S80 Front Wheel Bearing and Driveshaft Replacement 1999 -

[rcannon]

For those of you who have replaced or had someone else replace a front bearing hub, how did you diagnose that the bearing needed replacement?
On my 1999 S80 T6, it has just started to make what I would call a low pitch howling sound. It appears to be slightly louder when I make a long sweeping turn to the right, although it also makes the noise when going straight ahead. The sound almost sounds like tire tred noise but the tires are in good condition so I am sure it is not tire noise. It is not very noticeable but now both my son and my wife seem to hear it also.
Can one just jack up the front of the car and engage the transmission with the engine running and place a stethoscope near the front axle assemblies and hear the difference from one side versus the other?
I see that VADIS says to just measure the lateral run out of the hub and if it is more than 0.020mm then to replace the hub (o.020mm is approx. 0.00078 inch which seems like a very small amount?)
Thks.
Dwight

Excellent description of what I've been trying to diagnose. Wish I'd seen this earlier. Yes the turn to the right making the noise worse is caused by the bad LEFT bearing seeing more load. And no you cannot really jack it up and find it- I could hear it from the L side, but couldn't hear it at the bearing because it seemed to travel inward and sound like the inner CV joint. It certainly does sound like all terrain tires but from the inside of the car, not so much outside.

[stratman3]

I agree it's the left or driver side bearing. Also if the noise is less or goes away when making a left turn, it's another sing that it's the left bearing.

[ctrobk]

A big thanks to this website and in particular this write-up. It has saved me loads of $$$ over the years. Just got done with axles, hubs, rotors and pads for the front of the an '03 V70. This write-up was right on the money. I just wanted to add some of what I encountered during the work.
I had trouble getting the drivers side axle out. I eventually tried another posters advice of using a weight at the end of the axle. This separated the axle for me and left just a small "black cup" sticking out of the transmission. I'm sure the slide hammer would have produced the same results. I wound up using a carpenters "wonder bar" nail puller to finally get it out.

[ctrobk]

I spoke too soon about replacing the axles, brakes and hubs and everything working fine.
A "whistling or whining" sound is now coming from the drivers side axle. I placed the car up on stands, removed the front wheels and placed the car in drive. The first thing I noticed was drivers side brakes seems to be hanging up a bit. The drivers side was not spinning as fast as the passenger side.
So I removed the caliper and placed it back in drive, (now this caused the ABS light to come on).
The sound is coming from near or at the "black cup" near transmission housing.

1. Any ideas what's causing the sound at the axle?

I had the car aligned after the work was done, it is pulling to the left a bit. I assume the pulling is caused by brakes catching. I am not getting excessive heat and there are no marks on the rotors. So the catching seems to be minimal.

2. What's the remedy for this type of brake issue?
3. How do you reset the abs light?

**UPDATE**

The ABS light went off after a few miles of driving. I've determined the sound only appears when everything is warmed up. It's not making the noise on short trips. Sound starts above 5 mph, I can still hear it around 40 mph but after that, wind, tire and engine noise I'm not able to hear it.

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

[lonestar245]

When removing the drivers side drive shaft, it has a ring inside that holds the shaft in place, and requires some force to remove the drive shaft. The factory calls for using "jimmy tools"- which are like long handled screwdrivers with the flat blades bent to 90º. You slide the bits between the shaft and the transmission on two sides and pry the tools till it pops the shaft out.

Someone somewhere suggested attaching a slide hammer to the end of the drive shaft, but that can cause the inner boot to pull off- which is all that hold this joint together- leaving you with just the inner stub of the drive shaft in the transmission, and not much to get hold of. That is exactly what happened to me when I didn't have the factory jimmy tools.

I thought about this for a moment, and realized I had a pry bar on hand like this:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200344794

Even though I could only get hold of one side (just one pry bar on hand), it worked perfectly.

I am fairly well convinced that the whole front end of a Volvo S80 needs to be replaced at one time- as I have done most of the following replacements to my 2002 non-turbo over the last 10k miles or so, much of it needing to be done since I got the car at 99k miles. All parts removed were marked "Volvo" so I assume they were OE:

both struts- one was leaking and had not pressure at all
both strut bearings- mine are still in, but I can tell they are somewhat dry and "loose"- making a bit of noise when rotated
both strut mounts- one had the center worn out to an oblong hole, letting the strut move back and forth
both control arms- rubber bushings were shot all around
both sway bar links- one worn and noisy
both front brake rotors (and pads)- and I think I have a sticking caliper
one front wheel bearing was quite noisy and showed excessive run-out, including brake pulsing
both drive shafts- both developed leaks- passenger had torn inner boot, driver was just leaking between big end and drive shaft

So, that leaves the rubber bump stops on the struts and strut dust shields (obviously worn, but serviceable), both strut bearings, one wheel bearing/hub, and one sway bar link that have not been replaced. As well as the brake calipers.

I used Moog strut mounts and sway bar link- lifetime warranty; Monroe OE Spectrum struts- lifetime warranty; NAPA wheel bearing- 1 year warranty; NAPA rotors and pads- 1 year warranty; O'Rielly Auto drive shafts- lifetime warranty; FCP Groton control arms- lifetime warranty. Price was always a consideration, balanced against warranty and perceived quality of brand name.

[tedo2007]

Any difference in the wheel hub for front wheel drive "front" wheel bearings? my parts store guy said abs and non abs make no difference, do I need to find some that do have abs? or do the ones he has work?

Im assuming I can just get the ones he has without issue, but wanting to make sure, let me know, thanks!

[River McKenzie]

Volvo newbie here with my first post...

Quick question: I'm replacing the driver's side front abs tone ring on my 2007 AWD XC90 (V8). Is the bearing assembly removal write-up mentioned above applicable to my vehicle as well, particularly the torque specs?

I'll also be replacing the rear bearings, any guidance on those including torque specs?

Is it necessary to get three new axle bolts, as I will be removing both rears and the left front in order to do said repairs?

Your help is greatly appreciated!