Shaking at 65mph plus feathered tires etc

RaymanSean · Post by **RaymanSean** » 26 Sep 2010, 23:19

Hi All, I am new hear so be gentle. I have a 2001 V70 XC with 128,000 miles (I do not know the trim level) that I just Purchased on Friday to replace 98 BMW 750il that my wife destroyed Friday morning (All are OK). I have driven it ~250 miles already and have noticed a vibration that peaks in amplitude at ~65 mph and is unnoticeable at 35 mph seems to be less under acceleration. I have also noticed that all the tires are feathered, a bumping noise every now and then from the right front ofthe car if I hit a bump while making a right turn. I have searched the forum and people have mentioned the axles, shocks, shock mounts, ball joints, engine mounts, tire balance, bent rims, alingment, drive shaft and bevel gear. The dealer is going to re balance the tires (they claim that this was done while the car was in the possession already, but since they did not replace the fuel pump as part of a recall before they put the car on the market, I have my doubts) so that should eliminate tire balance from the list. Instead of just replacing parts I was hoping that someone could walk me through troubleshooting the problem. For example, how do I know if x needs to be replaced where x is any of the possible causes.

For a point of reference, I performed all the work on my vehicles (BMW's) including rebuilding engines and transmissions. I have no experience with turbos or transversely mounted engines, so while I am good with my hands I am completely new to Volvo and it will take me some time to learn the car. Also, the dealer that sold the car is a volvo dealer and they are getting the car back to "fix" the shaking problem, replace the fuel pump as part of the recall, and touch up the paint all things they agreed to during our negotiations. I have my doubt about them fixing the shaking with a tire balance since all the tires are feathered as well.

Retired MVS Contributor · Post by **Retired MVS Contributor** » 27 Sep 2010, 07:06

Tire feathering suggests alignment...The two wheels are trying to go off in different directions and at some point one of them has to give up and jump back into line, thus the vibratiion...

Post by **jblackburn** » 27 Sep 2010, 17:21

I agree, it does sound like an alignment or perhaps underlying suspension issue.

P.S. Have them de-activate the stop-neutral feature on the transmission if it has not already been done so. That's a very important step to keeping a 2001's transmission from blowing up on you.

RaymanSean · Post by **RaymanSean** » 28 Sep 2010, 16:20

Thanks for the replies, the dealer is getting the car on the 18th to fix the pre-purchase issues mentioned above. I plan to wait until after the 18th to get the car aligned at a more trusted shop. Based on my reading if the car goes into drive from park then the stop-neutral "feature" is disabled, is this correct? If so I think I am good to go. Is there any other way to make sure that stop-neutral has been disabled? Also I have noticed the Mobil 1 fully synthetic ATF says it is compatible with Toyota T- IV, I have also read that some have switched to Mobile 1 synthetic ATF has anyone had bad experience with the Mobil 1 fluid? I plan to do multiple drain and fills over the course of several weeks to dilute all the old fluid out. Also, speaking of the tranny how does one check the bevel gear oil level?

Retired MVS Contributor · Post by **Retired MVS Contributor** » 28 Sep 2010, 16:47

That is an excellent way to tell if the stop-neutral artifact has been removed...Release the hand brake, press hard on the foot brake and shift into drive...If stop-neutral has been removed, you will feel and hear it engage...The foot brake is the final word controlling engagement and disengagement of stop neutral...Stop-neutral, if it is still active, does not work in Geartronic mode so if you still have it in there and the tranny is acting up, you can drive it in manual mode and avoid the abuse...

For this transmission a fluid that affords limited engagement slip is neccessary...Any fluid that complies with JWS 3309 is good and I use Mobil ATF 3309 which is NOT synthetic...When I bought my 3309 last year, Mobil synthetic did not comply with JWS 3309, but I hear that it does now...I would make sure before I bought it if it were me...

Jerry

MelangeX3 · Post by **MelangeX3** » 29 Sep 2010, 10:33

Just a thought about that bump sound while turning: Bad Sway bar link or torn rubber strut mounting seat or control arm bushing. I have had all of these on a regular basis when making the right turn out of my housing plan. When all are replaced with heavier duty than OEM, like the ones from IPD, the problems stop! If the dealer replaces all of these at once with original parts, you should still be clunk free for at least a year. The Toyota fluid works great, and is a deal at around $65 per case. Good luck, it is a great car once the small noises are tracked down.

Retired MVS Contributor · Post by **Retired MVS Contributor** » 29 Sep 2010, 13:01

I bought non-synthetic Mobil ATF 3309 from www.avlube.com last year for $59 per case of 12 quarts...They have Mobil 1 ATF sysnthetic for $43 per case of 6...That would be $86 for 12 quarts...

Jerry

850FLA · Post by **850FLA** » 29 Sep 2010, 15:31

This could be worn tie rods. I just had the same problem including the tire wear. The clunking could be a drop link [easy fix] or sway bar bushing [not so easy]. Best to do them when replacing your inner tie rods [ask me how I know]. I now think it would have been better to rebuild the front end [all fresh bushings and ball joints]. It's less expensive in the long run IMO.

Don't align the car until you locate the offending part

RaymanSean · Post by **RaymanSean** » 30 Sep 2010, 20:51

850, what am I looking for? I had the dealer put it on a lift and all that I saw looked good, but I was looking for more obvious things rust body damage cracked CV boots etc. If I put the car up on jack stands how will I be able to tell?

RaymanSean · Post by **RaymanSean** » 04 Oct 2010, 08:18

All I grabbed all the tires at 3-9 and 12-6 and felt no play in any direction. Also I did my first drain and fill on the tranny. While the fluid did not smell burnt and the color was right it looked like a Guinness just poured into a pint glass in that there was air trapped suspended in the fluid. Is this common? By the way I bough the VOLVO fluid because saving a few dollars now to keep from potentially spending thousands later just seems like a good thing to do.