Sourcing Rebuilt Volvo Axles

[jbeebo]

Definitely not machinable. These things are optimized to the n-th degree and machined, hardened and ground to mind-bendingly complex 3D geometry. They fit together like a puzzle. Once you get it apart you'll see what I mean. Even if you could machine the channel to accept larger ball bearings and get it re-hardened and ground to the right geometry, you would restrict the movement of the joint with larger balls.

You could swap out one side of the axle with a rebuild, but if you're going that far might as well rebuild both sides and just swap the whole assy.

If yours are worn, I'd keep them on the car and deal with the noise and vibe until you get a chance to rebuild the other set. That or buy 2 sets, one to swap on right away and the other to rebuild and swap out shortly thereafter. I just exchanged mine again this weekend as I'm refreshing the steering and suspension components, so now I have a spare set again I can rebuild in due time

My original set lasted ~110k miles. Second set used from Erie had 56k (R side) & 82k (L side) miles, and the 82k one lasted another 40k miles before boot failure. The 56k set (now with 106k miles), boots are still intact but passenger side idler bearing was starting to get sloppy. In other words, these axles last about 110k miles in my region - this will give you an idea how far you can push it.

[chrism]

I'm at 180,000 miles on the originals. The boots are still in tact but it's a rough runner. It smooths out somewhat at about 82 mph.

[jbeebo]

I'd say you got your moneys worth out of those axles, and I'm guessing your inclined to drive 82mph these days

FYI - some pictures of the outer joint guts.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=81809&hilit=cv+join ... 10#p444053

[stuartg3]

If I were to look for a set of used OEM axles to rebuild, can anyone tell me how I would go about verifying that they were OEM? Does anyone know which cars had the same axles? (2003 V70).
I had actually rebuilt the originals once before and then when the boots split the next time, I (foolishly) bought a set of reconditioned axles. These recons have not held up that well.....

[oragex]

OEM have the Volvo sticker to them, at the bottom of the sticker you have the manufacturing date. Also notice the GKN brand - this is the boot brand to buy for replacement

GKN drive shafts and boots:
https://www.carid.com/2003-volvo-v70-dr ... %5B%5D=GKN

They also come originally with heavy duty clamps like on this one www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mkWzAaHyJE

The best choice would be an OEM one that was recently completely replaced. Many get just the outer boot replaced - replacement boot is hard plastic

Getting a used axle is a gamble - even with just a slight play to them, they may vibrate on highway

Not 100% sure but I think compatibility wise is all about having the same transmission. There are about 2 automatic transmissions I think, the Aisin 5 speed and the Aisin AWTF-80 SC 6 speeds with man shifting - at least the right drive shaft is longer on the 5 speed.