So I bought this 98 V70 XC AWD about 8 months ago on eBay. I know, I know...that was risky.

Anyway, I took it to a mechanic last week for a tune-up, and after looking the car over, the mechanic says, "Did you know that your car is missing the driveshaft that sends power to the rear wheels? It's just completely gone. So basically, your 'all-wheel-drive' car is really only a front-wheel drive."

So my question is. . . Why would they remove it? And am I hurting anything by driving it this way?

Thanks

 

hello , i hope i'm not the bearer of bad news ? but there are two reosens to remove the driveshaft/propshaft 1st , the fantasy reosen is to gain about another 15-20% on your fuel returns , meaning only driving two wheels is cheaper than driving 4.
the 2nd "real" reosen is proberbly like my v70xc the cars been driven around with worn tyres on one axle and good on the other , this apparently wrecks the transferbox and rear diff . i didn't know this when i bought mine and 6000 miles later i now have 2-3mm of play in my diff output bearings , worn driveshaft/cv joints and as for the transfer box god/alah/fartherxmas only knows , iv'e been made well aware of the costs involved and iv'e no choice other than to fix it . at the moment i'm looking for two rear driveshafts i can cut the stubshaft/abs ring off , so i can hold my rear wheel hubs together without connecting them to the rear diff and two complete driveshafts/or cv joint refurb (x4) for the front .
i did have a brand new propshaft made with my stub ends plus all gkn parts so i can change the uj's myself at a cost of £380 , that was a favour price as i'd worked there for 8 years , even with that i'm looking at about £90 per cv (x4), thats if they can be done. as luck would have it the steering racks knackerd so ive been able to take all the front end driveshafts of already thats when i discoverd the top strut bearings /front wheel bearings / tie rods / roll bar / and discs needed doing , lucky realy.lol.
i will say , if i can fix it i will because the difference between 2wd and 4wd on these is amazing and well worth the loss in mpg!
as with most things i try and get as many reviews before i buy , and the feedback was exellent for the v70awd,xc but by the time i killed it towing my 23ft caravan for one seosen , i was finding reviews that said most of the early awd systems were week and to be tottally avoided! ( i hadn't found this forum when i bought!)the only gutting thing is i paid £3750 for this car 2yrs ago, and although i love her, i can get a new ride ,same model ,same miles for about £1000
if i was to give any advice it would be to run it cheap , keep it 2wd , and if like me you love what the volvo drives like , save your money for the next one!
Daren.

 

Check E-bay for driveshafts.