Lower steering universal joint.1998 940Celebration.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by 940volvoman

I believe that Volvo no longer stock the lower universal joint for the steering column.Mine is sticking,particularly in damp weather, which means turning the wheel becomes difficult and hairy scary particularly when travelling at speeds.Is there a fix for this,or does it mean the car will have to be scrapped?

It may not be obtainable through the normal volvo stock deliveries but did the dealer attempt to get it through volvo classic Parts warehouse in Sweden? I would be surprised if they don't have a vital part which would render the car scrap ... Try FRF Swansea they know about these things .
The reason they go stiff is HEAT from the exhaust manifold the UJ gets so hot it would burn you if you grabbed hold of it especially on the turbo models . The stiffness is not due to corrosion , it is stainless steel inside and there are seals to keep water out , not that any water gets up there in that location .

The same happens on the 240 after 100,000 + miles .
What I have done is get the joint off and clean it up , heat some engine oil in an old saucepan to about 100C and dip the UJ in so it is submerged ... the expansion inside will force a lot of air bubbles out past the seal due to the increase in pressure .. then leave it to cool down for a day .. as it cools the partial vacuum inside the joint will draw in some engine oil , waggle the joint around and it will free off it will be enough to do another 100,000 miles ...

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Clan

The same happens on the 240 after 100,000 + miles .
What I have done is get the joint off and clean it up , heat some engine oil in an old saucepan to about 100C and dip the UJ in so it is submerged ... the expansion inside will force a lot of air bubbles out past the seal due to the increase in pressure .. then leave it to cool down for a day .. as it cools the partial vacuum inside the joint will draw in some engine oil , waggle the joint around and it will free off it will be enough to do another 100,000 miles ...

................ or perhaps 200,000 miles if a suitable heatshield is fabricated and fitted afterwards.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

................ or perhaps 200,000 miles if a suitable heatshield is fabricated and fitted afterwards.

yes indeed :-)

[mocambique-amazone]

Originally Posted by Clan

The reason they go stiff is HEAT from the exhaust manifold the UJ gets so hot it would burn you if you grabbed hold of it especially on the turbo models . The stiffness is not due to corrosion , it is stainless steel inside and there are seals to keep water out , not that any water gets up there in that location .

The same happens on the 240 after 100,000 + miles .
What I have done is get the joint off and clean it up , heat some engine oil in an old saucepan to about 100C and dip the UJ in so it is submerged ... the expansion inside will force a lot of air bubbles out past the seal due to the increase in pressure .. then leave it to cool down for a day .. as it cools the partial vacuum inside the joint will draw in some engine oil , waggle the joint around and it will free off it will be enough to do another 100,000 miles ...

Hello Clan, even the LHD Volvo 200-900 go stiff at this u-joint. No exhaust on the left side. The alloy will grow and clamp the bearing inside.
Important on turbo cars: the steering cardan including the joints is made of steel instead made of alloy like the NA-engines.
Till now I did only find u-joints and steering shaft at RHD turbo cars are made of steel.
In Germany you won't find a lot of them for this reason.....
I prefer still semi-fluid grease while cooking the u-joints.
Good evening, Kay

[Clan]

Originally Posted by mocambique-amazone

Hello Clan, even the LHD Volvo 200-900 go stiff at this u-joint. No exhaust on the left side. The alloy will grow and clamp the bearing inside.
Important on turbo cars: the steering cardan including the joints is made of steel instead made of alloy like the NA-engines.
Till now I did only find u-joints and steering shaft at RHD turbo cars are made of steel.
In Germany you won't find a lot of them for this reason.....
I prefer still semi-fluid grease while cooking the u-joints.
Good evening, Kay

Maybe they dry out naturally with time , the RHD certainly get very hot ..

Hopefully volvo still do them , they usually keep the vital parts in the classic warehouse which would stop the car being used .

[rwdkev]

Originally Posted by 940volvoman

I believe that Volvo no longer stock the lower universal joint for the steering column.Mine is sticking,particularly in damp weather, which means turning the wheel becomes difficult and hairy scary particularly when travelling at speeds.Is there a fix for this,or does it mean the car will have to be scrapped?

Do you still need one of these or did you get it sorted?