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I think I have a transmission issue. Stock B18/M40. Had it 8 + months, put 1500 + miles on it and tranny always noisy but this morning all of a sudden getting a scrapping / rubbing sound.
Seems “rotational” - stops as soon as come to a halt. Is it trans, driveshaft bearing, diff, or wheel bearing?
Seems to be coming up from the tunnel.
When I say it has always been loud, I mean it has a ticking / clicking as I would roll to a stop in neutral, then as I idle I could make it stop if I depressed clutch and let it back out.
This new noise seems more sinister - it’s louder and happening while I’m moving vs idling.
Any thoughts on what it could be or other things I should check?
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Before you try running the car on stands, take a good look around - If it is not inside the transmission, you should see some damage or signs of wear,
Look over the rear suspension, both under the car and in the trunk - there are areas that rot.
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So the noise still goes away at idle when pushing in the clutch?
My guess would be countershaft bearings have failed. They are needle bearings and will destroy the countershaft when they go. Naturally this leads to wearing out the mainshaft etc.
Obviously just a guess without a thorough diagnosis.
You can try draining the transmission fluid and looking for shiny metal bits.
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Drove it home and got some more experience with it - seems totally different “feel” from that old ticking noise I’ve had. Much harsher sound. It isn’t there when stopped; is kind of audible from 15-25mph, but is drastically worse as I get up to 30/35mph.
Seems like right from tunnel under e-brake area. When I said it’s rotational, it increases directly with speed. Sounds almost like drive-shaft rubbing or scrapping (?) so I wonder if the shaft bearing would go all at once like that?
It seemed fine when I drove it Saturday. Now it sounds like a can of bolts around down there in the netherworld under my PV. Maybe I can get under tonight after work...
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Please don't interpret what I said earlier as an indisputable transmission issue. That's not what I intended. I thought your symptom of standing still and the noise going away when pushing in the clutch sounded more like a transmission issue since the driveline would not be moving at that time. Perhaps I'm mistaken in that assumption. It wouldn't be the first time!
Indeed, there is more diagnosis to be done. Get under there and shake stuff around. Be sure you have reliable jackstands. Raise the rear wheels and spin them etc.
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Sorry - My attempts to describe the symptoms were a bit confusing with my old vs new noises!
I just need to get it up on stands and poke around under there, hopefully tonight.
In the box of goodies that came with the car I found a “new-old-stock” prop shaft bearing and the pair of rubber bushings, all sealed in little plastic bags... wondering if the previous owner knew something was up?
Any recommendations for best lube for my M40?
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Please be safe when running a car on jack stands.
Put the rear jack stands under the axle so the driveshaft doesn't rub and as far apart as possible for stability.
AND ALWAYS HAVE AN ASSISTANT AROUND IN CASE OF EMERGENCY!! We don't want any squished Volvo owners.
Recently, I read that some of the higher GL gear oil formulas contain harmful additives that can damage bronze parts inside manual transmissions so we switched from Gl-4 to GL-1. GL-1 is hard to find, but Napa can get it.
We have not seen any real evidence that any of the exotic oils like Redline, Amsoil or Royal Purple have any advantage over plain old gear oil and this comes from over 30 years of experience. The best maintenance is to change the oil every once in a while.
--
Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502
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Mystery solved. I lost a bolt out of the first u-joint right there at the trans.
It is gone so the curved piece it bolts into was spinning around.
Faster I went, the more it swung out and was just starting to leave shinny mark on inside of the tunnel where it would hit as it spun around. Luckily the other pair held.
Is that a common bolt I can get at a hardware store or is it a special one just for 544 u-joints?
Should I apply loctite to it when I reassemble?
Maybe dumb question but there aren’t supposed to be another nut locking that on it there?
Don’t think it would be long enough, doesn’t extend thru much on other pair...
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It sounds like you have the older style of driveshaft nut which functions as 2 nuts being 1 piece with 2 threaded holes.
If this is true, the threads are British Standard and those are very hard to find bolts here in the US.
Can you believe it, British Standard? But a later Volvo parts book identifies the bolt as 'W5/16"-22 X 22' and that is British Standard.
New bolts are still available right from Volvo for $3.36 each. I don't have any new ones in stock, but I do have used ones.
FYI, there is supposed to be a lock plate that has bend over tabs to hold the heads of the bolts from turning after you tighten the bolts and bend the tabs, thus acting like a lock washer. Each lock tab has 2 holes and 2 bend over tabs so each lock tab holds 2 bolts.
The lock plates are are also still available from Volvo for $4.36 each and I do have those in stock, but you could use Loctite instead.
--
Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502
hiperformanceautoservice.com or oldvolvosonly.com
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I need the one bolt! Used is fine, plus might as well get 2 of the lock plates.
I don’t think the other pair are locked, or what I think is - someone substituted regular lockwashers in place of the lockplates when they reassembled things at some point. Anyway I’d like to get it back to original.
How can we do this deal?
Also while under there I greased every grease fitting I could find, but I don’t see one on the last u-joint before the diff., would that be right to have one sealed on when other joints all had grease fittings? Maybe I didn’t look hard enough!
Even though I do have the center prop shaft bearing and rubber bushings, the bushings in place seem fine. I don’t know how to really tell about that bearing but it looks like it could be tricky getting to it so I am thinking I’ll fix the obvious issue and leave that alone, for now. I assume I’d need to basically completely remove the drive shaft to change out that center bearing? ...If it ain’t broke...
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Whilst I would normally agree with the if it ain't broke comment, I think in this case I would look on this job as routine maintenance. You have the centre bearing and the two mounting rubbers, and hopefully the rubber bearing mount. I'd mark up the diff and GB flange and drop the whole prop out. Not too onerous a task. A complete set of the special bolts and nylocs aren't expensive. No lock plates needed. You can swap them over one for one if you wish. The rubber bearing mount usually splits and cracks gradually and the faults may only show when you take it off. Also the bearing may feel smooth until you compare it to a new one. Having the prop off also allows you to move the UJ's through their complete range and this can often reveal wear that is hard to spot when you try and twist them on the car. A wire brush and a lick of paint will also smarten things up if you're keen.
As said, the bolts have a smaller head than the nut and selecting the correct spanners is important, If they don't fit snug it is easy to round of the nuts. The noses of an open ended spanner are usually too long for the nuts so a thin walled flat ring spanner is best. Having found rounded off nuts etc when doing this job I now keep a nice pair bought for the job in a bag. Searching through boxes of used spanners at an autojumble was rewarding for little money.
Your non grease nippled rear UJ is probably down to the fact that the rear one tends to be replaced more often than the others, so likely the last one to be done.
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Well, I need to gather a couple additional items to do the center bearing job, so I need to defer that work until later, but I got the prop shaft secured, drained/refilled gearbox and diff, plus greased all fittings, and adjusted the brakes while it was on stands. These maintenance items have made a huge improvement in how the old thing shifts, brakes, and handles!
I plan to have access to a lift at my storage location this winter so work like the center bearing should be easier standing up under a lift.
Thanks to everyone who provided help on this!
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Interesting. I don't remember coming across that style.
Only bolts I've ever seen are fine thread with a nyloc nut and a smaller than typical hex head.
Something like 11mm for the bolt head and 13 mm for the nut. Been a long time since having one apart though.
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Reading the original post I thought that the pilot bearing might have rusted out and destroyed itself. Maybe true but the second post made me think that there is no oil in the gearbox and that is now complaining. I hope it's neither. The rear gearbox mount might have collapsed, allowing the prop to rub somewhere. Maybe...…….
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Check the easy stuff first. Might be a U-joint or throw-out-bearing.
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I'm voting for the "U" Joint.
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Always check the easier parts to change 1st.
We once built an engine for a customer, mostly because his fuel pump was bad.
This guy called me and wanted to install a B20 in his 1800S. We had never seen the car before and he made the diagnosis that his B18 engine was bad.
The car came in partially disassembled, so we just went ahead and changed the motor.
We had to transfer a number of parts to the new engine and that included the fuel pump which turned out to be faulty and later when we had a chance, we installed his old B18 in a project car and it ran just fine.
FYI, if it does turn out to be the transmission, it most likely won't be rebuildable.
So be prepared to find a good used one or I can offer you a rebuilt 1.
If you go the used option, make sure you get an early M40 that has the speedometer connection in the correct spot. The later M40s have the speedometer connection in a different spot and the speedometer cable will hit the transmission tunnel.
I've got 2 customers with 544s with later M40s and in both cases a previous person's solution was to drill holes in the side of the tunnel and run the cable inside the car and then back out to then be routed into the engine bay and through the firewall in the normal spot.
--
Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502
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