98 V70 AWD rear driveshaft and sway bar

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 03 Sep 2008, 19:48

Since the springs are not connected to the axles, as long as there is room to manuever the axles out you should be good with keeping them in...as was mentioned, once the wheel, brake, rotor, etc. are out of the way and the axle is just the axle, you should be able to pull and pry it out to check the seals and replace them if necessary. In the meantime, you might try spraying the "wet" looking area down with a good degreaser to see where exactly the leak is and possibly avoid all the trouble.

Post by **holler1** » 06 Sep 2008, 20:33

I'm still trying to figure out what is leaking from the rear driveshaft - grease from the shaft itself or diff fluid from the axle-diff seal. Here is one more picture of the leaking area. This shows an area where grease or oil was thrown onto the frame from the driveshaft. It looks more like grease to me than the clear diff fluid. Also it's lined up with the part of the driveshaft closer to the boot than the diff. The boot is not leaking, but is it possible that the grease from the shaft is leaking through the metal part? I'm not familiar with the inner construction of these shafts, but my guess is there is some kind of outer metal cylinder around the inner shaft. Does this make more sense than a leak of differential fluid? Or maybe both are leaking. Before ordering a $300 axle, I would like to get a better sense of how likely it is that the axle is the problem. The other option is to replace the seal and see what happens. However, there may not be any grease left in the axle to leak. Is there a diagnostic of this? Sorry to be so long-winded.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 06 Sep 2008, 20:50

It sure looks like it's leaking out of that axle...up near the rear differential.

instarx · Post by **instarx** » 07 Sep 2008, 06:22

db130 wrote:Now is the time for the upgrade to the '00 V70R dual exhaust muffler, they are almost the same price!

http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=6539

I suspect V70R dual exhausts would not fit an AWD XC.

db130 · Post by **db130** » 07 Sep 2008, 20:27

I suspect that you are wrong because if you bothered to check out that swedespeed link, you'll see my '00 white XC with the '00 V70R dual exhaust muffler installed on page 6.

http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread ... 566#973566.

Have a nice evening.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 07 Sep 2008, 21:04

Very nice looking XC! Good to know a tid bit about your car- that dual exhausts fit AND work!

Post by **holler1** » 07 Sep 2008, 21:35

The XC looks great with the duals. From the thread I understand it will fit the non-XC AWD, which is what I have. I'm seriously considering the dual exhaust. Or I would if I could find an online vendor for it. I couldn't get the link to the vendor in the thread to work.

db130 · Post by **db130** » 08 Sep 2008, 06:22

myswedishparts.com, a volvo dealer based in texas, lists the dual exhaust muffler for $311.60, plus shipping(you'll have to email them to get a shipping quote as their online system is not capable of giving you an accurate quote for such a large item). i was quoted $75 for shipping from TX to MA. you could also try boston volvo village in MA, their parts guy, john sharisky, can be reached at [email protected].

do you have a volvo dealership nearby? the list price is $389.50 which is pretty much what you'd pay from an online vendor if you tack on the shipping charge. that may be your best bet since that $75 quote for shipping was BEFORE the fuel prices went out of control.

VOLVO PART No: 9470703 MUFFLER, R $389.50
VOLVO PART No: 30681851 END PIPE aka muffler tips $ $58.57(get 2)
VOLVO PART No: 9484490 FRAME, LEFT - should be around ~$10

Post by **holler1** » 11 Sep 2008, 20:12

Since I wasn't sure if the rear axle or the diff is leaking, and new axles are $300, I bought a new axle seal and a used axle from Condon salvagers in MD. Today I tried to remove the old axle. Now I'm 99% sure the axle was the leak since the rubber boot on the inboard end can be easily pushed in and it will stay deformed; the other end boot is full of grease and resists pushing. I pried it out of the diff end with a screwdriver and it popped out easily. After buying a 36 mm socket the outer end came loose. However, there is not enough space to get either the inboard or outboard end completely out of its housing. It's apparently like the front end where part of the suspension has to be loosened so the wheel hub can turn outward or sideways and allow the axle to be pulled out. I'm stuck right now trying to figure out how best to loosen the suspension. I got what I guess is the rear stabilizer arm loose, and tried to loosen the top A arm. I got the nut off but couldn't get the bolt or fitting out. I tried the bottom (trailing arm?) but the bolt in it is very tight.

Any ideas are welcome. I'll try it again tomorrow. Guess I'm the guinea pig on this one. At least the rear axles don't seem to fail often. I'm taking pictures and if I ever get it done I will post them.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 11 Sep 2008, 20:59

Saturate the nut with PB Blaster and let it set overnight. You might have to put a small torch to it and heat it up before it will break loose even with pre-lubing it. Small torches can be bought at places like Harbor Freight for about $5. Good luck and let us know how it's progressing.