V70R
angle/bevel bearing and steering rack
XC70
auto tranny
XC90
fuel economy

I'm coming from a Saab 9-5 Aero wagon. Was initially looking at XC70's, then got spooked by tranny stories. Started looking at V70's, then the wife saw a 2004 V70R and fell in love. I keep hearing about an angle/bevel bearing issue. I drove two of these cars today. Nice ride, nivpce performance, nice utility, AWD etc. Price is right but worried about reliability. Then the wife started looking at XC90's.We drove a 2004 with T5 and a 2006 with V8. Night and day difference between them with a nod going to the V8. Now my head is spinning with decision making questions.

Coming from 25mpg avg wondering if I could ever live with 15mpg in the XC90 V8. Is that a reasonable approximation of real world MPG ofr the V8 with moslty country road/city driving?

Are the issues with the XC70 really mostly sorted by 2004 as some members have indicated?

Is the issue with angle/bevel bearing ALL 2004 V70R's regardless of tranny?

Wife now looking at Saab 9-7X and 9-3 Aero SportCombi as alternatives as well.

 

I'm pretty sure the same angle gear is used in the XC70 and the R. It is common for them to leak, but I haven't seen many bearing issues at all. Of course, if it leaks and you never fix it or fill it, then that leads to other problems. A lot of people who come online to complain about their cars conveniently forget to mention owner neglect.

 

Guess I'll need to do some homework then. I'm not afraid to do my own maintenance, but have never previously heard of this angle/bevel gear. Wondering if there is a way to tell while sampling used vehicles that there has been neglect of this part or that there is an issue with it.

 

Thus far I've read about a bunch of these bevel gear failures. Some are with lower miles and do not appear to be due to neglect. I don't have an owner's manual but would be curious to see what recommended service is for the transfer case housing this gear/spline. It appears to be a weak point regardless of maintenance. I've read reference to the fact that Volvo feels the AW 5sp auto tranny has "fluid for life" and that there is no recommended service in the manual. I hope that is not the case, and that they didn't adopt a similar strategy for the transfer case, as refreshing fluids in both would seem important to longevity.

Also, more reading about the V8 XC90 brings about a slew of failed balance shaft issues that are "known problems" and considerably expensive to repair out of warranty.

One of the things that drew me to Volvo in my search for a vehicle was their reputation for solid engineering and long lasting products. Around hear the fact that old 240's go for the same as 2001 XC70's might be all I need to see to tell me the state of current affairs, though in fairness it seems MANY manufacturers have gone this way.

I'm still very interested in the v70R and XC70, but need to arm myself further with the knowledge of what to avoid. I knew all the caveats from the Saab world so it was easy to spot what I was looking for. Learning all this stuff about a new manufacturer and models is a bit daunting.

 

There is no fluid change interval for the angle gear. I've been working on them a long time and I think I've only seen one angle gear unexplainably fail. I've resealed many though. I would be more worried about one leaking than failing. And on the R, I'd be more worried about the struts failing than the angle gear failing.

The V8 balance shaft was only some of the first engines. I forgot the serial number for the design change.

 

I appreciate the dialogue BTW. Can you explain in a bit more detail about the leaking. Is this obvious to spot like a tranny leak at he case joint or an oil leak at the pan gasket where you can clearly see moisture with lots of dirt adhered to it? Is is safe to say a wet case on a used 100K+ mile R with no service history is to be avoided? Is there an easy way to tell if rear end is engaged other than trying to spin the wheels in the dirt during a test drive? Also about the struts, presumably these are a wear item and would need replacing at some point regardless. Is there something specific about them or does the damper simply stop doing its job? Massively expensive or difficult to replace? Thanks in advance.

 

Yes, the leak is very obvious. Can't miss it.

I've resealed many that were leaking for quite some time and never had an issue with the angle gear failing afterwards.

The struts are very expensive on the R because of the 4C chassis. The solenoid in the strut fails and You get a warning message on. The solenoid is not separately replaceable.

 

A V70 and a XC90 are two different cars. It depends on your fuel budget as well as perhaps whether the car will constantly be driven in busy city traffic or not (XC90 is not exactly nimble and rather thirsty in such conditions).

Hint: life is easier when wife is happy I would look at the XC90. Women seem to love this car. Steer clear of 03-05 T6 XC90's (Volvo XC90 Transmission Failure – Class Action Settlement - Chimicles & Tikellis LLP). Even with some later V8 a few owners complained about 2-3 shifting flare due perhaps to the solenoids, so test it thoroughly and for a good 10-15 minutes so the transmission has time to warm up.

 

I ended up with a 2004 XC70 for now. We'll be buying another car in the spring and may look further into the R's and XC90's.