2005 S60R CV Spline Seal Leaks Ruining Transmission

[05rfastr1234]

Hello to all (and apologies for my long description/questions -- but I have always found that details lead to better details):

I had a new clutch (entire kit + flywheel resurfacing) and right side CV and axle kit (among a few other non-relevant suspension bushings, etc.) installed a month or so ago in my 2005 S60R Manual 6 Speed with appx. 248K miles on it. Yes - high miles, but ran/runs(? if cost-effective to repair) great and well taken care of, all timely maintenance, always all synthetic oils, etc. I then had the left CV and axle kit done just for "handling and wear symmetry." One day after having the left CV kit done, after driving 20 or so miles on my way to work, the car began to violently shake when turning right and then the cutch stopped working. No gears would engage, but car would idle fine even with gear shifter in any in-gear position. I Had the car towed from side of the road to Volvo dealer (as I then did not trust the guy who did the clutch, etc., work and I wanted factory-level documentation of all/any "issues" due to the obviously-high costs involved with a complete gear box and band new clutch failure). I was told that the tranny (I guess technically the gear box with a manual trans.) was basically empty of all fluid. They put in a quart and started the car. Loud grinding noises from gear box, and fluid quickly leaking out of where inside CV "spline"(?) goes into gear box. They said mainly on left (where the CV kit was installed the day before). But -- as I was not going to pay for a full "take-down" based on their statement that it was looking like several thousands $$ of work on a car only worth $5K(?) or so -- they basically told me that, apparently severe gear box damage was obviously an issue, that the new clutch was likely ruined too, and that the gear box case may be cracked. I seriously doubt the box/housing is cracked (unless that took place after it was running with basically no fluid and some internal gear broke the housing when it "flew into" some part of it just before it broke-down on the side of the road. As far as I see it, the guys who put in the left CV kit must have damaged the seal on that side, thus causing the fluid to all leak out over only 20 or so miles of use after that repair. My concern is that Volvo also said that the fluid was leaking from the right side CV/"spline" area too. The guys that did the left CV kit (luckily, at least in this situation) are a big, national chain. Their customer service people have been very, very nice and helpful. The car was towed by them to one of their shops, they are going to replace the left CV kit and the likely-start-of-the-problem seal that they damaged when installing it, and then see what happens. I am, however, worried that -- as the right side CV/"spline" area was also seen by Volvo to be leaking -- that the guys are going to say that the left side CV kit they put in was not the "entire" cause of the problem (even though it will hopefully still be found to be the "precipitating cause" as the car only drove for 20 miles before total "failure." My direct questions for now, based on the above summary, are: 1) if the left CV/gear box seal did go bad from physical damage to the seal while the left CV/axle kit was installed, and all of the fluid leaked out as above after only 20 or so miles of driving after that repair was done -- thus apparently, per Volvo, also causing severe gear box internal damage and possibly also damage to my new clutch -- would it be "normal" for the gear box also to begin to leak fluid from the right CV/gear box seal too? (I have no idea if the Volvo guys put the fluid fill screw back in after filling it up and before they started the car and tried it out - only to hear the loud grinding noises. But, if the right side also began leaking after the gear box suffered the "total failure" from the broken left-side seal, I figure that it MUST be related to the gear box violently failing from the broken left side seal, and/or due to the left side seal having broken "first"; and 2) when I had the entire clutch kit and flywheel work done a few weeks earlier, would it be S.O.P. for them to drain and refill the gear box fluid after/while they did that work?; and 3) if those guys did fill the gear box with the wrong oil, could that cause the CV/Gear box seals to basically disintegrate after only 1K miles / five weeks or so after the clutch work was done? (I am thinking that it would not be possible for the seals to fail from the wrong oil in such a short time/miles driven -- especially as the car failed only 20 or so miles after/the day after the left CV/axle kit was installed). Any help would be greatly appreciated -- even though "things" seem to be going o.k. with the customer service area of the shop that did the left side CV kit install and broke the seal, I still need to be "prepared for battle" depending on what they say?!?!?!

[abscate]

I don't think a manual transmission that runs out of oil will seize in 20 miles. I once ran a VW transmission for a summer without oil. If it did fail, it was some other reason like damage during the CV work.