1999 V70 Front end howl

volvoelf · Post by **volvoelf** » 02 Jun 2014, 22:21

Just bought a 1999 V70 FWD 2.4L with 155K. Was in a front driver's side collision in the past judging from the bad paint job on the hood and left fender.

Second day of driving it and I hear an intermittent low growl coming from the front end, presumably the driver's side. I've been in a lot of vehicles with bad wheel bearings, so I assumed it was probably that. But when I took the wheel off, the bearing seems fine - hub is tight, no resistance when I turn it.

However, while turning the hub, I hear a noise coming from the axle towards the center of the vehicle. It sounds, for lack of a better description, like ball bearings falling on one another as the axle spins. Is this normal - could my issue be the axle bearing? This is new territory for me as I hear a lot about carrier bearings, but my car is not AWD. I haven't replaced axles myself, and have only heard the clacking noise when the boot fails, not a growl/howl like a bearing is failing. These axles look fairly new - car was immaculately maintained through the dealer. Any ideas?

Post by **abscate** » 03 Jun 2014, 01:53

The axles will make the click clack of balls hitting each other, a bad wheel bearing will moan and groan. Definitive test is to swerve (safety!!!) left/right at 30 mph to test if noise comes and goes ...that's a bearing noise. If you adjust speed and have enough speed,you can play Dixie. Tune your V70 to A440 no matter what the other threads tell you...

Back OT..you might have both a bad CV axle and a bad bearing..they fail independently. I've got a bad boy on my v70 that I have been driving for about 4 months, light duty

volvoelf · Post by **volvoelf** » 03 Jun 2014, 21:06

I did the swerve test and it doesn't seem to matter whether I'm swerving or not. The noise comes and goes either way. I'll have to get it to some nice new asphalt though. The roads around here are notoriously bad so it is hard to tell what is causing more noise, the road or the car.
As far as the clacking noise in the center, I was turning the hub slowly. I assume when I put a load on it and drive normally the sound will turn into something completely different - possibly the sound I'm hearing, but can't turn the wheel that fast with no load to tell. I don't want to start replacing parts just to find out it is not the problem because most of the parts on this car are better quality than I can buy. No sense in replacing an old quality part for a new substandard if nothing is wrong. I'll post when I have a chance to diagnose more.

Post by **abscate** » 03 Jun 2014, 23:14

The bearing will make noise long before I can tell the difference by feel in my experience. I also have rarely seen CV joints/axles howl....they click and clack

volvoelf · Post by **volvoelf** » 24 Jun 2014, 21:39

Well, the noise definitely turned out to be the bearing. Guess I had to let it get worse...
So, I have taken the wheel and break caliper off. Is it normal for the brake rotor to be fused/rusted to the hub? I haven't tried much more than some power lube to see if I can loosen it up, but it is stuck good.

Is it possible to take the 4 bolts for the hub assembly off and just remove the whole thing? I've got a new hub assembly and was thinking about replacing the front brakes any way. However, all the instructions I've seen lists steps to unbolt the anti-roll bar, steering arm, and ball joint. It doesn't seem like I need to do all that unless I just want to "check" these things. But I could be crazy.

Post by **abscate** » 24 Jun 2014, 22:35

Totally normal in the Northeast. Make sure you have that 10mm rotor holding screw off,

Bash the rotor with a hammer and piece of lumber to knock it off.

Jicafold · Post by **Jicafold** » 25 Jun 2014, 05:39

I don't recall unbolting the roll bar or steering components when I did mine. I did undo the lower ball joint though but I was doing the axle too. By the way, as long as you are in there be sure to check the condition of your cv axles, lower control arm/ball joints, and sway bar end links. That way you can replace everything at once if you need to. I think I have an extra wheel bearing in my garage. I gotta go look.

instarx · Post by **instarx** » 25 Jun 2014, 16:19

volvoelf wrote:Well, the noise definitely turned out to be the bearing. Guess I had to let it get worse...
So, I have taken the wheel and break caliper off. Is it normal for the brake rotor to be fused/rusted to the hub? I haven't tried much more than some power lube to see if I can loosen it up, but it is stuck good.

Is it possible to take the 4 bolts for the hub assembly off and just remove the whole thing? I've got a new hub assembly and was thinking about replacing the front brakes any way. However, all the instructions I've seen lists steps to unbolt the anti-roll bar, steering arm, and ball joint. It doesn't seem like I need to do all that unless I just want to "check" these things. But I could be crazy.

don't forget to unscrew the wheel guide-pin or the brake rotor will never come off.

volvoelf · Post by **volvoelf** » 28 Jun 2014, 00:05

Thanks for all the help. I did remove the guide pin. After a little PB50 Blaster (recommended by a friend), the rotor came right off with part of a 2x4 and a sledge. I literally get home about an hour before it gets dark and I'm garageless with a gravel driveway, so this has been a slow process. Tomorrow I finish the rest. All the rest of the parts look perfect, which is why I didn't want to mess with them, but the top left bolt is nearly impossible to get to even with the best angled tools, so it looks like I'll have to disconnect everything to get the 4 bolts out for the hub assembly. I'm ready to have my car back. Just sold my 1991 Volvo 740, so this is my only mode of transport....no more backup.

Post by **abscate** » 28 Jun 2014, 03:49

My Alldata subscription says you have to unbolt the ball joint and swing the hub out to access the hub bolts. I've never done it, but it's on my radar. I've been driving a bad growler bearing on my 99 for about 5 months now, including 3 300 mile out of town trips