2000 V70 XC FWD from AWD) Big Transmission Leak,

SpooliWagonMan · Post by **SpooliWagonMan** » 14 Aug 2019, 09:38

Hey guys, my SthpOoLiWaGoN (2000 V70 XC AWD now FWD) has a problem: big ol’ huge transmission leak. I caught it right as it happened, so no damage more than likely. I don’t really know much about auto transmissions, and I didn’t get a chance to look under the car before I had to go to work (I work on the road). I was wondering if anybody could give me any ideas on what the problem is. My also car literate friends who were with me, did get a chance to pear under it. They said it looked like it was coming from an area at the top of the tranny closer to the engine than further. What do you think I am in for? Does anybody have any guides?

I'm not parting with this car until it sees catastrophic engine or transmission failure, so I'ma fix it.

Post by **erikv11** » 14 Aug 2019, 10:39

Bottom line you must first to ID where the leak is. From what you mentioned, one place I'd check is the seal where the driver's side axle goes into the transaxle case.

Post by **FlyingVolvo** » 14 Aug 2019, 18:03

Hey there fellow 2000 XC dude. The transmission on your car is pretty bulletproof for the most part. I just had mine replaced at 280K due to a pretty bad internal leak, but I towed with it and did heavy driving for all of its years and it still shifted great, even as it was replaced.

As far as leaks go, you have a few places these can leak in worsening order of "oh crap":

-ATF cooler lines (better): The trans on this car pumps fluid to and from a couple inlet on the driver's side of the radiator. It's kind of rare for the hose itself to fail, but often the connectors can go bad. The o-rings can get funky and the green plastic clips that hold the lines in falls apart and can cause leaks if the hose gets unseated. These are relatively easy to access and replace.

-Axle seals (not as nice): Sort of self-explanatory, but these will usually get ATF spraying around the axle area and should be easier to identify by getting under the car. On your car, the driver's side is relatively easy to get to. On the passenger's side, you likely still have your angle gear attached (I don't, but that's another conversation!). There are two seals between the angle gear unit and the transmission, one that is a seal for the angle gear power transfer spline, and one for the axle connection itself. You can't access or change them without removing the angle gear, which isn't terribly difficult, it's just heavy.

: AngleGear.JPG (122.61 KiB) Viewed 2156 times

Picture credit to cn90, another MVS member.

-Trans input/torque converter seal (bad day ): This is what I had initially, and even after replacing it, I still had an internal leak. This is the seal between the input shaft to the transmission/torque converter and the engine. It's a $20 seal, but to fix this, the transmission is coming out, no way around it. If the car/trans is warmed up and running, and everything is cleaned up, look for fluid coming from a little weep hole between the engine and transmission (pictured below). This leak is more rare, so I hope it's not the case for you.

: swvclk.jpg (25.47 KiB) Viewed 2156 times

I recommend trying to clean down the whole area with rags, brake cleaner, or whatever. Fill up some ATF and see if anything drips with the car off. Turn on the car up on jacks (or safer, ramps) and watch for leaks. Your description makes it sound like it was a big and fast leak, which makes me think it's more just a hose or axle seal. The input shaft seal is in there pretty tight, and even when it did leak for me, I was only filling up ATF about a quart every 1000 miles or so.

Hope this helps a bit to get you in the right direction.

Post by **MoVolvos** » 14 Aug 2019, 18:05

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Check both and upper and lower hose O-Rings. The O-Ring was pinched and sheared from work done by the previous owner. When it finally started to leak (good thing it was the lower) it left a trail as I drove.

SpooliWagonMan · Post by **SpooliWagonMan** » 16 Aug 2019, 15:30

Well guys it wasn't hard to figure out lol. Its the axle seal. I jacked it up and fluid immediately started pouring out of the diff. Went to Autozone and the new one should be here tomorrow. Idk if I got the right one even. Does anybody know the part numbers I need?

Post by **FlyingVolvo** » 16 Aug 2019, 16:31

On the driver's side?

I wouldn't mess with aftermarket. Pay once and do it right with an OEM seal.

Post by **erikv11** » 16 Aug 2019, 22:48

What Ed said. Don't waste your time with anything but either Volvo or Corteco. The Volvo seal is made by Corteco.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... -6843112-1
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... al-6843112

SpooliWagonMan · Post by **SpooliWagonMan** » 17 Aug 2019, 13:51

The passenger side is what I am dealing with and I need to get this done by tomorrow night, so what ever Autozone has is what I get. Another thing, the angle gear on my car has been removed. I'll post a pic of what I'm dealing with here in a second.

SpooliWagonMan · Post by **SpooliWagonMan** » 17 Aug 2019, 14:19

Update: Not a bad seal

Since the car does not have an angle gear, it gave the sleeve a means to fall out, and it did. That was the only problem lmao! I just drove her home with a mallet and now I'm gonna put the car back together. The only reason I didn't immediately know that was the problem, was when I looked at it, this isn't a 90's Honda or Saturn (the cars I know in and out). Without that pic ecbsykes (how do tag on here?) posted I would not have figured it out. For now I'm just gonna put it back together, and keep an eye on her. Now that I do have a little time I think I'll order good seals and use high heat thread lock or adhesive to bond that sleeve on to the splines (unless someone has a better idea).

I really don't care about this car too much and my dad has been offering to buy me a new daily since I graduated school. That said I do like this car and I just want to see how far I can get it to go before the engine or transmission goes completely. So I really only care about making it not leak.

Thanks all, this forum has helped me more than any other in my automotive journey.

Post by **FlyingVolvo** » 17 Aug 2019, 15:42

So I've had my angle gear out for years. I'll tell you that no adhesive or anything will keep that spline in where it should be. The most effective method is using two larger hose clamps wound into eachother, clamped around the axle. Push it up against the angle gear sleeve to hold it in place and tighten the clamps. Had worked well for me for years. I can grab a pic tomorrow if you're interested in this setup.