2001 V70 2.4T Road Trip Begins!

[jonesg]

Brings back memories from 1990 at badlands.

[jonesg]

Brings back memories from 1990 at badlands.

[prwood]

Update from the road trip:

Updates on The TARDIS:

Starting odometer: 216,610
Current odometer: 222,323
Miles driven: 5,713

Current issues:
- Motor oil leak, likely from front cam seals. Monitoring and topping up oil level.
- Extreme vibration in front end while accelerating, plus metal-on-metal rubbing sound from front end while accelerating.
- Used Haynes manual fault-finding checklist to narrow down to inner CV joint:
1. Tires are new and wheels are properly balanced;
2. Tire pressure is equalized;
3.Steering is fine, no play or wobble in steering wheel;
4. Vibration occurs regardless of tire pressure and only when accelerating;
5. No clicking/thunking sound when turning in circles on full steering lock, which would indicate *outer* CV joint issues.
- Checked inner CV joints and the right inner joint is torn wide open. Doesn't appear to be any grease left. Shaft between outer joint and inner joint has lots of play. Right outer boot and left inner and outer boots are all intact and look great.
- Decided to pause our trip for a few days while we take the car in for service. Currently waiting in queue at Sullivan's Tire Pros in Oakhurst, CA for a diagnostic and estimate. ( http://sullivanstirepros.net/ ) I've been "camping out" here all morning with my laptop on their wifi, waiting for my appointment, so I've got time to write this post... Hoping that a new CV axle will do the trick and that there hasn't been any collateral damage from driving with the joint in this condition. The CV axle replacement looks pretty straightforward... if I were at home I'd do it myself, but I'm simply not equipped on this trip. It would be awesome if they were able to just clean, repack, and reboot the joint, but I suspect it's too worn and cruddy at this point and that replacing the whole axle would be about the same amount of labor.

- I have a "grand unified theory" that the oil leak, the CV boot splitting, and the earlier front tire wear issue and tire pressure are related. I think the cam seals may be leaking oil directly down on to the CV boot and driveshaft (I believe the cams are directly above the inner CV joint), that the oil has been eating away at the CV boot, and that the CV boot losing grease and getting crud is causing extra wear on the joint which is transmitting extra motion into the drivetrain... then, the underinflated tires were absorbing the force from the excessive joint movement and wearing out prematurely. I replaced the tires and had the wheels balanced, and then inflated them back to full pressure. With less give from the full inflation, the tires absorbed less of the force and so more of it is focused back on the joint, exacerbating the issue. Of course we all know that I know nothing about tires, so this last part is probably hogwash, but I feel pretty good about the theory on the whole. Any thoughts?


On the upside, the sights have been amazing. We just finished two nights and a day at Yosemite which was spectacular.

I updated the Volvo gallery with a few additional noteworthy shots from the trip:

http://gallery.prwdot.org/Cars/WoodTrek ... vo-Photos/

[abscate]

If you end up with a new axle or joint try to keep your old one. These aren't getting easier to find and the replacements suck

[Georgeandkira]

Hello Cross Country Traveller...I've done variations of your trip twice (and a half times). I love every fistful of dirt of this great land of ours.
The characters and circumstances which contribute to soiling it (literally and figuratively) are what needs to be overcome.

How did the family enjoy the stint at Sullivan's Tire Pros? Seriously, car tinkering whilst on the road has an oddly attractive flavor.
I bought and installed a rear track bar for my 1985 Chrysler LeBaron in Spokane, WA and it felt good.
You can underscore some of your "head of the household" status by engaging in some road-side maintenance....or precipitate a fierce brawl!

Assessment of the "grand unified theory": Flawed. You're not formulating a breakthrough multicharacteristic thermoplastic.....you're driving a 17MY old, high mileage car with aged rubber parts.
And we wonder why mechanics act gruff when we speak to them.

Definitely swing through Flagstaff,AZ and take a peek at The Grand Canyon. The North Rim will be closed by the time you get there so the South Rim will have to do. In Gallup, NM is The Rancho Hotel. It's an old hotel built by the movie industry back when they'd shot tons of westerns there. It was one of the best hotel stays I've ever had in my life.

On your home stretch, if you're coming up I-89 in Virginia, peel off in Marion and get on the Lee Highway aka Rt.11 (parallel road within eyesight of the Interstate) and go to Dip Dogs. It's THE WAY to have a corn dog.

[prwood]

Sullivan's replaced the right cv axle, for a reasonable price, and now the car drives as smooth as glass. Better than when we left on the road trip, in fact. No vibration at all when accelerating. They think the culprit was the top engine mount allowing too much movement to transmit from the engine to the axle. I wouldn't be surprised at all - I think I've posted a video here of how much play that thing had in it. For the time being, I have used a fair quantity of zip ties to shim the mount into a more solid position. This setup held up on the drive from Yosemite to Las Vegas, so I think it will be fine for the rest of the strip. I plan to replace the mount with one of good quality when we get home. I also found a tip on FCP's site that said when reinstalling this engine mount, the engine won't be in the proper position to re-tighten the mount's pinch nut and bolt unless the transmission is in drive. I have removed and reinstalled the mount several times previously, but never saw that tip. After we got the car back, I had my wife put the brakes on and put the car in drive while I re-tightened the mount (of course I trust her with my life). Not sure if it was this engine mount re-positioning change, or just the new cv axle, but we also no longer get a "thunk" when shifting into drive or reverse, and no more "thunk" when first accelerating from a stop. I could see good arguments for either one, considering how loose both the engine mount and cv joint were, previously.

On our most recent highway stretch we hit a record fuel economy of 30.5 mpg!

We're in Las Vegas now. This week we'll be heading to Zion, Bryce, Arches, and the Grand Canyon North Rim (it's open until October 15). Next week we'll be making quick stops in NM, TX, LA, TN and VA as we work our way homeward.

[abscate]

Zip ties for the engine mount.

Neil, we have a brother in arms.....

We need a picture of this please... well done !!

[Rattnalle]

Agreed, picture is needed.

Check the torque rod connecting the transmission to the car as well if the upper mount is worn. My torque rod was completely missing its rubber bushings when the upper was worn.

[prwood]

And it's finished!

Wife and kids arrived home safely last night in The TARDIS.

Total miles driven: 12,021 miles in 6 weeks.

States driven in: Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut

NPS-administered sites visited: Home of Franklin Roosevelt NHS (NY), Vanderbilt Mansion NHS (NY), Eleanor Roosevelt NHS (NY), Paterson Great Falls NHS (NJ), Pictured Rocks NL (MI), Minuteman Missile NHS (SD), Badlands NP (SD), Mount Rushmore NM (SD), Devils Tower NM (WY), Yellowstone National Park (WY), Lewis and Clark NHP (OR), Crater Lake NP (OR), Yosemite NP (CA), Lake Mead NRA (NV), Zion NP (UT), Grand Canyon NP (AZ), Bryce Canyon NP (UT), Grand Staircase-Escalante NM (UT), Capitol Reef NP (UT), Arches NP (UT), Mesa Verde NP (CO), Bandelier NM (NM), Manhattan Project NHP Los Alamos Site (NM), Petroglyph NM (NM), Guadalupe Mountains NP (TX), Carlsbad Caverns NP (NM), San Antonio Missions NHS (TX), Waco Mammoth NM (TX), Poverty Point NM (LA).

More stats to come.

[abscate]