My 130,000 mile UK car! 2.5 10v does this funny think when pulling away in 1st. The clutch occasionally judders and sometimes makes this squawking noise when pulling away. The clutch is definitely not slipping I have tried all the usual tests on the road, flooring it in 3 4 and 5 gears at low speeds!

What can it be????

Anyone elso experinced the same. A Volvo dealer has said that many do it. Do they???

Many thanks, Angus

My 98 S70 T5M (85K miles) has been doing this for a couple
of years. Still works fine. I just hate the noise but not
enough to pay for 10 ours labor to replace it. I sometimes
even hear it in 2nd gear shifts.

Angus:

My '96 R does the same thing, but after the usual tests does not display any conditions indicating dicey bits. I have smooth and reasonably light pedal feel, good bite, but a noise at take-up that resembles the squeeking of bicycle brakes when wet. In fact, the noise tends to be greater in humid weather and can go away entirely when the clutch is hot. Unlike yours, the turbo clutches are a different size, and persuambly a different material, as they are rumoured to be capable of close to 400bhp. From what I've been able to find out via the various Volvo forums, turbo clutches have a tendency to make the noise.

Me, I'm going to hang out with mine until it bugs me enough to deal with it. I don't have the time anymore to do this stuff myself, so my indie is going to have to do it. And frankly, although he's good, I really don't want anybody opening things up in a major way unless its really necessary.

Good luck and cheers,

Bill

I have a 1993 854 GLT and mine makes the same noise albeit intermitently. I was also advised that Volvo's "just do that". Not a very satisfying answer but. . .

Angus

The clutch in my 850R behaved similar to yours. In addition, the force required to operate the clutch was high. The root of the problem was the thrust/throwout bearing being dry and on the way out. The heavy clutch was caused by the increase in friction bewtwene the face of the bearing and the fingers of the pressure plate - apparently the face wears (grooves) and the fingers tend to hold-up. The clutch also shuddered. I put up with it for about a year till I got sick of the heavy throw-out and the embarassing noise. The squeaking (and occasional graunching) noise slowly got worse. The clutch was not slipping. By all acounts it is pretty common behaviour.

When I had the clutch replaced (at about 100k miles), the plate friction material was worn, but not worn out. Had a new pressure plate, clutch plate, and bearing fitted. Had the flywheel surfaced and a new rear main seal fitted too. Fixed everything except the shudder, which still appears to varying degrees but is manageable.

As the clutch transmits raw torque from the crankshaft, it is working hardest when (1) engine is generating max torque with the clutch engaged and (2) the clutch is trying to match the revs between the crankshaft and the gearbox input shaft. So if you want to see how well it is performing you could consider testing both of these.

Wolfgang

Yup same deal, here. When mine goes (167k so far) im considering putting a SPEC performance clutch, since the volvo ones seem to be engineered kinda poorly, ive heard of guys getting a new volvo one and it starts making noise 30k later...

kenk,

I just replaced my clutch around 120k at the dealer. I had tried looking for a better, high performance clutch at the time but was unable to find one.
What is this SPEC clutch you refer to?? Please send me info:

mrmk@pacbell.net

Michael