M56L differential failure?

henrysin44 · Post by **henrysin44** » 03 Jul 2018, 22:18

A maniac truck sped in-front of me and slammed on the brakes so i downed to third and floored it into the other lane to avoid crashing when I felt and heard a loud bang then the car slowed to a stop. I went through all the gears, there still there but I can shift without having the clutch in. First thought I had was shattered the clutch but when I put it in gear the speedo raises to 20 or more MPH depending on the gear. I went under and grabbed the driveshaft and its very loose inside the diff and pushing on it results in a grinding feeling as if the splines are trying to catch but theres not enough to grab.

Now im suspecting the differential bearing is shot, I could be wrong. However I start commuting to college next week and don't have the time or money to get to fixing it now so I'm gonna park it and work on it bit by bit while driving what ever craigslist has for under $800. ( can't give up on this wagon! )

Post by **abscate** » 04 Jul 2018, 00:34

You should be able to find a used M56 and do that clutch job and rear main seal that were in your list.

1500 is the right price point for a basic daily runner, $800 won’t be economical.

henrysin44 · Post by **henrysin44** » 04 Jul 2018, 01:19

abscate wrote: ↑04 Jul 2018, 00:34 You should be able to find a used M56 and do that clutch job and rear main seal that were in your list.

1500 is the right price point for a basic daily runner, $800 won’t be economical.

No rebuild for these M56s? Definitely, im going all out on my 855T, I'm garaging it tomorrow and will be completely restoring the entire car over weekends until its done. Soo probably 2 years lol.

I only have $800 (college life lol) but luckily here in CT Volvos are as common as Hondas and people sell mint ones for under a K. Looking at a 850 N/A and a 98 V70 (with M56) tomorrow. The 850 N/A looks showroom new, the V70 has a radaitor leak but the M56 in it could be useful down the road when im done restoring my 855T.

Post by **tryingbe** » 04 Jul 2018, 08:36

Probably broke the driver side axle.

Post by **abscate** » 04 Jul 2018, 10:14

henrysin44 wrote: ↑04 Jul 2018, 01:19
abscate wrote: ↑04 Jul 2018, 00:34 You should be able to find a used M56 and do that clutch job and rear main seal that were in your list.

1500 is the right price point for a basic daily runner, $800 won’t be economical.
No rebuild for these M56s? Definitely, im going all out on my 855T, I'm garaging it tomorrow and will be completely restoring the entire car over weekends until its done. Soo probably 2 years lol.

I only have $800 (college life lol) but luckily here in CT Volvos are as common as Hondas and people sell mint ones for under a K. Looking at a 850 N/A and a 98 V70 (with M56) tomorrow. The 850 N/A looks showroom new, the V70 has a radaitor leak but the M56 in it could be useful down the road when im done restoring my 855T.

We are in volvo heaven here on the east coast but they all look great. Often PCV and TB need doing so the $800 Car turns into a $2000 Car quickly. The T5 and R are the most abused, when you find one not abused they aren’t cheap.

In this ]economy you can double your Car budget in about one month of service work. One of mine is doing convenience store at $15van hour

henrysin44 · Post by **henrysin44** » 04 Jul 2018, 13:05

tryingbe wrote: ↑04 Jul 2018, 08:36 Probably broke the driver side axle.

Its a new one, put it in last week

Post by **abscate** » 04 Jul 2018, 13:08

If it cost 100 bucks New it probably didn’t seat into the diff right. That would fit symptoms and is much more common than a failed diff.

henrysin44 · Post by **henrysin44** » 04 Jul 2018, 20:20

abscate wrote: ↑04 Jul 2018, 13:08 If it cost 100 bucks New it probably didn’t seat into the diff right. That would fit symptoms and is much more common than a failed diff.

$80 new....
Tomorrow im going to check out the driveshaft, hoping the shaft spline is just torn up. Though worse comes to worse i was reading you can swap the diff for an LSD.

Post by **abscate** » 04 Jul 2018, 21:07

That’s a genuine chinesium metal shaft. Definitely worth looking over that

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 05 Jul 2018, 08:35

It is fairly common for the snap ring to not fully engage after an axle is replaced. The axle may not be broken at all and it just popped out. The back of the inner CV joint should be almost flush with the case on the transaxle when it is properly installed.

The good news is that all you have to do is pop it back in.

...Lee