2000 V70R - Now it begins -Rear AWD sub-frame replacement

[Big Will]

Absolutely amazing work. This thread is going to come in very handy for me in the future.

[scot850]

Thanks Will! Appreciate the support.

Once (if/when) I complete this, I still hope to make time to do a more full write up. This 'blog' is more to help remind me later of the important issues that come up along the way.

Today was a momentous day! I have given up on ever getting any reply from Volvo Canada on the rear upper control arm set up process, so today, I decided to install the completed fuel/emissions system, the fuel tank and sub-frame back up under the car. With the help of 4 floor axle supports, 2 floor jacks and a bottle jack, the frame and tank are finally back up under the car. I have not tightened it all up yet, as (as usual) the information I got from Volvo on how to position the sub-frame correctly is poorly written. It tells you to measure the distance 'BETWEEN' the rearmost frame rail 16mm dia. hole (hole nearest the bumper mounts) and the 'lug' hole on the LH side of the sub-frame beside the LH rear sub-frame mounting bolt. It says the distance 'between' the holes should be 595mm +/- 2mm. When I measure the distance between the holes I get 580mm. As the sub-frame hole is supposedly 16.5mm dia. and the frame hole is 16mm dia. , if you add half of each hole diameter (the radii) to the 580mm I measure you get 580mm + 8mm + 8.25mm = 596.25mm. So I am assuming Volvo means to measure the distance between the hole "CENTERS" and not BETWEEN the holes. As the sub-frame bolt holes are not big enough to give 16mm of movement I believe I have this figured out. I have e-mailed the dealer foreman to clarify.

The trickiest part of this re-installation process was being able to raise the sub-frame and tank together as it is front heavy. Also you need to watch out for:

1) making sure the brake hoses under each side of the car are not trapped.
2) making sure the pipe running between the fuel pump and the ejector 'pump' on the LH side at the front of the tank does not catch on anything. I found that the mounting brackets under the car for the fuel tank straps foul on the pipe, particularly on the LH side at the ejector.
3) Feed the wires for the fuel pumps, ABS sensors, the roll-over valve and pressure vale, and most importantly the ground wire from the filler pipe neck through before jacking the sub-frame all the way up. Still to figure out how all these fit back into the rubber collar that comes through the side of the cover plate!
4) As I had fitted new foam strips to the rear of the tank straps, I needed to use one of the floor jacks and a piece of wood to force the strap flat to the bottom of the tank, and then use the bottle jack to push the front of the strap up high enough to get the strap bolts back in.

Once I have confirmation on the sub-frame positioning, and have it bolted up tight, I will re-fit the fuel tank filler neck back into the hole in the side of the car. It is loosely connected, so I have to feed the rubber neck through the side of the car behind the fuel tank filler flap and secure with the steel spring collar. I can then re-check all is tight in the fuel system and re-attach the fuel pipe behind the motor. I will add some fuel to the tank to allow me to re-connect the wiring for the fuel system and check that the pumps do, and the fuel levels measure.

If all is well, I can start on re-fitting the lower control arms and the rest of the rear suspension, and then onto the braking system.

Finally the VC and prop-shaft can be re-attached, diff oil filled, muffler system re-installed and then it will nearly be done!

One interesting point I did find was that I had fitted the muffler pipe that runs from the back of the catalytic converter to and stops just above the rear axle on the LH side in the belief that I would not have enough room to do so once the sub-frame was back in. It promptly fell out while I was tightening up the tank straps. With the VC unit out of the way there is loads of space to fit this in afterwards. Not sure if you could do this with the VC unit in place without car being on a hoist.

Neil.

[scot850]

Latest update.

Finally some good news! I have been waiting for weeks for the correct (hopefully) foam gaskets for between the rear brake dust shield and the rear hub assembly. The original version was the wrong part that I only discovered when I went to fit it. That was when I discovered there were 2 part #'s!! In fairness to the dealer, this is the first time they have gotten the wrong part for me in 15 years. In their defence, the Vida description is poor as it lists 2 dust shield types and 2 gaskets but does not relate which belongs to which.

I was concerned as after 4 weeks + there was still no sight of them, so I decided to make my own from scratch as the originals had crumbled to nothing. Added to this I had hoped to replace the gasket on the cover plate, and possibly the rusted cover plate too that covers over the hole where the wiring from the fuel pumps and ABS etc., comes through. Needless to say both of the parts are obsolete!!

I decided to see if I could find somewhere in this city that was actually able to help and didn't just stock crap. We are lucky as an oil industry city there are a couple of places supplying specialist gaskets for rough duty. Had time today to go and talk to the one that looked more promising, but 25km away down the city. They were super helpful although I pissed the guy off helping me as he had to go to their large warehouse at the back to get me material. He disappeared before I could ask if they had material that had an adhesive backing. He had to do a second trip...! Oops, sorry!!

For $5 he got me 2 different thicknesses for the cover plate and the hub gaskets (1/16th" and 1/8th")

Gasket material

Thinner stuff is for the cover plate and the thicker for the dust shield. They call this closed cell foam material and their name of it is NDAX or NDA-X.

Cover plate has an adhesive what looked like rubberised seal, but this will work better as the plate had a gap which allowed water through.

Wiring cover plate top (1) - Part # 9133800

Wiring cover plate bottom (2) - Part # 9133800

There is some confusion again on what the cover part # is as Vida is unclear. There are 2 possible part #'s listed: #9133800 which replaced 8250232-9 and 9180799-0 for V70 up to chassis # 395001 and the other is 8250232 for chassis # 395001 onwards. I have not checked a FWD V70 to see if these are common to AWD and FWD. Maybe someone can enlighten??

The gasket # is 9133376 is obsolete but the same part number is listed for both covers.

I will make my own and will make a template for everyone else and post it on MVS.

Needless to say, I went to the dealer on the way back to pick up some parts I had ordered and needless to say the dust shield gasket had shown up this morning! So apologies to my friend in Germany who went to see if he could get the part for me, as he was told the part was obsolete! Um, it would appear not to be at the moment, but there is a wait.

Rear brake dust shield gaskets

The top gasket in the picture is the incorrect one part # 9140696. It is the wrong shape and only half the thickness (approx. 1/16" v's 1/8" or 2 v's 4mm approx.).

The correct part is the lower one and is part # 9475396. It is a lower density foam by look and feel but clearly thicker. Again I will make up a template in-case the part goes obsolete again. In fact I will do it for both of the gaskets for those with older cars! Actually I may make up my own dust shield gaskets now I have the material and keep the originals for templates.

Part # 9140696 approx. 2mm thick

Part # 9475396 approx. 4mm thick

So now I hope (!!?) I have all the parts to finish. I can now clean the back of the cover plate (the brown/pink stuff is rust converter) and paint it with Zinc paint and make up the new gasket.

Now off to finish replacing the fuel pipe and tank plastic cover plates. That 'just' leave the rear suspension, the drive line and the muffler system! Progress indeed.

Neil.

[jcdillin]

Amazing work, great info with all of us with AWD!

[scot850]

Thanks for the encouragement!

Over the last couple of days I have managed to finish the fuel pipe install, including the cover plate that runs under the middle of the car on the RHS. Naturally decided I enjoyed this so much, I'd have a 2nd go around. This was after discovering I had trapped the parking brake cable under the 2 pipes that run through the cover plate. Had to undo to give enough room to release the cable. Oh the joy..!

I have tested the fuel system as far as the pump works and there does not appear to be any leaks (so far!).

I have now built up most of the LHS suspension with the exception of the anti-sway bar. Mostly straight forward.

Decided to tackle the brake pipe connections for the pipe that runs from the LHS to RHS and attaches to the inner side of the LH jacking point. What a truly stupid design. You can only access the pipe nuts by bending the pipes downwards, and even then you can only get 1 flat turn at a time. At least it is done and hopefully there will be no leaks when re-filling and bleeding the system is undertaken.

RHS suspension is part way there and with luck should be finished tomorrow, including the re-install of the infamous IPD rear anti-sway bar and bushes. I'll then level the rear suspension at the 15" (381mm) from the center of the axle to the middle of the wheel arch directly above it. This is where you are supposed to tighten all the bolts/nuts in the suspension.

Oh, I also managed to fix the LH axle seal at the diff after managing to pull out the spiral spring. That was another PITA, requiring me to make up a small wire tool to help with the very fiddly install. Needless to say the replacement of the seal requires a special tool. Glad I didn't need it. See my notes here:

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=72929

The list of work to complete is getting smaller (slowly). Suspension/brakes/drive-line/muffler.

Neil.

[scot850]

AARGH!! When will the pain ever end with this cursed vehicle!!!!

Install the muffler system, the last major task. Easy, all new clamps, so it will take an hour.

Nope. A day + later and still have not completed the job.

First the new 'band'/clamshell clamp for the connection behind the cat. All new, look at the 2 bolts supplied from Volvo. Me-thinks, these are not right. The bolts are about 2 1/2" long with threading only about 1" from the end. Sure enough, the bolts need to be about an 1" long and threaded all the way. Part number is right, bolts are wrong!! Hunt around and find 2 bolts that will do the job with correct threads.

Put all the 'band' clamps on the 4 other joins in the rear of the system. Go to tighten them up and realise that the clamp nuts have ny-locks in them. Remove them and take them back and sure enough these are not only not for a muffler as advised, but are way to weak for stainless pipes (even T407).

Get the 2 1/2" regular clamps (As advised by muffler supplier) drive home again and, you've guessed it, wrong size! Pipe is 2 1/2" ID. Clamps need to be bigger. Finally do the smart thing and have a rummage and find one of the old broken ones. Clamp U-bolt are narrower and slightly wider. The slider portion looks correct. So WTH??

Take all the clamps back and look. 3" is too wide. Finally find the store owner and he looks and says there are 2 5/8" and 2 3/4" clamps. Turns out they are 2 3/4" clamps. These are really manly with extra bracing on the sliding portion, so much more useful for stainless. Needless to say they only have 2 in stock and I need 4! Take the 2 and install in the 2 'loose' areas where I used joining paste (didn't disassemble the other 2 joins). So now have to wait for the 2 other clamps and then I can do the final tightening up with some luck tomorrow sometime.

Did I say I hate this car....!!!

Neil.

[scot850]

Sorry, I had planned to capture the momentous event, but accidently the car fired up while priming the fuel system! Only let it run until it ran smoother (i.e. fuel had burped!). I did crank the motor with the 2 fuel fuses pulled to build some oil pressure first you will be glad to hear!

So far as I can see no leaks, and hopefully that remains!

Still have some more detail stuff to do (see note on axle torque for hub nuts at rear of AWD), put the wheels back on and drop to the ground to allow the top Nivomat nuts to be torqued, and then re-install the rear cable cover in the floor, Nivo cover plates and rear/trunk area cover.

Have to go overseas next week for a funeral, but have optimistically booked the car in for an alignment and once-over/inspection by the dealer the week after my return (2 weeks).

I'll keep you posted on the final (!?) outcome of this process!

Neil.

[John850GLT]

Neil (scot850),

My less-than-one-month-new-to-me 2000 V70R was side swiped, while parked, on the right rear panel, breaking both transverse struts and a nearby bolt attaching the main arm to the wheel. Also knocked wheel assembly off upper pin (sorry for not knowing the terminology-all new to me). The rear wheel was shoved forward into the body at the front of wheel well. Mechanic said I was lucky: if nothing had broken, car frame would certainly have bent-junk it. He said do not move until all put back together. Done, but the wheel is still an inch to 1.5 inches too far forward and tracking inward, but clear enough in wheel well to go the 6 blocks to mechanic. I measured from mid exhaust mounts to outer part of each main arm, and the distance is 1 inch shorter on the hit side.
Drove to mechanic, who said the longtitudinal stay (jack point to main arm) was bent.
I tried to replace all that, but could not get stay out; there is an attach point sort of in the middle that would not budge even though end plate and all screws were removed.
I guess I'm fishing for advice on how to replace that stay, and what else might be holding the wheel forward. Arms, etc, look good, but.....
If you or anyone reading this knows about the rear suspension, or has faced a similar problem, I'd be much obliged for input. I've been working off the AWD diagram found on volovpartswebstore; I belive it's the same diagram here on MVS.
Really don't want to junk the car even though GEICO totaled it.

Thanks a milion,

John

[scot850]

Hi John and welcome to MVS.

I believe what you are talking about, Volvo calls the transverse stay. It runs from a mounting point just forward of the rear jacking point (the 'front bracket' has 3 mounting bolts to the floor of the car) and runs back though the rear control arm.

This has a mounting just forward of the rear axle into the front of the lower control arm as shown below.

Transverse stay:

The cross bolt (as I call it) when removed may still not allow the stay to come away from the control arm at that point easily. Spray with some silicon oil, let it sit for a while, and then support the control arm. Use a block of wood and a large hammer and whack the stay away from the mounting. The rubber on that bush (that bush cannot be bought separately). As long as the rear bolt has been removed it will come away. I struggled with this like you at first.

Big Will did list an alternate part from later Volvo that he has used if you need to replace that bush. It is about 1mm shorter but won't make any difference.

Unfortunately I've seen this damage before and it is not pretty.

If you go to replace the front mount, buy the mount and bush as a unit. At Tasca there is only $5 US of a difference and the part should be available. The bush is hard to get and may have to wait months for it. Again, Will mentions a front sub-frame bush for a 240 that is a poly-bush that can be used to replace the standard bush if you want to go that way.

Now I see you are working on this, feel free to PM me if you need help or add to the thread and I will try to check in regularly to help if it is needed.

Neil.

[John850GLT]

Neil,

Thank you for the help you provided. I did replace all that mess under the car, but the bad luck seems to continue. I posted in your other string (about the rear calipers). You may have saved me twice. In that post I mentioned that my mechanic changed the hoses without checking whether the old calipers could be bled (no) or the new actually fit (I did tell him to be extra sure about verifying fit, but....). NAPA says they can get the ones you mentioned. That would save his skin and mine.

How about dust shields? I've looked everywhere I know and had recommended to me. Seems hopeless. If you have a lead for those, I'd appreciate it.

You are right about the PITA designation for these cars, but for me it's not so much the car as Volvo for putting unique parts on the car and then not having kept them available.

Mine has 207k, and runs just fine, although it is on its last rust legs.

Tough to give up on a wagon that, as Einstein proved in his General Theory of relativity, is bigger on the inside than the outside.

John