Bevel Gear? Strange noise at 25-30 mph 2001 XC70

kevplank · Post by **kevplank** » 03 Jan 2019, 14:02

I have a 2001 XC70 with about 290,000 miles on it. I have done almost all of my own maintenance on the car since I purchased it from a one owner about 100K miles. It rides and drives great. The other day I was driving along at about 30 mph as I was accelerating moderately. (I've never been a heavy foot unless I'm driving a rental lol). It sounded like something had engaged and started spinning up. A dry gear sound coming from the front center of the car. When I stop the car is goes away again until I get over 20 or 30 mph. After a little research I thought maybe it was a lack of oil in the bevel gear case. It's had a slow leak in it for a long time. So I put some oil in it and started down the road to see if I was on the right track. It did it again. I checked the level and it was right where it was supposed to be.
Took it to a local mechanic that I trust. He drove it and thought the same thing I did. I've called volvo dealerships and parts guys and they all say the same thing. Bring it in and have a tech look at it. Well that's almost a 100 mile drive and I'm not having it "towed" that far just so they can charge me more than the car is worth just to tell me that it isn't worth fixing or that it's going to cost $4000 to fix (more than I paid for it 5 years ago). So I'm at a cross roads with this. Don't know if it's worth going any further getting into it or if I should just use it for parts on my 2007 XC70. It's such a nice looking car I hate to park it if it still has some life in it. I'd convert it to 2wd if that's all it took and if it was a reasonable option. Any thoughts on this?
The volvo parts guy said it could be some kind of clutch between the transfer case and the transmission?
I'm at a loss on what it is. Would just be nice to solve the mystery before I start shopping for parts.

Thanks for any help!

Post by **abscate** » 06 Jan 2019, 09:39

The conversion to FWD is pretty simple and is documented here, obviously you have to first figure out where the noise is coming from and what the fault is.

No one will do that over the phone, understandably.

Driving a high mileage car like this , budget 15 cents per mile for repairs done by you, 25 cents for paid work.

If you that doesn't fit what the car is worth to you, time to move on.

kevplank · Post by **kevplank** » 06 Jan 2019, 10:10

I did take it to a local mech. I’ve pretty much always done the work myself on this. It’s not an issue of not having the cash. I’m not really looking for budget advice. I can take this to the junk yard and get another one for about $3000. I don’t want to spend $2000 to fix something if I don’t have to.
I am wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem and can offer some suggestions. The mechanic will have it tomorrow and is going to start taking things apart to at least solve the mystery of where it’s coming from. Beyond that I will just have to figure out the value of a repair or mod.
Just an update on the way it’s acting. I was “forced” to drive it for a while yesterday. Sometimes after stopping it doesn’t start the noise until I get up to 50 or more mph after a complete stop. And the noise is certainly not getting any worse. I’m curious now abou the possibility of a chipped gear that is just causing the noise. Going down a hill I can regulate the torque on the drivetrain and the noise goes away. And again, as stated before, the sound doesn’t change with engine rpm or shifting. Only changes with car speed.

Post by **abscate** » 06 Jan 2019, 13:47

If you are driving 40k miles a year, you have done well. I don't think you will find a good replacement P2 that will take that driving cheap.

Give some of the P2 guys the weekend to chime in on your drivetrain issue - I don't know the 2001 that well. The 2001 5 speed transmission had a unique set of issues but that's well behind you!

kevplank · Post by **kevplank** » 06 Jan 2019, 14:14

Thanks!
I’m not Sure how I missed communicated that I was driving 40,000 miles a year. But I will wait to see what other responses are thank you!

kevplank · Post by **kevplank** » 06 Jan 2019, 15:41

OH! I think I failed to mention earlier and it may not have ANY effect on the issue, but the "W" switch isn't working. The light doesn't come on and the "D" doesn't change to a "W" when it's pressed. But I'm pretty sure that's just a computer setting that changes the way the hydraulic system works with regard to clutch slip. ??? correct?