Use a crowbar to remove the seal ring.

Installation: Apply a small amount of grease to sealing lip. Use drift (punch) #999 5541 and handle 999 1801-3 (standard shaft) (Vadis specifically states to NOT use the old drift #9995478). Place the side of the drift marked AW against the seal ring. and carefully tap in the seal ring until the drift is up against the transmission housing.

On right side (passenger side), replace the bearing cap and torque to 19ft.lbs.

For Left (driver's side) ensure that the anti-lock braking system (ABS) sensor pulse wheel is free from dirt and press the drive shaft in firmly so that it locks on to the differential gear. Ensure the drive shaft lock ring sits in its locking groove. Check by pulling carefully on the drive shaft CV housing.

Last of all make sure that both seal rings in the transmission and the boot on the drive shaft are not damaged. Reinstall the Link/ball joint stub axle. Remove sleeve 999 5562 (ball joint pinion protector you put on earlier, if you used it) from the ball joint. Use new nuts and screws. Torque to 30ft. lbs. Reinstall the link to the anti-roll bar..also use a new nut, torqued to 37ft.lbs. Reinstall hose bracket and reinstall the wheels on both sides. That's it!

I think you can take it from here. Lube the hub center dowel for the rim with rust inhibitor, tighten studs lightly and torque diagonally, etc. Check your transmission fluid level and you're pretty much done....

You may need the specific tools mentioned here but the diagrams in Vadis looked as if they were pretty common tools I see at Autozone...but don't know. The Jimmy tool looks sort of like a large crowbar except the opening is not V shaped but rather "U" shaped.

Good luck and yes, we'd like to see pics of the process if possible. Unfortunately I haven't seen a write-up with pictures.
--
1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon. My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.

thanks for the info.

I first have to get the car in my garage and then we may get started. When we do it I will take pics and email them to you. Please email me at rrlandis@sbcglobal.net so I remember

Thanks

Ron

I just replaced the left hand CV shaft on my '96 850 today.
A) Changing this on the garage floor sucked and
B) I gave up on just changing the boots because I didn't have air tools (or a vice) to knock the joint off the shaft itself.

A rebuilt (actual Volvo) shaft was a ten minute drive away at NAPA, and in the end only $40 more than the inner and outer boot kits. After squatting on the floor for 4 hours trying to grow a third hand to get the joint off, I figured my sanity was well worth the extra $40.

On the plus side, the car is back in working order.

How did yours go?

I'd really be suprised to find that it was an actual Volvo part. For the longest time they retailed for something like $700.00 but they have finally seen the light and brought them down into the $250.00-$300.00 range and a factory Volvo boot kit will still set you back the best part of $90.00. I use CRP (Continental Rubber Products) or Lobro ( supplier to Volvo, BMW, and most Euro auto manufacturers). I like the Lobro boots but I have found that unless you buy the actual Volvo boot kit from Volvo the clamps that come in the kit will usually have 3 that fit and one that is a throw away. Because of this I have a good supply of Universal band clamps and a bitchen little tool to install them with.

Mark

Well, I bought the kit on eEuroparts.com. Original Lobro outer CV boot kit was $9.90 (cheaper than I remember it being), with the circlip, two clamps and grease. The inner kit was $13.90, but made by Karlyn.

The rebuilt one I bought from NAPA was a core return with Volvo stamped on the joints and such - that's why I said it was "original". It certainly wasn't new, but then again, neither was the one that I was originally planning on rebuilding on the garage floor. I don't remember the imprint on the boots themselves, but I know they weren't Lobro.

Needless to say, I didn't see Cardone on it anywhere, and it was just about $100.

I just did a 500 mile trip with it in two days, and no issues. I'm happy.

Depending on the mileage, you'll want to replace the CV joint. If the boot has worn that bad, chances are that the joint has also. I had it done on my XC and it was worth the extra money.
--
'98 XC '95 855 GLT '83 245 DL (245 for sale! e-mail me if your looking to buy); All over 125k miles