98 V70 CV Joint Boot - Options

[98v70dad]

Them all have the Volvo stickers with a man date, but then again, how to make sure it wasn't already 'refurbished' by some obscure shop
There are also quite some variations depending on manual/auto transm., turbo/non turbo.. splines number vary, shaft length varies +/- half inch. Worth checking well it's the same as in the car.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do long term. Nobody had a quality remanufactured part to recommend and its not worth doing with a junky part since mine hasn't started to click and clunk yet.

I can get FEQ and DSS locally. I've read bad things about both of them either here or on the web.

For the short term I'm just replacing the boot since apparently all aftermarket CV shafts are of questionable quality. We used to have a local place that I heard GOOD things about that did a rebuild but they are gone and I can find no trace of them. People (the masses) want cheap and cheap doesn't usually go with quality. Available cheap junk unfortunately kills off the quality producers.

[sleddriver]

So, now I'm leaning heavily toward just replacing the CV drive axle assembly. I found a parts store near me that carries parts from worldpac. They were recommended by someone who does Volvo maintenance and repair for a living AND puts them on his own car. $70 for a complete rebuilt CV drive axle assembly. $50.00 for the boot kit alone at the dealer. The parts guy at the dealer endorsed this place as having excellent quality parts.

So what do you guys think about a worldpac part? I'd gladly do the 20 dollar difference just to save the effort and risk of putting a new boot on an axle with an unknown level of damage due to contaminated grease from the split in the boot.

I think both of my front axles are from Worldpac. I noted tears in both outer OEM axle boots on May 2005 at 110,543mi., but didn't record when the axles were replaced! Odd that. I do believe they were done soon after however.

Point is indy wound up replacing factory axles instead of simply replacing the outer boots because it saved me money. At the time, I thought it damn odd to do so, but there you have it. Those axles are still being used now at ~ 213,000mi. Inner boots have never torn, however I have driven with torn outers far longer than I'd care to admit. When I finally pulled them last year to replace the outer boots myself, I found no bearing/race galling, sand inside or obvious damage. No clicking, cracking, noise noticed either when driving or turning. I looked for an ID mark or stamp when I had them out but no joy.

A few things I have noticed about these axles through are: (1). I could not swivel the outer joint far enough to remove the balls, even when forced. Just wasn't going to happen as I'd seen in videos. (2). No way the inner tri-pods would pull out of their cup either as the the ends of the cups were peened over. This meant I could just yank the axle out of the transmission without worrying about the joint comming apart. Not sure if all axles are like this though. (3). Since I couldn't remove the inner joint & the _____ bearing was in the way on the pass. side, the inner boot wasn't replaced. On the driver side, I just slipped the new inner boot on from the outer end with the outer joint removed. Therefore all CV boots were replaced except for the pass. inner boot.

I had a very, very difficult time getting the inner circlip free while trying to remove the outer joint on the pass. side. I wound up using a pneumatic hammer. It was on very, very tight but eventually yielded. Also very tight when reinstalling. I wrote up my experience here.

Unfortunately, the pass. outer boot already has a tear in it! Fortunately, it's small & near the axle end. I've already received a GKN/Lobro outer boot ($12 from AutohausAZ) to replace it with. This time I'll be better prepared.

[98v70dad]

I'm flip flopping quite a bit on this problem. I'm back to thinking I'd just rather replace the cv axle if I can find a decent part. Replacing the boot is just more trouble than I want to go to since my current axle is an aftermarket part.

Does anyone have any experience with the re-manufactured axle sold by FCP Euro? It has 6 positive reviews there and costs about $79 -currently on sale for $70. The brand is Empire but you have to read the description to determine that.

[sleddriver]

Since it's on the drivers side, it'll be less of a hassle. But it's still a messy job. I put a big sheet of cardboard on top of my bench + have lots of old newspaper on hand.

No experience with FCP axles.

[98v70dad]

I went ahead and put in a rebuilt axle from Axles Unlimited. I also replaced the old seal with a blue box Volvo part. I was pretty careful to put the seal in correctly so that it isn't crooked. I've done the cam seals so I know how to do it. It ended up further in than I would have liked 1/8" or so but its even all around.

So, I buttoned everything back up. topped off the ATF fluid to full on the dipstick using the hot side even though the car hadn't been driven quite far enough to be "HOT". I figured I'd need to add some more the next day. The next day I checked the level after driving a full hour and it was half way between the full and low lines so I stopped at an auto parts store and filled it in the parking lot the full line again.

On day one right after the repair/ATF fill and driving 10 miles there was no ATF on my driveway ... not a drop. Same story on day two. No ATF on the driveway. However, after topping up the second time on the third day it looks like a cup has spilled on the driveway (this morning) which is odd. When I got to work this morning I checked the level and its still right on the full mark - perfect - just like last night.

Both times I filled I used the proper procedure of running it through the gears and having the engine running. I ended up adding about 1/2 quart to top up which seemed like a lot to me at the time.

I'm wondering what's going on. Maybe I spilled some of that 1/2 quart when filling (at the auto parts store) and the air dam caught it and it dripped on to the driveway after I parked the car at home. If there's an overflow vent - maybe I overfilled and it came out of the vent. That said, I would guess that any overflow will be a bit above the filled mark. The fact that after driving 40 miles to work this morning I still have a full trans case would lead me to believe I don't have a leaking seal. But maybe I'm being optimistic???

Your thoughts would be appreciated ??????????????

[98v70dad]

Evening update. I've checked my transmission fluid level this morning at noon and when I got home. Probably about 100 miles driven. Still full. No drips or puddle under my car at any of the 3 checks. Fluid spill in the driveway from yesterday (a pretty big puddle 2 ft x 8 inches) is pristine clean fluid. I'm going to keep my eye on it but I'm thinking that I must have spilled some that later dripped off onto the driveway. Maybe wishful thinking. I guess time will tell.

[98v70dad]

Evening update. I've checked my transmission fluid level this morning at noon and when I got home. Probably about 100 miles driven. Still full. No drips or puddle under my car at any of the 3 checks. Fluid spill in the driveway from yesterday (a pretty big puddle 2 ft x 8 inches) is pristine clean fluid. I'm going to keep my eye on it but I'm thinking that I must have spilled some that later dripped off onto the driveway. Maybe wishful thinking. I guess time will tell.

Today I confirmed that the seal is definitely leaking. I've had worse news but I'm definitely not happy about it. I like working on cars but this one is dominating my weekends and I don't like doing things that take hours twice. I have no one to blame but myself for a sloppy installation of the seal. I thought it was OK after I put it in but my leak verifies that it wasn't. So, this weekend I have to take it all out and try again. I think I'll use a piece of 2x4 this time to tap it in instead of the 1.5 inch PVC pipe which is too small and allows you to push the seal well beyond flush (which is what I did).

[scot850]

I managed to fit the axle seal in back to front in error. Again car didn't like it so had to do a do-over. Nothing worse! I try to take pictures of anything I'm working on as if there is a 50/50 chance of getting it wrong........!

I feel the pain!

Neil.

[98v70dad]

I managed to fit the axle seal in back to front in error. Again car didn't like it so had to do a do-over. Nothing worse! I try to take pictures of anything I'm working on as if there is a 50/50 chance of getting it wrong........!

I feel the pain!

Neil.

The seal goes in so that the steel ring is visible, correct? That's how mine was when I took it apart. Steel ring on the wheel side.

[erikv11]

That sounds right. The garter spring goes inside the transaxle, the spring will not be visible after installation.