I noticed what appears to be leak at differential front seal. I just had car into shop (volvo certified) for 120K maintenance. This apparently was'nt noticed. What should I expect to pay for repair? Is this something that a non-volvo repair shop could handle?

Also just purchased Haynes repair manual to get idea of other things I should be watching out for. Any routine maintenance anyone knows of that I could be doing to save labor costs would be helpful. At 10 years do I need to keep going to volvo shop?

Car is 1990 model with 120K and has been under maintenance by volvo certified mechanics since purchased new.

mY 90 740T also leaked around 80K, 9 years old or so.

Relatively easy to do yourself....just make sure the driveshaft flange goes onto the pinion flange at the same place....get some paint and mark things.

I just removed the pinion nut, counted number of turns.

Dug old seal out with a pliers and punch (carefull...next time I'll use a punch and a slide hammer with a screw) and tapped new one in with an empty can of peas or soup can....whatever fits just inside the seal. YOu can also just tap it in around the sides. Use some grease on the inside spring to hold it from flying away while all this tapping is going on...if it goes away or drops off you have to start from scratch with a new seal because it's almost impossible to replace the spring without pulling the seal and tough to pull the seal without damage.

If the pinion flange is severely grooved (your fingernail catches on it) it generally has to be replaced although you can 'try' it with the new seal and see how much/whether it leaks. If it leaks, you're not out much more than the time to drop the driveshaft at the rear and reinstall the pinion flange.

Yes, there is a technique involving inch-lb rotating force at the pinion bearing to set preload, but if you're careful you'll get adequate (too much is the problem) preload by just counting revs/flats of the pinion nut when you reinstall the flange.

Seems early to have leak there....a shop should charge about $90 to fix.....but if I had my choice I would do it myself. I had a Volvo independent shop do mine mid winter last year and they screwed up royally...after three atempts the leak finally stopped, but three weeks later my differential self destructed because the front pinion bearings self munched....I suspect the idiot mech. tried to shift the pinion to get to a better wear location..(ie no groove) and screwed up the preload...This should have been an easy job.

Throw away or return the Haynes manual and buy a Bentley or the Volvo books.

Thanks for info. Where do I pick up these other manuals?

VCOA for the Bentley (best price) or order from IPD or any good book seller.

Volvo manuals from Volvo, get the APIC (aftermarket product info catalog) that lists all the books/tech pubs by year...call 1-800-25-Volvo (1800 258-6586) You prob. need Rear Axle 11556/2 for about $13.

"....Seems early to have leak there...."

We've got a 1990 740 with 100,000 miles. It's been leaking slightly since 85 or 90,000, so I've been watching the level. I tend to think that some of these leaky seal problems are more time-related than mile-related.

It's wierd - hardly a speck on the garage floor, but a well coated undercarriage in that area. I guess it's getting about time to crawl under and get greasy. Any special tools or techniques required? I know it's suggested to index the driveline, yokes, etc before disassembly.