Interesting issue with Axle's

fitz548 · Post by **fitz548** » 21 Dec 2024, 16:51

Hello all i hope everyone is doing well with the upcoming holidays,

And so the other day i had my tires rotated and balanced at Discount tire it seems every time i go over there i have to watch them and direct them on how to line up the pin thats screwed into the brake rotor to line up with the wheel before they use an impact on them .

anyways when i was leaving the place i went down the feeder as i always do then made a slow left turn to come back the other way and i head this light clicking sound (i had the drivers side window down)

I thought ok maybe an Axle i had the right front Axle replaced at around 200,000 miles that was back in 2012

the left front Axle is the original Volvo one from the Factory.

my car has 254,000 miles on it.

recently i had done a bunch of work to it this year consisting of

New control arms both sides
New Outer Tie rod ends both sides
New Sachs struts both sides
New sway-bar end-links both sides
Tires are a few years old Falcon Pro G5 Touring All season. 205-65-15
4 New motor mounts out of 6 replaced.
New alternator/Tensionor assembly/idler pulley/serpentine belt
New wheel bearings both sides several years ago

When i lifted the car up this afternoon and put it on jack stands i felt around both dust boots on both Axles and they were both intact they were not torn anywhere and the area underneath was clean both Axles were very tight no play in either one of them at all anywhere.

according so alot of reports if you hear a clicking sound when turning thats a sign of a failed Axle or failing Axle i dont know my car drives straight and no vibrations or anything of the sort so maybe this was a one time thing?

Post by **scot850** » 22 Dec 2024, 09:14

Are you sure it is the axles and not one of the front brake backing plates that is bent and touching a rotor?

It could be the carrier bearing on the RH front axle. Depending on the axle brand used for replacement it may be bad. Does the clicking happen on turning and the straight driving?

Neil.

fitz548 · Post by **fitz548** » 22 Dec 2024, 17:56

Hey thanks for the responce it only happened when i was turning also i had both wheel bearings replaced with the F-A-G units some years ago but i guess they can possibly be bad also

Post by **erikv11** » 22 Dec 2024, 19:28

Does it happen when turning, or that's just when you happened to hear it? Drive slowly next to a long wall with the window down, that's a good way to listen for noises.

If there is an axle problem, then the replaced (right side) one is probably more likely to be bad than the factory one.

fitz548 · Post by **fitz548** » 22 Dec 2024, 19:58

Cool ok thanks yea it only happened when i was making a turn. so the factory ones last forever? i have 254,000 on the factory one.

Post by **erikv11** » 23 Dec 2024, 11:04

Factory ones basically last forever if you re-boot them when needed. On my older (90s) Volvos I either have factory axles or found factory axles from the junkyard to replace the crap aftermarket ones previous owners had put in.

If the noise only happens during turning, I would suspect bearings first not CVs. I would check going straight while next to wall like mentioned. Then if it's only happening when turning you want to find out if it happens on left turns or right turns.

Or maybe it was only once, and isn't even a real problem - only way to tell is to keep checking.

Post by **scot850** » 23 Dec 2024, 22:52

Sorry, I think you missed my point. The axle/wheel bearings at the hub may be good. What I was talking about is the carrier bearing on the RHF axle. They can and do go bad. I have just replaced one on my car.

Good luck!

Neil.

fitz548 · Post by **fitz548** » 25 Dec 2024, 01:09

Ahhh ok thanks for that Neil. yes this actually only happened one time. i have not heard it since i will keep on checking on this issue though. i have been looking online for Axles i noticed Fcp no longer sells any Axles for my 1998 volvo v70xc/i also noticed IPD has some from a company called Pro-tech but i looked them up and have read some reports on them that they are Chinese Garbage..i did contact one other company called Raxles over a week ago and have not heard back from them i gather everyone at that company is off the entire week for the Holidays. from what i am reading they have a lifetime warranty on their Axles.

I appreciate all the information from everyone here regarding this issue thanks again.

Merry Christmas.

Post by **erikv11** » 25 Dec 2024, 10:28

I think Chinese-made junk and factory axles are your only options for P80 axles. Let using if you find something else. Raxles is a great resource, they were the last company to commercially rebuild P80 axles but that ended many years ago.

Post by **scot850** » 25 Dec 2024, 15:12

I thought RAxles got out of the P80 axles but was not sure. They had a good reputation so that is unfortunate.

Neil.