minor moaning manual melodrama

[BigGreenThing]

My manual XC70 (MY2011) has begun to "moan" or "squeak" when I change gear (gears 1 to 6). It's been doing it for a while, but now a little more pronounced (or I'm tuning into it a lot more...which is probable!!)

It sounds like it's coming from beneath the gearstick gaiter. But I've not investigated further (current Storm Babet not helping). Gear change itself seems OK.

Has anybody ever experienced this gearstick "squeaking" or "creaking sound" when changing gear and uncovered what the source of the noise was? And, ultimately how it might be fixed?

There's a small hole in the leather gaiter - so I may well just "pop" a WD40 down the hole...see what happens!

[Andmurph]

I have the same challenge as I am really fussy about rattles and squeaks and my 2010 V70 does the same.

Underneath the leather gaiter is a large lump of nylon that has the two gear control cables attached and the base of the gear stick mechanism. There are a few threads on the forum about this that recommend copper grease and lithium grease…. I have tried both with little success. I went into Volvo in Taunton today to ask if there was a repair or bush kit available and they quoted my £301.20 for a replacement lump of nylon to attach the gear stick into. (Part no. 31325459)

If you carefully lift the rear edge of the gaiter it will come out easily. You’ll see on the left a nylon mechanism and the “side to side” cable. I greased these and they quietened briefly. Further back and lower down behind the spring of the left you’ll see a nylon fork mechanism that can also be greased.


The “front to back” cable is easier to access from the side by gently pulling off the plastic trim panel into the footwell. This can then be greased as well.


I managed to find a YouTube video that suggests also greasing the pivot at the gearbox end of the cables but that involves removing the battery and airboxes so I haven’t done that yet.

The nylon ball and socket mechanism is the challenge. There is also a small spigot off the gearstick with a metal ball that fits into a nylon hole. On mine this is worn and could use a bushing to tighten the slack. On the forum I found an article where this has been done on a 740 but I can’t find any parts for a V70 online anywhere.

[tommyweaves]

I have a MY2011 D3 Manual (the good one!) and it's been doing it for years, forward shifts only - 2nd to 3rd for example. Annoys me immensely. I tried grease but soon came back. Silicone spray has been suggested but I've not tried it as not sure how well thst would mix with grease. Worse in colder times.


I'm told (few years back) that the whole gear linkage cassette is a Ford item. The P2 manual gearchange is silky in comparison.

That's all, had a long day, tired.

[BigGreenThing]

Thanks chaps! Enormously useful! And good to know I’m not the only one experiencing this (slightly irritating) issue.

I’ll have to have a dig around the forum, but the “condition” doesn’t appear to be anything terminal/ I need to be overly concerned about.

Time to dig out the silicone spray and investigate when the storm blows over!

Thanks again. Much appreciated!!!

[Andmurph]

I bought a can of floater Silicone Spray from Screwfix and applied very liberally to the nylon parts. This and a bit of grease on the cables seems to have an amazing impact. There’s no sign of any squeaks at all now. Long may it last!

[BigGreenThing]

Originally Posted by Andmurph

I bought a can of floater Silicone Spray from Screwfix and applied very liberally to the nylon parts. This and a bit of grease on the cables seems to have an amazing impact. There’s no sign of any squeaks at all now. Long may it last!

I'm going to be popping into Screwfix today then!

[Andmurph]

Well that didn’t work for long! 24hours later it needs spraying again.

Anyone got any other ideas? Would something graphite based work with nylon?

[Tatsfield]

Silicone oil may be too fluid to stay on the rubbing surfaces. Why not try a dry PTFE spray that leave behind powdered PTFE (Teflon) that will provide a low friction interface between the rubbing surfaces. I bought one from Lidls but Halfords or the like may well stock this product.

[BigGreenThing]

I didn’t think about PTFE spray, but applied some silicone grease (not oil or spray), and it seems to have made a slight difference! I may apply a little more. See what happens!

[tommyweaves]

I slapped more Moly grease on mine today and it's now quiet. Not sure how long it will work but tried to get on, around and under the ball into the socket. Picture shows after I'd gone throuh all the gears. Always seems to leave two white lines where it's as though there's something in the front of the socket that keeps wiping clean.