1999 v70 AWD - Strange groaning from front passenger footwell Topic is solved

missingpdx · Post by **missingpdx** » 02 Apr 2021, 16:35

1999 V70R AWD Auto. 235,000 on car, 85,000 on bevel gear.
Bette has started groaning from under the front passenger footwell. The frequency of whine is related to, but not consistent with, road speed. It is not tied to engine speed, selected gear, or 'W' mode engagement. No obvious leaks under the front end. It never appears at startup but will randomly appear after 5-10 minutes, then randomly after that. It will be silent for an hour on the freeway then appear again for 1 minute or until parked. The video below starts with me coasting from 25mph to a stop, then taking off again. Recent front end work that has no effect includes:

Front struts and seats
Control arms, inner, and outer tie rod ends
Transmission fluid change (drain & fill procedure). I had sent a sample to Blackstone after only 8,000 miles since last change. Insolubles were high at 0.2%, so I did a fluid change
Bevel gear fluid change
Removed brake dust shield and confirmed nothing on brake system is rubbing

I cannot figure this one out. Does anyone have ideas before I throw an axle and wheel bearing at it? Does the whine/groan sound like an impending bevel gear failure?

Post by **scot850** » 02 Apr 2021, 17:34

It definitely sounds like a bearing. Wheel bearing will normally vary in sound as you turn left or right as the bearing gets loaded more.
If this makes no difference it may not be the wheel bearing.

On the RHS axle there is an intermediate bearing on the axle. These do fail. Volvo no longer lists the bearing as a separate part for 99-00 years if I recall, but strangely they list it for the older 98 and earlier. It is the same part but not cheap. Hardest part is removing ti and re-fitting as you either have to try to crack the bearing using a clod chisel to remove it or find some narrow steel or puller that can get behind it to pull it off. Re-installing needs a long length of metal pipe long enough to go over the shaft to knock it back on square.

If it is neither of those then check the following:

1) angle gear bearings. You may be able to jack the front up and feel for a bad bearing when rotating one wheel.
2) Check the front and middle prop-shaft bearings for wear. They are obvious when that happens but usually you will get vibration if those start to go.

Good Luck!

Neil.

missingpdx · Post by **missingpdx** » 02 Apr 2021, 19:50

Neil,
Thanks for the ideas. Turning right or left makes no difference to the noise. After reading about the carrier bearing, it sounds like that may be the culprit. I'll pull the axle and see how it feels, maybe try to squirt some grease and see if that helps the noise. At least then I can try to source that bearing instead of replacing the whole axle.

Post by **abscate** » 03 Apr 2021, 05:27

It sounds more like carrier bearing but you can check that.

Raise three wheels and leave front right on the ground, start and listen for lack of noise

Bring Bette to Delmar if you need more Jack stands, did you get your bikes?

On edit....we can zip,that bearing off with a cut off wheel and angle grinder and maybe 1-2 discs. Lots of fun

missingpdx · Post by **missingpdx** » 03 Apr 2021, 10:26

Pulled the axle this morning. Carrier bearing sounds like it has sand for lubricant when spun by hand. No wonder it was groaning like a possessed demon. The bearing measures 75x44x19. It's a Volvo axle in good shape, so I'm happy to grind/chisel the bearing off or pay a shop to replace just the bearing.

@abscate- We did find a bike for both of us after the Taconic meetup. Do you have a recommendation on a local driveline shop that does real work instead of just throwing rebuilt parts on?

Post by **scot850** » 03 Apr 2021, 11:21

It is weird that bearing goes. I have had 3 axles where that bearing has got noisy on my now. Managed to find a bearing in Turkey from a Ford Transit van courtesy of abscate. Think I paid $10 US including shipping for it!

Volvo bearing was nearer $140 CDN last I looked. It is most likely an SKF part. The Ford item had a slight chamfer on the outer race but it is not an issue as the carrier bearing cover support negates it being an issue.

Good Luck!

Neil.

Post by **abscate** » 03 Apr 2021, 12:14

I’ve got both the grinder and a 20 ton press at Grandma Abscates Volvo Garage at your disposal.

Napa had a decent machine shop in Latham but COVID closed it. I think Saratoga is the only one left

missingpdx · Post by **missingpdx** » 03 Apr 2021, 13:30

Marking this answered. The dust shield has a hole, so I flushed it out and packed in fresh axle grease by hand. A silent test drive confirmed the carrier bearing is definitely the source of noise. I'll reply once more if I find a bearing source for future reference.

One a side note, this is on the original LOBRO axle with a date code of 11.03.99. It is nice to have a P80 that was in California until 2015 and not completely rusted out by New England winters (yet).

Post by **abscate** » 03 Apr 2021, 13:38

Does anyone have a link to -art number for the carrier bearing ? Need to add to thread title

8601575 8601588

Post by **scot850** » 04 Apr 2021, 14:36

This is a thread abscate started a few years ago on the bearing.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=80884&hilit=Axle+bearing&start=10

This gives the bearing sizes. Unfortunately the Turkish listing for the bearing is now no longer in use. It does give the bearing dimensions and I can confirm the bearing works.

Neil.