Quote:
Originally Posted by mcox42
John,
Had, what sounds like, a very similar experience last year. Sounded like rear wheel bearing but couldn't distinguish which side. Booked it into Volvo for Wheel Bearings got call from the dealer to say it was the Haldex unit. £3500 for the Haldex and including some other bits and Labour £5k+.
They told me it was definitely the Haldex unit as their master technician (30 years experience) had been looking into it (t doing a lot of listening along the drivetrain).
To cut a very long and tedious story short...Diff bearings were at fault. Rear Diff sent to refurber and now quiet as a mouse. One very embarrassed master technician especially as they now had a £3.5k paperweight in their parts department. Significantly less beer tokens spent as well!
I've been told by a reputable expert that the AOC coupling (Haldex) doesn't have any bearings in it. The AOC module is electronic, so your grumbling will be coming from the rear diff.
Cheers
Martin
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Hi Martin,
Further to your helpful comments above I eventually found a good independent near Chester. He listened with a stethoscope and found definite noises from the rear differential. He also says that the Haldex unit does not have a designated service interval but it should have, every 50K he reckons. He has changed the filter and the oil and it is working fine with no noise. The differential was the problem: when he removed it he was pressing out the bearings and exposed a fracture in the main casing. The differential has now been replaced and everything is working quietly. Slightly painful on the pocket but I'm glad the diff didn't split while the car was moving.
He also found holes in the rear exhaust and offered to try to weld it, but when he came to it this was not possible so I have a new silencer. I opted for a Volvo one although he offered to try for a cheaper one, because I aim to keep this car for a while yet.
He then asked about the Auxiliary Belt Tensioner. I have looked at the correspondence about this on the forum. He currently has 3 cars in his yard whose engines were wrecked because the tensioner went. He says it is crazy not to replace the tensioner at the same time as the timing belt. Makes sense to me as apparently it is the tensioner that does all the damage when it goes.
I have asked the helpful people at the dealers exactly what they did at the last service. I've a feeling that the first timing belt change was done late so they may be waiting for the next service, and clearly this needs to be dealt with on time.
I'm seeing this message to each of you because I don't know how to send it to you both together!
Thanks very much for the help. Total cost of the above was £3115 which included the new exhaust and diff. If I had stuck with the dealer's advice I would be £3,500 worse off with new Haldex unit, a hole in the exhaust and a rear diff in danger of blowing, so I think the money was well spent.
I shall use this indie for everything in future; you actually get to talk to the guy who knows the problems and fixes them himself, and they are very obliging. The expertise is really in one person's hands, but he is a lot younger than me so should see me out.