V70 XC, 1998 - loud pinging under console - viscous coupler?

Post by **holler1** » 18 Jan 2010, 19:28

Might be worth a call to D Waltrip Volvo for the VC. They have good prices for OEM parts. Their price for a new Volvo radiator was about 25% lower than some other prices I saw.

I noticed the part number listed by Erie Vovo for their "viscous clutch" doesn't match the part nos listed above for the VC.

By the way, I removed my driveshaft today. I had a metallic ping that went away when I took the driveshaft out. I think the problem is the front CV joint on the driveshaft- the same one that I replaced about 4 years ago. So I'm interested in how your rebuilt driveshaft from Colorado performs.

jeffinPA · Post by **jeffinPA** » 18 Jan 2010, 19:36

[quote="bobice"]Is the Viscous Coupling $375?

Bobice the swedishparts site was $1250 and tasca was $1063 plus $100 for ups ground.

Holler and others I will let you know how we make out and will check out D waltrip volvo? From reading all these posts I also think it will be smart to pull both VC and shaft out and run it to make sure nothing else is wrong while I wait until I can afford the new VC and for ups ground to deliver (can order saturday, might get the parts by next Friday).
Thanks fellas!

Post by **holler1** » 19 Jan 2010, 07:44

JeffinPA,
I'm wondering if you really need the VC. Based on your car's symptoms, it sounds to me like your driveshaft CV joint was probably causing your noise. I would suggest replacing the driveshaft alone to see if that fixes it. If it doesn't, you can always replace the VC later.

jeffinPA · Post by **jeffinPA** » 19 Jan 2010, 09:48

My mechanic does not want to pull the VC /drive shaft for fear of doing more damage. Do you guys have anything semi official I could show him to convince him otherwise?

Thanks

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 19 Jan 2010, 17:00

jeffinPA wrote:My mechanic does not want to pull the VC /drive shaft for fear of doing more damage. Do you guys have anything semi official I could show him to convince him otherwise?

Thanks

Sure...How about the business card of a mechanic who knows how your car works!
Seriously, if he thinks that removing the rear drive shaft may cause a problem,
he just doesn't understand how your AWD is designed. I'd be mildly concerned...

jeffinPA · Post by **jeffinPA** » 19 Jan 2010, 18:13

BEJ,
thanks but unfortunately I'm no expert either. And when I asked a service guy at the dealer he was worse he said the rear axle might not move at all!
Based on your comments and the complete inavailability of a VC in the US right now (they are on back order everywhere mentioned above) I'm also questioning his diagnosis of VC now. My symptoms were: loud metallic panging sounded like right below my shifter, and pulsing pressure vibration when driving - both when moving forward no more frequent when turning slowing down or speeding up.

Should I have him put in the new shaft and go from there?

Thanks again.

Post by **holler1** » 19 Jan 2010, 18:34

I have nothing "official" regarding driveshaft removal. However, I took some pictures after removing mine, and it is clear from those that both the bevel gear and VC are sealed at the ends. Take a look at http://picasaweb.google.com/wvholler1/V ... 8216294818
and the following picture. There are some other pics there that show what the driveshaft and VC look like.

If you search the volvoxc.com forum, you will finds threads from people who have done it (removed the driveshaft) and had no problems. Apparently it does not cause problems or set any codes. I've been driving mine as FWD for a couple of days and have not seen any problems.

I haven't seen very much if anything on removing and leaving out the VC, although I have seen some threads that indicate it's a harder job than the driveshaft. Personally, I would not do it unless I was pretty sure it was the source of a problem. Also, there may be something that has to be sealed if the VC is removed.

Edit - just saw your latest message re "pressure pulses". Hmmh. Just thinking out loud, but how about this. Have the mech take out the driveshaft, drive it, and see if the noise goes away. If not, there has to be another problem- try to figure out where the noise is coming from. If it does, put in the new driveshaft and see if it is still "good". I'm betting that the "ping" will go away at least. Take this for what it's worth- five minutes thought.

jeffinPA · Post by **jeffinPA** » 16 Feb 2010, 22:46

This has had a happy ending so far / sorry for taking so long to update. We ended up receiving the VC from darrell waltrip volvo, our mechanic installed it and the drive shaft from colorado drive shaft (both were great to deal with and reasonable in price - (the VC was $1165 because I mentioned this site; my local dealer wanted 1475). Then I got new rear tires after getting new ones in front a few weeks before - and it is driving awesome I drive 80 miles/day to work and back over an 800 ft pass and hope it gives me another 100k.
Now I just have:
- this minor bounce/wobble it feels like a wheel (generic steel 16" -wheels) off center- I had it before the new tires too.
- and my a/c/heat fan runs intermittent - when its off if I hit or press hard near the fan knob it comes back on so I think its a loose connection somewhere in the dash.

Thanks y'all for the input I feel a lot better about my ride now and want to get the full service manual to diy with advice from some work buddies who work on volvos also- wheres a good place to get that?
PEACE!