DIY AWD repair instructions - Unable to reply to that post?
 

Hi - sorry for creating a new thread, but I'm unable to post in the original one.

As I need to tackle replacing the splined sleeve, I have a few question for the original poster:

Do you have the part number of the splined sleeve kit ?

You said you cut a notch and used a crowbar to lever out - I've seen others who have drilled a hole through both sides of the sleeve and used a puller to get it out - do you think there is room to do that on the xc90 ?

Cheers,
Tim.

Hi - just fyi - I think once threads are in the articles section, they are there for reference only, ie not for general chatter or discussion.

I did ask the OP for part number of kit, but it was not available and he suggested you speak to Volvo with your VIN or reg number.

David

I tried to get back into the post to make some amendments and correct some typos but couldnt.

To answer your question, Volvo pn for the kit: V30787988 £80.50 +vat
I wouldnt suggest you use it to order the spline for your car. This part number was specific to my car (2005 D5 163bhp Geartronic). The PN might be different for your car. You sould really go in armed with the VIN or Reg.

I saw the posts with images that you refer to with the drilled holes. If you have a good drill and can hold it steady to go through hardened steel, then go for it. This seemed too much hassle for me as the sleeve was stuck in the transmission. I initially cut a shallow notch with an angle grinder and walked it off with a pry about an inch. (see image) This got harder and harder, so I gave up and cut right through the first notch and hooked on my slide hammer. I wish I had done this first. By far the easiest and quickest option.
No heat or WD40 was used to remove the spline. I'll be damned if you can get a puller onto the transmission without removing it.

I would add to my original post that I replaced the bevel gear fluid. It drained 700ml and there is a clear notch marked on the unit as a maximum. The replacement bolts in the kit are 13mm headed as opposed to the 14mm one removed.

I can also report that all my wheelspin has disappeared. I have tested the car up in the air and all four wheels rotate when in drive.
Reassembly took just 2 hours in total because I knew what I was doing. The disassembly took longer because I was working off the cuff and without instruction
I am happy to answer your questions as you tackle this job

Many thanks for the additional info D5gill. I'll probably be tackling this sometime next week, so thanks for the offer of advice.

Not sure if the Nottingham dealer was correct, but they told me that the T6 doesn't have the splined sleeve, and so doesn't have the problem. Can anyone confirm this?

[QUOTE=D5Gill;767899]

I can also report that all my wheelspin has disappeared. I have tested the car up in the air and all four wheels rotate when in drive.


From a previous thread - many, like myself experience slight wheel spin away from junctions (especially when the wheels are turned) before AWD is engaged - must say mine feels like more than 1/7th of wheel turn as stated, but I definately still have AWD - but could this be a sign of impending failure?
When you say NO wheelspin - is this No?

Can you also confirm if yours did 185K miles on original sleeve before failure?

According to my copy of vardis the T6 has a chain drive arrangement instead of the sleeve.

The last time I was able to check that AWD was over a year ago at 130k miles during snow. All was well. 20k miles later, In January of this year, during the snow, it was very obvious that my AWD was not working. All I got was FWD wheel spin. So for the last 30k miles or so, I drove in knowledge that the sleeve had definitely failed. This was confirmed by horrendous wheel spin in the wet when pulling away at junctions.

For the last few hundred miles or so (in plenty of wet) my wheelspin has pretty much gone. The car feels more composed on the roads. If the fronts have spun 1/7 a rotation, then I have not felt or heard it.

The sleeve/collar was the original unit. It had done 130k miles the last time I could confirm that it was good. Once I had removed it, it was pretty obvious what had killed it - Rust. The splines inside the collar were covered in corrosion which had caused the surface to weaken. This progressively got worse until the splines were all but gone. The new collar apparently is much harder and has a higher tensile strength. This coupled with the grease, will prevent corrosion setting in for the foreseeable future.

I am glad that I got this job done in time for the winter. I will have a lot more confidence when driving in adverse conditions.

I can't believe that people are having to change their transmissions and bevel gears just because the mechanic could not release the bevel collar. Sheer laziness, lack of trying or bumping the bill is what springs to mind. Releasing the collar was one of the easiest jobs in the whole process. Anyone who can change their own oil, do a brake job, cut a notch in the bevel collar with an angle grinder and unbolt ancillaries that are in the way can do this job.


GLAD THAT MY XC ISNT RUNNING LIKE THIS ANYMORE ¬

Any chance we can get this thread merged with the main one in the Articles section?

Just a post fix update:

1600 miles later on the new spline collar and average MPG has dropped from 33.2mpg to 30.3. Same driving style same journeys - The cost of 4WD is a 10% drop in fuel efficency

D5Gill,

I started this job today, but didn't get very far. Stuck removing the lower arm/wishbone from the ball joint as I believe you had trouble with this too? I have a proper ball joint splitter, but unfortunately it isn't large enough to fit around the ball joint. I also have tried a puller, but this seems to slip off once any great pressure is applied. Can I ask how you eventually manged to seperate the arm and balljoint ?

I left the ball joint connected, and removed the wishbone and knuckle still attached together (less chance of damaging the rubber). There are 3 bolts that hold the wishbone on to the subframe (2 horizontal, and 1 vertical), and you will have to disconnect the steering joint (easy enough as there are flats to hold at the top to stop it spinning). If you are just wanting to remove the drive shaft, you can leave the wishbone and knuckle on, and just remove the 2 bolts at the bottom of the shock absorber.
Watch you dont damage the ABS sensor and its wire. Hopefully your drive shaft wont be seized into the bearing like mine were. I ended up removing the whole assy (i was taking gearbox out so it made access easier anyway). I left the hubs face down in a tray with penetrating fluid soaking in from behind. You have to use new bolts for the driveshaft.

Hi Ascona, I did wonder about removing the wishbone from the subframe, but wasn't sure how easy it would be to realign when the bushes are under compression from the spring/strut. Did you jack up the hub to make it easier to remove the wishbone ?

I may still have to get at the ball joint though, as I managed to dislodge the ring that holds the rubber boot at the bottom of the ball joint.

I don't recall having this issue when I replaced the ball joints and wishbones on my v70 - must be a slightly different design?

I got stuck at that exact same point. This is possibly one of the most challenging parts of the process.

WD40 is your friend. Soak the joint. Undo the the retaining nut, place a trolley jack under the hub to take the weight of the spring and shock off and whack the outside of the wishbone where the ball joint goes with a heavy hammer. It will come apart eventually. Turn the steering from side to side each time whacking the metal on the control arm.

You wont manage to separate the two without pre-loading the hub to take the sprung weight off

No difficulty lining it up. Disconnect the shock first, and reconnect last. Taking it off is the easy part. I always try to steer clear of breaking ball joints, even if you manage to not damage the rubber gaitor, they don't seem to last afterwards.

Thankfully we still have 2 cars, so I haven't had to rush this job and have been able to do an hour or so each evening last week. I eventually managed to get the ball joint off using the destructive forked tool, which took an immense hammering before it budged. So I will get 2 new ball joints to replace - have found some 'FAI' ones on ebay for £10 each + postage, which I hope are ok ?

Other than that it has just been slow and difficult work with spanners and sockets to remove everything (very tight access to many of the bolts), but thankfully I had D5Gill's excellent post to follow.

I now just need to angle grind a slot into the sleeve and tap that off. New kit ordered from Volvo and they confirmed same part number as D5Gill for me.

I've attached a photo of the sleeve with everthing else removed, it was covered in a thick sticky mess (now cleaned up), which I assume was the grease mixed with the metal shavings.

One thing I noticed during disassembly is I have a slight leak from the bottom of the bevel gear. Seeing as it is all out I think I'll split this open and put some sealant around the mating surfaces and then fill with fresh oil.

You can also probably see from the picture that the car has had a new turbo installed recently. Whoever did this work, didn't bother putting back the brake pipe and power steering clips (as I assume they had to drop the subframe?), and just tie-wrapped them back up! Consequently they are rubbing against the frame and I need to sort this out as well - might need assistance from someone to show me where new clips need to go.

Regards,
Tim.

You can use a thin bead of hylomar universal blue. It's a brilliant oil proof, non setting sealing paste. I have used it countless times on my BMW 850. Most recently to seal a failed sump gasket. I swear by this product. It's around £8 for a tube available from gsf car parts.

If you dont own a slide hammer, invest in one from screwfix for less than £20

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/62730/...uller-Kit-9-Pc

The sleeve came off really easily with a little levering from a crow bar (after angle grinding a slot). I've split open and resealed the bevel gear - everything seemed in good order. Couldn't get Hylomar sealant, but got an equivalent one. Interestingly there was no paper gasket or sealant at all bettween the two halves of the bevel gear, so they were relying soley on a perfect mating of the machined surfaces.

One question though - did you put the special spline grease on both the gearbox and bevel gear splines (i.e both sides of the splined collar)? I ask because the gearbox side does sit in the transmission fluid?

Thanks,
Tim.

I put in on the inside of the collar on the bevel gear and the transmission end.