My 240 Wagon has been vibrating in low gear for some time. This has gotten worse and the tranny fluid leak is getting worse. I discovered the drive shaft bearing and think this is the problem. The car actually stalls on a cold morning if the engine is completely heated up when I drive in low gear - before the grease in the bearing has heated up the resistance actually stops the engine. I think.

So, I got the bearing, found out it needs to be removed and replaced by a shop and am about to replace it and lubricate the cups on the two universal joints. While at it I'm going to drain the tranny, replace the filter and the damaged oil seal that accepts the drive shaft.

Any cautions? Clues? Thanks.

 

No, hard grease in the bearing cannot stop the engine.
Where is the tranny leak from, the rear seal?
Mark the driveshaft halves so they go back together as they were or else they get off balance, vibrate.
You may want to get new U joints if they are worn.

 

If the transmission is leaking you might want to check the output shaft bearing as it may be worn causing the seal to leak.

 

If your rear seal on the tranny is leaking, then your rear tailshaft bushing is worn as Jagtoes suggested. If you put a new seal in without fixing the bushing, the new seal won't seal properly.

 

Agreed, hard grease could not stop the engine - but if the bearings were damaged and dragging in hard grease? the 'output shaft bearing' - you mention - so there is more than just an oil seal in the rear of the tranny? Thanks!

 

So the rear of the tranny has more than an oil seal - it has a 'bushing'? - Jagtoes thinks there's a bearing in there? Thanks!

 

Good idea - marking the shafts.

 

You discovered the bearing is bad? Or you discovered the bearing exists? The vibrating at low speeds you mention usually is more indicitave of bad u-joint(s) or possibly driveshaft carrier rubber. Also check motor mounts and (esp.) transmission mount. Bad driveshaft bearing usually causes a howling at certain speeds.

Pertains to my knowledge about 740, but 240 may be similar: Volvo used several driveshaft sizes/bearing/carrier configurations so be sure you get the correct parts before disassembling it.

 

Yes technically it is a bushing or a cylindrical bearing.

 

The tailshaft bushing is in the rear of the transmission. It is something different than the carrier bearing. The tailshaft bushing supports the shaft that exits the transmission. When it gets worn, the rear transmission seal can no longer do it's work due to the wobbling of the shaft. The carrier bearing sits in the rubber doughnut that supports the driveshafts where the front and rear driveshafts are mated. It is a bearing and if it is going bad it makes a clear whining sound that varies with speed.

 

Thanks!

 

I discovered the bearing exists! There is no whining so maybe it is the bushing. I need to put it up on jacks and see the shaft spin.

 

I've experienced 2/7/940's with totally frozen center shaft bearings that were flopping around in totally beat up rubber mounts, and caused the car to have a heavy 'flutter' vibration during low speed acceleration as well as a rumble at speed felt through the floor boards.

 

Thanks. At this point, from all the info I've received, I'm suspecting the bushing in the rear of the tranny. The bearing may have stripped it's rubber housing as you experienced as it looks ragged. And just maybe it's a universal joint. so - the thing to do here is - since the shaft has to come off for one reason or another, get the bushing, I have the bearing, get new universals, and since I have to drain the tranny - replace the tranny filter.

 

Thank you for your clear and informative reply. As there is no 'whining' sound, and an increased tranny fluid leak, it may be the bushing; or a universal joint. So I'm gonna replace all of them and replace the tranny filter while at it.

 

OK, good luck. Make sure to matchmark the pieces before pulling them apart-- so you can reassemble in the same orientation. The driveline is supposed to be balanced.

If it were me, I would not replace any u-joints that check out OK. New parts may well be inferior quality than what is in there.

 

Good point about the inferior quality of new parts!

 

An interesting question would be if you didn't mark the 2 shafts how would you be able to reassemble it back to factory alignment.

 

On all of the drive shafts I have seen on 240s, there is a white or yellowish dot painted on each driveshaft. Align the dot from the front half to the rear and they should be aligned. Another way to align them is to ensure the two yokes of the driveshaft are aligned. You could still be 180 degrees off of the position where it was balanced so you can try it and if you have vibrations at speed then try switching by 180 and see if the vibration goes away.

If you google "Volvo 240 driveshaft" you will come across several pics that demonstrated the alignment of the yokes.

 

OK Thanks.