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I was cleaning up the outside of my alloy wheels today and noticed it...Yeah, left (driver's) outer boot is toast on my S70...torn on the top and has slung grease all over the inside of the wheel. Had the tires rotated last week...wasn't happy with the balance job and took the car back on Friday to have them re-do it...nothing reported that anything was wrong. So, it's happened in the last two days....But, also suspect that maybe they didn't like me telling them to rebalance the tires...that has crossed my mind (that they slit it), but no proof and now on Labor day with nothing open I have to figure out what to do...can't even really order parts, because if I did, I would have them express mail it to me receiving my parts on Wed.
So far my plans are to drive it to work tomorrow and just leave it (the guy who works on my car is close to work) and drive a company vehicle until the job is done. Since it's a fresh "wound," and no clicking what-so-ever, I'm just thinking to go by the dealer and pick up a boot kit and get it done in the next couple of days. Not thinking I really need a new axle....guess my mechanic will tell me.
Just a bummer though...have had all summer to deal with this and I notice it the day before I go back to work. Why couldn't it have happened say, a week ago?
Okay, so for you guys who have done this, anyone lose any auto tranny fluid? If so, then I'm thinking I need to go ahead and pick up some Mobil-1 ATF or just go ahead and have it flushed again...it's been 27K miles since the tranny was flushed.
Any suggestions, comments or observations from doing this job or having had it done would be most appreciated. Klaus, didn't you just r&r some axles?
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic (125K), 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red (45K), Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon (Sold at 140K and miss her). My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.
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posted by
someone claiming to be driver8
on
Tue Sep 5 01:40 CST 2006 [ RELATED]
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Just did this on my S70...mine was popping a bit, so it may have been ripped for a little while. I replaced the axle...I didn't have the time to order it online, so I got one from AutoParts Express. I know, most will question the quality. But they have several options. I was told by a experienced friend that what you want to avoid is anything rebuilt, as they can regrind surfaces to meet rebuiling specs. The parts store had rebuilt with lifetime warranty...but they also had brand new with lifetime warranty. It was only $30 more for the new one ($130 total). I also got a new axle seal just in case, but mine was fine and so I returned it. That was all 6 months ago and no problems. The R&R was pretty easy. Don't reboot...it has already been exposed to some road grime and it isn't worth it.
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MIJ -
First off - don't worry. My indie asked me why I was replacing mine (boot ripped a few months ago) and said "just drive it that way". Now, you don't know my indie, but he is pretty good. He pointed out it shows warning signs, and said why worry until then. OK I don't subscribe to that, but the point is you can go thousands of miles through all kinds of weather, dirt, etc, before you will have trouble. My left was open for a year and 20k miles before it acted up.
On my '95 (same axle?) about 4 ounces came out when the left shaft was removed. Mot a horrible amount.
The splines sometimes hang up - soak with liquid wrench or something else overnight. As you can see on bay13, he recommends the "hit the old shaft with the nut loosened" trick to loosen the shaft from the hub. A large pry bar is handy to pry between the trans and the inner joint to get the shaft out of the transmission.
I haven't figured this out yet (I just bought and am going to install the right shaft), but FCP is selling NEW shafts for $120 with NO CORE. My indie shook his head and questioned the quality, because the Volvo shaft is still around $700 and he pays over $200 for whatever he puts in. I posted something here a few months back but I don't think anyone responded, about the shafts from FCP. If anyone knows anything good or bad, let us know. FCP's site says they are made to exceed Volvo's specs. Good luck. Don '95 854T 165k
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Yeah, a bit worried about the FCP axle myself. Haven't heard any good or bad. I'll go ahead and get a seal for the transmission side. Raxles also has axles but they also are not Volvo axles. It was recommended that I buy a Volvo one, but at that price, I think I'll take my chances with FCP or Raxles. I'll know tomorrow if the dealer has a CV boot kit. I sort of doubt that they do.
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic (125K), 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red (45K), Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon (Sold at 140K and miss her). My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.
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I was putting in my new axle today, and while flexing it into the hub, the outer joint failed. I don't know if I abused it (don't think I did), but they were happy to send another with a call tag to pick up the failed unit. More to follow. A local auto parts shop told me Cardone makes most all the axles we buy here in the US - don't know if that is true, and don't know why they are charging $109 for a rebuilt with core if a brand new one is $119 at FCP. Then you have the Volvo part - that must be foreign, or it should be for those $. Something doesn't make sense. I just replaced a bad sway bar link that was put in 20k miles ago (all smooth highway driving) that says "Made in Germany" on it. The FCP part says "Made in Germany" AND "Volvo". I guess time will tell if it is any better.
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Hey there...the endlinks sold as OEM are crap, and you're not the only one replacing them so early. Buy the ipdusa.com heavy duty endlinks and you'll be much happier, or if you want to spend some $$ and probably never change them again, www.quickbrickmotorsports.com sells some really heavy duty ones.
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic (125K), 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red (45K), Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon (Sold at 140K and miss her). My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.
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Hmm, hosed again. Figured buying OEM was the way to go - big mistake. When I pointed out they replaced the link last year the mechanic at the indie shop even said "I'm not happy with the quality of the links we have been putting in." Unfortunately he isn't the owner of the shop. I was thinking about it today - they are very thin, and the ends look pretty small. With so much weight up front it seems logical they should be heavier duty - kind of like the way I feel about the brake discs. They are pretty easy to replace - if my car goes another 20K I use better ones next time. Don
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Just replaced a seal on driver side the other week and some fluid dowes ooze out, perhaps a pint. I purged the tranny after replacing the seal and there were no more leaks. Should not be a bad job.
dick
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Thank you...did you have to replace the seal in the splines? I'm just gearing up and trying to get everything together before I take parts to my indy mechanic. He really appreciates that I bring them in so he doesn't have to search all over for them.
--
1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic (125K), 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red (45K), Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon (Sold at 140K and miss her). My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.
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This was the seal in the transmission. Had to pull out the axel, pry out the seal and put the new one in. Did not need to play with the boot.
dick
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You have time to order the boot kit on the internet. It will take something before the cv gets permanently damage. I would not get a new one especially if it not making any clicking sound. Last year I cleaned and repack the cv, and replaced a new boot; no problem ever since.
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As a rule of thumb, if it has been open for any extended period of time you will want to replace it with a reconditioned or new unit.
Last time I checked, last week, the Volvo remaned axles were going for around $300.00 each from the dealer. For years they sold in the $700.00+ market but they finally realized that they were getting spanked to hell in the aftermarket sector and came up with a more realistic alternative, just like they did with their cats.
More and more of my vendors are coming up with these "new" CV joints. They look good but I just did one three frikin times in a row and did another one twice to get a couple of axles that did not leak from the axle seals at the trans. To answer the obvious question, yes I put brand new factory seals in them. At this point in time I am quite reluctant to stuff in any of these supposed new axles.
Leakage while doing them? I use the factory tool that slips in inplace of the axle while the axle is out so leakage is not an issue. I have on occassion done them without it and they don't seem to leak enough fluid out to worry about, unless your gearbox is overfilled already.
There really is not much of a seal on the splined end of it but that splined end can be a real bastard to get out of there. Aside from the rust and corrossion that builds up in the splines over the years, the Swedes are in the habit of putting loctite in the splines! Craziest friking thing I have ever heard of but I have bulletins and repair procedures right out of Vadis that tell you this is the way to do it.
Putting the nut back on and hitting it with a hammer is one way to do it but it is not without its problems either.
1) Make sure that you have a new nut to go back on with.
2) When you are hitting the nut make sure that it is only backed off 2-3 threads or you will risk screwing up the old axle.
3) If you are near the end of the shaft and you still need to hammer it out do not use the nut as you will probably just destroy the first couple of threads on the end of the shaft.
Obviously if you do not intend upon reusing the axle, replace vs reboot, then it is not that big of a deal but I still recommend against destroying the old axle.
When you have the axle out take a wire brush to the female splines in the hub and take the new axle and insert it backwards, from the outside in, to make sure that the splines are corrected and not buggered up.
I've got to ask, what kind of "indy" mechanic are you going to that appreciates the customer bringing in his own parts. In my business that is a recipe for disaster as well as a no money deal. Just think about the nightmare that would've insued on the car that I mentioned doing three times to get it right once. In the end I used a rebuilt Volvo axle instead of this supposed new crap and all was good. Imagine if that was you and I said "too bad sport, that is your part and you can pay me to change it out again". Sometimes it is better to let the man make a little mark up on the part and provide you with a parts warranty on it. If you have found someone that will warranty your parts then I suggest you take advantage of that as long as you can because he probably will not be in business forever.
Good luck
Mark
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Well, (big inhale) your post was really depressing, Mark. Sounds like I am in for failure on the second axle, and it is a lot of work to change them (at least for me). The one thing that popped up here that surprised me was the seal. So, you routinely replace the seals when you do a replacement? My indie didn't when he did the other side. Hmmm. Between your experience with the cheap new axles and my experience thus far I think I should have asked for my $ back (my brother's suggestion in the first place). Don
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Mark-
You make me glad I decided to re-boot mine rather than get the el-cheapo axles. The job is a little fiddly the first time, but nothing too bad. I had an aweful lot of grease left when I found the boot leaking so both the 850 and S70 are running on new boots (FCP got me the right ones the first time for the big axles on the '98 T-5, 5 spd) and grease.
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Thanks for your great comments. They are very helpful. My indy mechanic lives out in the sticks (near where I work, but 50 miles away from my home) and has a shack for a shop, but lots of tools (oh, and he does have electricity...lol). Yeah, I know, it sounds bad. Well, he's owned several Volvo's himself and loves them...the thing is, he's good...real good. Just that not hardly any supply places around, therefore, he appreciates it if I bring him my parts. If I get to his place on a monday morning, folks are lined up around the block to drop off their cars. He doesn't advertise...just word of mouth, and he's trying to make enough money to get a better place. He has a family and is a manager of a McDonalds at night...unbelievable, so he's working 2 full time jobs. When I bring my cars in, he thanks me for allowing him to work on such "pieces of art." He appears genuinely appreciative. Wierd situation I know, but he's tired of doing truck alternators and farm equipment and the like and wants to move up to "higher class" vehicles. He did my entire pcv system replacement, including taking my intake manifold off and dealing with my fuel injectors, my sturts and shocks along with all of the suspension parts I replaced and IPD sways on front and back on both my S70 and wife's '04 V70...and never a problem from his work. Oh yeah, when he put my Silicone turbo hoses on with T-clamps, he actually took the clamps, put them in a vice and bent them to the contours of my hoses...this was an extra touch I didn't expect. They take up much less room under my hood and look better to boot! Anyway, I could do these things myself and would also tackle the axle issue but I just don't have the time, so I'll let him do it and he won't charge me much...his rate is $40 an hour (up from $35 8 months ago). So, I'll let him do the axle too. He'll know if it needs more than a boot. However I have bought the boot kit from eeuroparts along with the axle nut and a new axle seal (his recommendation to get the nut and seal). These should be to me in the next couple of days, when I'll call him and schedule a time for him to do the work on my car. Otherwise, he's booked...he'll have to "make time" out of all the other cars lined up for his service. I'm really fortunate to have found him, and was introduced to him by another Volvo owners who drives close to 2 hours to get to his shop when she needs service on her '00 AWD S70.
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic (125K), 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red (45K), Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon (Sold at 140K and miss her). My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.
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Hmmmm, sounds like a truely unique situation indeed. Best of luck to ya.
Mark
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Thanks Mark...we'll see how it goes. I got all of the parts from Eeuroparts.com today. My mechanic is fitting me in on Monday. When I called him yesterday (after seeing an email with projected delivery date for my parts being today) he told me that he started "closing" on Mondays and has told everyone so. Actually what he uses Mondays for is to "catch up" on all of the work he couldn't get done the week before (or if there isn't any, to rest) and to work on cars he really wants to work on. I think it's a pretty smart move on his part...he had to "slow down," if you know what I mean. Only those "in the know" have this information. Anyway, I'm glad I didn't have to wait a week to get my car to him.
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic (125K), 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red (45K), Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon (Sold at 140K and miss her). My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.
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