Bad axles...

Post by **FlyingVolvo** » 31 May 2010, 15:41

So I've been troubleshooting my shaking/shuddering while accelerating. Someone on Sweedespeed told me to jack up the car and check for play while rotating the tires.

I was in Park and able to rotate the tires... and there was a lot of play when going back and forth. With the car on the ground, I grabbed the driver's side axle and was able to shake it around quite a bit. The passenger's had a decent amount of play too, but not as bad.

So, I think it's time for new axles, right? Is there anything else in that area that should be done too while we're there? If I buy a whole "axle" does that include CV joints and stuff? Sorry, I'm not as familiar with this part of the drive train.

I know a lot of you will say to go Genuine OEM, and if so, where is the cheapest I can get them for a 2000 V70XC? I can't seem to find Genuine Volvo ones on any of the usual sites. And if there is an aftermarket brand that is reliable, what would it be?

Made a junky video if it helps. I wasn't sure if the wheels were supposed to be able to move...

Post by **jblackburn** » 31 May 2010, 17:02

Alright, the play back and forth in park is normal, if you are just spinning it forwards and backwards. I can't quite tell from the video. That's where the park cog in the transmission itself has a little bit of play in between cogs in the gear. But the spinning...wtf? It shouldn't do THAT.

Side to side and up and down you shouldn't have any play, though. If you're getting play left to right, THAT is the axles.

No need to go OEM; Lee and I have both used Raxles (I've got one on my left; he's got them on a few cars I think), and I can vouch for them for at least 50K miles now. Give them a call on Tuesday for some prices, I'm pretty sure they'll make em for your XC too. Rebuilt axles include new CV joints and boots, so you don't have to deal with them.

While you're in there, you might want to look over your control arms and ball joints. If I remember correctly, the XC's have 4 ball joints whereas the rest of them only have 2. But check out your bushings on these:

Post by **FlyingVolvo** » 31 May 2010, 17:28

There is no play in the wheel trying to pull it in any direction. That's all controlled by the tie rods correct? And I've replaced all those.

There is play in the axle itself though. I made another video showing what I mean (sorry for the crap quality).

I can make a video of anything you want to try and better diagnose what's going on. I can borrow my sister's camera for better quality too if necessary.

Post by **igel513** » 31 May 2010, 19:14

I replaced the axle on my 98 s70 w/ a remanufactured one from Napa autoparts. It was $59.99 + tax. Auto zone would also have them. I've run over 20k miles on them and so far so good. AZ may have those made in china w/ lifetime warranty.

Post by **FlyingVolvo** » 31 May 2010, 20:04

Yea, I'm not keen on getting any Autozone parts. I've heard both very good and very bad from Napa, so I'll see what Raxles wants to charge first.

But to be sure first, from that second video... definitely time to replace axles?

Post by **jblackburn** » 31 May 2010, 20:07

It's controlled by everything! Tie rods control 3 and 9 movement; other things can be a factor as well.

You said you get no play in any direction, so I think the rest of your suspension is pretty solid.

In this case, though, I think your inner CV joints may be to blame. Again, some noise when the car is in park is normal, the gears don't meet exactly inside. I can't explain why you can spin the wheel in park though...unless park doesn't work with your rear driveshaft removed? I wouldn't think that would make a difference. That should only happen in Neutral.

Post by **FlyingVolvo** » 31 May 2010, 20:18

The car does not roll in Park though. I think I forgot to mention that in Park when I spin one wheel, the other one spins, but in the opposite direction. I remember that as being something strange, but now that I'm trying to think about it, my mind is confusing me over what I saw.

I'm just trying to find a "beyond a shadow of a doubt" sort of conclusion that if I replace my axles I'll get rid of this shuddering/shaking while accelerating. I really don't think it's the motor mounts, because the engine is quite smooth and revving in neutral is very smooth.

The shaking that I did in the second video certainly can't be normal though right? Wheels were on the ground there.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 31 May 2010, 20:21

The side to side slop in your first video may just be the steering wheel moving between its slot on the locking pin Try the same test with only one wheel jacked up. If you still have side to side slop look closely at your ball joint and the ties rod ends to see what is moving.

In the second video the clack in the CV is troubling but the boot looked OK. They (the CV joints) normally don't clack like that unless the boot has split and all of the grease has been lost. The clack sounded very "dry".

...Lee

Post by **FlyingVolvo** » 31 May 2010, 20:32

What's weird though is that I have no audible sort of sound emanating from the car. No clicks or clacks going around corners or while the shaking is happening. All the boots are fine so far that I've inspected. I'll check out the play in the wheel with the other on the ground.

Post by **jblackburn** » 31 May 2010, 20:38

You've got 2 sets of CV joints on your axles - one where it connects to the transmission, as Lee said that one sounds weird. The outer ones, where it turns back and forth, are USUALLY the ones that go bad first, and they will make a clacking under tight turns.