AWD Transmission: XC90 No AWD Want to report this to BBC Watch Dog

[400-ascona]

Originally Posted by David Pearson

This is a known problem annd was obvioulsly a supplier quality issue. Go after Volvo if you have this problem. The only way you find out however, is when you are stuck in snow!!! Hope this helps

Hi, good info thanks. If you check other threads you will find this is a well known problem. However its not true that you will only find out in the snow, as its possible to check that the system is working by inspection.
Rob

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by David Pearson

.
I put this to Volvo and although I was out of 5 years, Volvo agreed to contribute 50% to the Gearbox and the dealer 15%. However on the strip down, it was found that the internal splines of the connecting shaft between the two gearboxes had been stipped on one side only and on the inside of the bush only.
Now I am a Metallurgist by profession and reported that this was a manufacturing fault on the bush. The splines on the bush could not have been hardened as the the spline had stripped on the bush and not even touched the shaft coming from the gearbox to which it mated. The cost was a total of £270 instead of the £1200 they had originally quoted. I was so relieved and had my discount, I just paid up. No problems since.
This is a known problem annd was obvioulsly a supplier quality issue. Go after Volvo if you have this problem. The only way you find out however, is when you are stuck in snow!!! Hope this helps

It's not a manufacturing fault but a design one. The original sleeve is hardened but the steel is not of a suitable quality and also it was not realised that it would suffer corrosion in that situation. It's the corrosion that eventually kills it. It's normal for the angle drive to be still be OK. They hardly ever fail. The new redesigned sleeve is a better material that takes the hardening better and also the replacement sleeve kit has seals and grease to protect it. Pictures of the old one and redesigned one that you might enjoy. Should add it only affects pre July 2006 models.

[Gazdok]

Is this problem unique to XC90 AWDs or can this affect V70 AWD too?

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by Gazdok

Is this problem unique to XC90 AWDs or can this affect V70 AWD too?

If old enough, (up to July 06) and also the older R cars where it first showed up.

[andyxc]

I'm another person with a 2wd xc90-54 plate d5 163bhp. I've just removed the bevel gear using the excellent instructions in the article section.The splines are stripped in the sleeve but everything else looks good to me. Before i go any further can anyone help me with a few question i have?

1 I presume the splines on the bevel gear are supposed to be "flat topped". They are still at least 2mm deep and evenly worn. The pics of other peoples look about the same

2 Before i try to pull the sleeve out of the gearbox do i need to remove the internal circlip (i presume so)?

3 What is the procedure for replenishing the spilt atf from the gearbox - believe it's not a simple procedure due to a lack of a dipstick

4 If i replace the oil in the angle drive is there a set amount of oil to go in

5 Any idea of the part number for the sleeve replacement kit

Any help gratefully received-thanks guys

[owenfackrell]

Originally Posted by andyxc

I'm another person with a 2wd xc90-54 plate d5 163bhp. I've just removed the bevel gear using the excellent instructions in the article section.The splines are stripped in the sleeve but everything else looks good to me. Before i go any further can anyone help me with a few question i have?

1 I presume the splines on the bevel gear are supposed to be "flat topped". They are still at least 2mm deep and evenly worn. The pics of other peoples look about the same

2 Before i try to pull the sleeve out of the gearbox do i need to remove the internal circlip (i presume so)?

3 What is the procedure for replenishing the spilt atf from the gearbox - believe it's not a simple procedure due to a lack of a dipstick

4 If i replace the oil in the angle drive is there a set amount of oil to go in

5 Any idea of the part number for the sleeve replacement kit

Any help gratefully received-thanks guys

In answer to number 2. No you don't need to remove the circlip as it's already fitted on the new one.
In answer to 3 yours should have the 5 speed box which does have a dip stick which is located low down on the front of the box. It's below the air intake.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by andyxc

I'm another person with a 2wd xc90-54 plate d5 163bhp. I've just removed the bevel gear using the excellent instructions in the article section.The splines are stripped in the sleeve but everything else looks good to me. Before i go any further can anyone help me with a few question i have?

1 I presume the splines on the bevel gear are supposed to be "flat topped". They are still at least 2mm deep and evenly worn. The pics of other peoples look about the same

2 Before i try to pull the sleeve out of the gearbox do i need to remove the internal circlip (i presume so)?

3 What is the procedure for replenishing the spilt atf from the gearbox - believe it's not a simple procedure due to a lack of a dipstick

4 If i replace the oil in the angle drive is there a set amount of oil to go in

5 Any idea of the part number for the sleeve replacement kit

Any help gratefully received-thanks guys

Firstly you need to get the splined sleeve from the dealer who will give you the correct one , they are about £100 .
You need to clean the splines on the angle gear well to get rid of all the iron dust , then try the new sleeve on the splines , they should be a good fit with minimal play, you will probably have a bit more play than normal , If you can see a step where worn splines meet unused ones on the angle gear you need to make a decision as whether to get another angle gear or not .
If it were mine i would loctite the sleeve splines to the angle gear splines , nothing to loose and it could well give you a fix to last for years otherwise the play will grind away at your new sleeve .
The circlip will have to come out to enable the hydraulic puller to pull the sleeve off the gearbox , it is the easiest way and the dealer has the kit .. If you can get it off your way fair enough ..
You shouldnt loose any oil from the gearbox the level is just up to the driveshaft hole .
Yes the angle gear holds one litre of the special oil , best get that at the dealer too . There is a drain plug on the bottom and level plug on the side .

[andyxc]

Thanks for the quick answers guys.
Theres no 'step' on the side of the angle gears it's just i don't know what an unworn cog should look like other than looking for photos on the forums.
It is a 5speed steptronic so i'll try and find the dipstick tomorrow.
Do you think it's worth replacing the gearbox oil anyway as i've just put a towbar on to tow the caravan(72000miles).
If so how much do i need?
Does it fill down the dipstick tube?
Is it normal atf or is there something better?

I followed the advice last month when i needed to change the intercooler(with great success) and i couldn't see how to get the bumper off. Thanks again

I've got four more older cars so I bought this car so i would have something i don't spend my life fixing!! that will teach me! Ha Ha

[chb]

Hi Andy,
there are a couple of things here that I THINK might be getting mixed up.
Your car is the same as mine (mines a MY2005 163BHP with auto box).

There are two lots of fluid related to the gears and drive.

Firstly there is the ATF transmission fluid that goes in the gearbox. This has a yellow dipstick at the front of the engine very low down. The type of fluid is very specific to the gearbox used. I changed mine last month (search on here for Gibbons method, or check my post history to find).

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=124622

The other fluid is in the differential/bevel gear which is underneath the car.
This fluid again is very specific. I bought a litre from the volvo dealership.
There is a filling plug on the side of the differential (volvo VADIS call this a bevelgear for some reason). I can't check right now, but I can say that you do NOT fill this up to level with the filling plug. I had to top mine up as there is a well known "fault" on this component where the seal gasket can allow the fluid to seep out. Volvo issued a fix to this which involved resealing externally using silicone (I cleaned with surgical spirit and bought some locktite high performance gasket seal).
To get the correct fill level on the bevel gear you fill it to the level with the filling hole. Then you remove some (I think 100-200ml) from memory.
I used a 50ml syringe and a bit of silicone hose to do this.

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showth...950#post753950
Hope this helps.

[andyxc]

Thanks very much for the help
I'll be starting to sort it all out tomorrow- Wish me luck!