Axle help Please!!!

wrecked2001 · Post by **wrecked2001** » 15 Jul 2008, 02:42

I am in the Air Force currently stationed in Mildenhall AFB in England. I just bought a 97 850 glt automatic as a second car for my wife, UK spec right hand drive. The cv axles need to be replaced, can i order US spec axles for the car. With the curret exchange rate i would save about 400 dollars ordering form the states. Help will be greatly apprciated. Thanks.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 15 Jul 2008, 05:07

Welcome to MVS
When I look these numbers up in VADIS, I see absolutely no difference between the part numbers offered for U.K. spec or U.S. Spec (right hand drive vs. left hand drive) Volvo's from your model year. Make sure you get the axles (called drive shaft on your side of the pond) for a turbo vehicle as a '97 is a turbo (at least in the U.S.). If for some reason a U.K. Spec '97 GLT is not turbo, you'll need to know this before ordering.

A bit of a warning: Some have bought the cheap "knock-off" axles that are made in China from fcpgroton and not been satisfied at all (some of the splines have actually broken off in the transmission). If you do order from fcpgroton, buy their higher end axles. My personal suggestion is that you contact Marty at Raxles.com (either phone or email) and tell him your situation. I know that they typically require a core return and I don't know how that would work out from across the Atlantic, but their axles really are superior. Or...maybe you had another place in mind? Another option is to deal with IPD (www.ipdusa.com). I believe they have distributers in the U.K. as well.

Good luck and let us know how things go.

wrecked2001 · Post by **wrecked2001** » 15 Jul 2008, 07:04

eeuroparts.com sells a brand called EMPI. Do you know anything about this brand?

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 15 Jul 2008, 07:50

Yes, EMPI seems to have a good reputation. Let me recommend that you buy axle to transmission seals (might just be called axle seals) at the same time. You might not need them but if when you pull your axles out and there is excessive leakage of ATF from the transmission you'll wish you had them ( a few drops or weeping is suppose to be fairly normal). They are cheap (maybe $10 or so each) and don't weigh much so adding them to your order from eeuroparts shouldn't be an issue. Also, confirm that your axle nuts are 22mm on your car (some are larger but I don't have a break-down of which cars came with which ones) unless the replacement axles come with the nut. Nothing worse than for the axles to get to you and you find that your current axle nuts are not the same size. Oh, one last suggestion...use blue thread lock on your axle spines at least (more important than the axle nut). Many people don't recommend any adhesive but you'll find that at one or both of the original axle may be hard to get out due to Volvo's adhesive. There's a reason for this...it has to do with "pinging" when shifting especially from P into R or D and also some vibrations at high speeds. Using an adhesive acts as a buffer- almost a bushing and will keep these annoyances to a minimum if not eliminating them all together.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.