My 2000 V40 with a AW50-42 automatic transmission and 99,000 miles started to make what I thought was front wheel bearing noise - a humming/rumbling noise - a month ago. I jacked the front end up today and the wheel bearings seem fine. The bad news is when I rotate the front wheels - one at a time of course - I can hear a clicking bearing noise from the differential. It sounds as if there are too few ***** in a bearing race and the ***** are clicking together as I rotate the front wheel(s).

I bought this car for my kids to learn to drive on in March, 2012. I have done a lot of maintenance and minor repairs, including a complete transmission fluid exchange at 79,000 miles. The old fluid looked good. I used Walmart Super-Tech ATF to save a few bucks and that's now looking like a not-so-great idea.

I'd like to save this car if I can. What do you think?

 

I'm new to this forum, but have owned front wheel drive cars, it sounds like a CV joint to me.

 

The noise is the same - identical - when I rotate both front wheels - one at a time of course.

Would the inner CV joints make that kind of bearing clicking noise? I don't think so but I'd love to be wrong about that.

 

I've just remembered this was my very first post on this forum over two years ago:

There's some side to side play in the passenger side inner CV joint, but there's also up-down slop in the driver's side driveshaft at the transmission. When I grab the driver's side inner CV joint it rotates up and down a little. I'd expect this to be rock solid. Is something broken inside the transmission?

Back then the reply was that that was normal but that did not seem correct to me at the time.

So maybe it wasn't the Super-Tech ATF after all.

Pending a better idea I'm starting to think about installing a junkyard tranny.

 

Now I'm thinking maybe the differential noise is normal. The slop in the driver inner CV at the differential is pretty minimal. After some more road testing I'm going to start by replacing the right front wheel bearing.

 

OK, not the differential. Was in fact the right front wheel bearing, now replaced.

For those of you so reckless as to attempt this yourself, here's what I learned.

On the early S40s (and V40s) the wheel bearing, hub and steering knuckle are pressed together. You will not be able to get these components apart, or back together, without a shop press and either the correct Volvo fixtures or some creative ad hoc fixturing. Don't even think about it if you don't have this equipment.

If you're in the rust belt the ABS sensor will not come out of the steering knuckle. It just won't. It might as well be welded in there. So plan for that. If you pick up a used knuckle assembly with the bearing and hub, make sure you get the entire ABS sensor including the lead and connector. Don't accept an assembly with a cut-off ABS sensor, like I did, or you'll be splicing the sensor wiring, like I did.

Oh yeah. The bad wheel bearing, which was making a lot of noise, was completely tight and smooth. It does make a little bit of noise when rotated by hand but it has not a hint of slop, play or notchiness. Weird.

 

Take what I say with a grain of salt, I was just guessing.