Driver CV Axle Problems Topic is solved

Gus11445 · Post by **Gus11445** » 04 Aug 2020, 15:36

Hi Everyone,
long time reader of the forum but my first post here. My 2004 S80 T6 has had lots of repairs and work done on it but one thing that I have lived with for years now is a front end intermittent vibration. The front end has been completely rebuilt... new control arms, ball joints, B6 bilstein shocks, new ipd HD strut mounts, HD IPD end links, new front hubs, and replaced the front cv axles on both sides. All this has been done in the last 3 years and all have been inspected and still in great shape. My question is on the CV axles, specifically the drivers side axle I feel a vibration come on at 50-70 and then goes away. Seems like an imbalanced tire right? Well I've had the tires balanced by 3 different shops and none of them have made any difference, along with making sure my alignment is dead on. My research seems to point to the cv axle on the driver side. My question.. is there any good aftermarket cv axles for this car that don't cost an arm and leg? From what I've read the aftermarket ones are all junk and the only fix is to go with an OEM $600-$700 cv axle which is worth more than the whole car at this point. Over the past 4 years I've put in 3 different aftermarket cv axles and all of them seem to have the same type of vibration characteristics, and none of them come with the vibration damper part in the middle of the axle. Anyone have this same issue, any ideas?? Thanks!

bronco · Post by **bronco** » 05 Aug 2020, 16:26

Are you bored enough to take that tire and swap it to the right rear ?

Or maybe swap the front rotors from side to side ?

See if the vibration changes or stays the same

Post by **SuperHerman** » 05 Aug 2020, 17:54

I assume your car is not AWD. I don't think it is your CV if you have changed it 3X. Also - if it is out of balance it should continue to get worse the faster you go. If you still want to pursue that route source a used one.

I don't think it is the tires or rim as the vibration would not go away after 70 - it would get worse. Swapping the tires from front to back is a helpful confirmation.

You need to do some test drives using some turn left and turn right during the vibration period. Put it in N during various phases of the range and see if you have some changes.

I am thinking transmission (but I don't know why) or it is normal. Try running it at 50mph in 3 or 4 and see if it makes a difference.

Gus11445 · Post by **Gus11445** » 05 Aug 2020, 20:36

Thanks for the input guys. I should have mentioned I have swapped the tires from left and right and front and back with no change in the vibration location. All four rotors were also replaced 10,000 miles ago when I thought that could be the issue and again the vibration issue stayed the same. There are times it seems to just go away for a day or so and then returns. SuperHerman, correct, the car is FWD. I'll do a test drive tomorrow and put it in N when it's in the vibration range and see if anything changes. I have noticed that when it's vibrating and I steer slightly left or right it will go away or also it can go away when I hit a different road surface type. Would seem suspension/steering related but neither I or my mechanic see anything wrong with the suspension. I forgot to mention in the OP that I went as far as replacing the entire steering rack this winter with new inner and outer tie rods thinking it could be a worn steering rack..yup that didn't fix it either. There are a couple reasons I've thought it could be the cv axle even though I've replaced them multiple times. 1.) The oem axles that I've seen all fit very snug into the transmission with very little, if any, play in and out where the axle goes in on driver side. I've noticed the aftermarket (junk yard ones and ones I've installed) axles all have maybe a 1/2" play in and out where it meets the transmission case. I can physically "click" it back and forth that much. Not sure if all these aftermarket ones are flawed in design or if that's normal but I've never seen an oem axle have that same play in and out. The axles aren't completely loose either. They would have to be popped out like normal to get replaced so they are being held in by the clip it seems. Now just waiting for our junk yard to show up with an oem one. It would be my luck that it's the transmission going out again after practically rebuilding this car.

-Cheers

bronco · Post by **bronco** » 05 Aug 2020, 20:42

Did you drop the subframe? Check the bolts they might be loose .

Gus11445 · Post by **Gus11445** » 06 Aug 2020, 11:14

bronco - The subframe has been dropped a few times (oil pan replacement, steering rack replacement, transmission rebuild, and also have installed the IPD poly subframe bushing inserts on all four bushings. They checked out good a couple weeks ago by my mechanic and I also rechecked the torque on all the subframe bolts, all good. Both the mechanics at this shop have worked on many volvo's and they both were very emphatic that I had the one of the "tightest" suspensions they have ever seen on a volvo and that everything looked really good so I'm kinda at a loss *bangs head on table*

Gus11445 · Post by **Gus11445** » 06 Aug 2020, 21:53

Just an update - Put the car into neutral today while it showed symptoms and there was no difference in vibrations in N or D. Ready to chalk it up as a fun "quirk" of the car and drive it into the ground. The car is at 200,000 miles and started leaking oil this summer so I'm tackling the pcv system first and if the engine seals need replacing I might be looking for a new car. *fingers crossed*

SlowLane · Post by **SlowLane** » 10 Aug 2020, 15:08

Driver's axle bearing? Are you certain it was replaced with the transmission rebuild?

Of the many parts that I replaced in my recent transmission rebuild, some actually needed replacing while others would have been fine to re-use. The left-side axle bearing was one of the ones that definitely needed replacing. Even though I wasn't getting the vibration as you are, the bearing was loose and gritty. It's not that well protected by the axle seal and appears to be prone to contamination.

Gus11445 · Post by **Gus11445** » 06 Apr 2021, 15:10

Hey everyone,
I just wanted to update this thread as my life got really busy for me and the car was parked over the winter. I was able to figure out my vibration issue with the car after doing some digging the past month. The lower engine mounts were bad/compressed, esecially the rear one that's a pita to get to. Another fun surprise I found was the steering shaft that goes into the rack wasn't tighened properly on the top part with the wedge type bolt giving steering a large amount of play. Also the bottom of the shaft connecting to the rack was stripped where the bolt goes in and had small play there too. I believe the bad mounts and the play I found in the shaft to be the main issue I was having with vibrations. In case anyone else is having this issue I wanted to close this thread as resolved.