Hi,
I have recently replaced the right and left drive axles on my 2007 S40, 2.5i, manual transmission. When I had everything in place I had thought once I got everything snug it would fit - however no matter what I cannot get the axles, on either side, to be flush with the outside of the wheel hub, both are about half an inch too short - both are flush with the transmission. Is this something anyone else has experienced? I thought I had bought the wrong replacement part so I ordered new ones but they look exactly the same (replacement part numbers:
Left 36000546, right 36000555. Anything insights or suggestions would be appreciated!!!!!
Also since I have to top up the transmission oil any suggestions on how to get at the top filler bolt would be welcome!!

 

When you say "flush" you mean that they're not seating all the way? Are you installing the axle bolt (which will pull the axle flush unless there's a problem, of course)?

I'm not sure about your part numbers. Add a zero on the end, and it corresponds to axles from GSP (a no-name probably Chinese axle), for a manual transmission car (are you lucky enough to HAVE a MT car? I'm jealous if that's the case).

 

The part numbers are genuine volvo, which is a huge chunk of change, I went OE when I got mine. Little note for OP, OE compared to genuine volvo, is literally the volvo name ground off the part.

If i remember correctly when I did some work on my CV boot and had the knuckle off and such, the CV will not sit flush with the edge of the hub. Those bolts are torque to spec, meaning you should replace them every time you take them out. If the bolt sat flush you would never get proper torque on the part and the cv would be loose when tightened. Not flush is okay, the cv just slides into place.

 

Thanks for the information and advice. I agree they do not have to fit flush exactly but even after trying to torque the bolts (35 nm plus another 90-degree rotation), they did not move. I also discovered in test driving I could hear a clicking sound from the engine bay - figured out it was the sound of the drive shaft moving in and out of the transmission! So they may not have to be flush but I am going to assume there needs to be less clearance than this

 

ery odd... That's definitely not enough engagement. I can only guess you have the wrong axles, though why that might have happened is another issue altogether.

I did some poking around on the rockauto.com site, and see that there's a difference between the manual transmission and automatic transmission axles. And FWIW, the manual transmission axles are longer, so perhaps you just ended up with the automatic tranny axles somehow.

Here are some photos that might trigger a recollection... The part numbers ending in 55 and 56 are for the automatic tranny axles, while the others are the manual tranny number (disclaimer - the right "long" axle is mis-labeled on rockauto, I believe, showing two right axles for manual tranny cars, but I'm 99% sure that's a typo, based on the numbers and photos). And the photos are for aftermarket GSP axles (not my first choice by miles). But FWIW, there are some differences in overall length, and (if I'm interpreting the photos correctly) in the spline length on the hub end. Also, there appears to be a spiral groove cut into the tranny end of the manual tranny axles, but that could be just a GSP thing, as I've never seen a manual transmission CV axle. But overall the axles just look "different". I am assuming that the original axles had the same overall differences, but that's just an assumption.

 

Thank you very much for this, I had been certain this was the case but could not find anything that gave the measurements. I have measured the new ones and they appear to be longer. I will be putting them in this weekend, hopefully, it works out.