02 V70 center diff (angle Gear) ? AWD

chucksrt · Post by **chucksrt** » 31 Aug 2008, 11:22

I found a very nice V70 but it has a bad angle gear. Are these common to fail and are they able to be upgraded to handle the power they were intended for and more?

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 31 Aug 2008, 11:56

Welcome to MVS.
Until '03 (HALDEX SYSTEM) they are a weak link. JRL might correct me if I'm wrong but there really is not upgrade at the moment (some are apparently working on it, including IPD) so what you can do now is replacement with a known good one or a rebuild (which is apparently questionable and expensive- about the same as a good replacement w/out a guarantee that it will last or even work properly to begin with).

chucksrt · Post by **chucksrt** » 31 Aug 2008, 15:22

what is it that fails? Are there clutches or is it a lack of maintenance, or is it just weak casting of hard parts?

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 31 Aug 2008, 21:02

Seems like weak casing (not casting) and hard parts that bang around and mess up the casing (or housing) along with people not knowing that the oil in them should be changed (and it's not on the dealer recommended service). Those who buy a used AWD Volvo from a year prior to '03 are especially vulnerable. Also, early models really had no way to change the oil very easily (had to suck it out with a vac) so people started drilling holes in them and adding a drain plug.

chucksrt · Post by **chucksrt** » 31 Aug 2008, 21:58

so if the fluid has not been changed the bearings may fail? causing the case to crack? or the gear/shaft in the case to be damaged from a bearing overheating causing the shaft to knock around inside the case damaging it? again, just curious if it was a fluid break down that caused the failure then it should last if maintained properly but if bearings or gears/shafts are known to be the failure then the could be duplicated using a stronger material such as 300M steel making them super strong. I just don't like hearing that things just go bad there must be a reason and a fix even if it is just as simple as a regular fluid service to keep them ticking. It would have been nice of volvo to mentoin that the fluid in the case needed regular changing!!!

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 31 Aug 2008, 22:51

I agree with all you say. Regular fluid change with the proper gear oil will go a long way for you. Also, another good preventative is to keep your tire treads even ...throw that donut spare tire away- a huge cause for these AWD systems going bad.

Btw, I just realized you're posting about your '02 in the wrong section. Moving this over there for good measure- you'll get more responses in the right forum section.