searched around, and didn't quite find the answer to my question/problem. Just bought a 1999 v70 xc awd for a steal (199,500 miles and every thing works...no rust...no tears in leather...haha..sorry just proud of my wagon). Great car...like it alot. Just one problem.

it has a vibration between 10 and 25 mph. at idle speeds (around a parking lot) it is fine. At 35 and above it is perfect. It is just at the those lower traffic speeds that it is annoying. it kind of shakes the whole car. It is NOT subtle but not overly distressing...yet. guy I bought it from (little dealer....never had a volvo before) thought either driveshaft or carrier bearing.

It isn't doing the typical cv joint clicking, and it shakes upon acceleration and braking only. coasts fine. A quick peak shows none of the typical cv joint oil splatter from a broken boot. I am positive it isn't tire balance (vibration is too fast for it to be that at such a low speed). Lower A arms have been replaced sometime in the past.

My thought process was to remove the drive shaft and see if that fixes it or at least eliminates that as an issue. but I thought I would check here first before I hunt up the extra jack stands and whatnot...didn't see too much about the driveshaft for low speed issues and no serious "clunks" on the forum search.

thanks for your advise and aid.

 

I would start with removing the driveshaft and see if that fixes it.

 

crawled under...took pics. I will try to attach them. I can see some grease in the "cup" of the rear "cv joint" on the driveshaft. Other than that, the whole assemble rotates a little by hand...no grinding. Hopefully tomorrow I can take it out and see if that fixes it.

but I saw something else disturbing. the place where the front cv joints come together next to the transmission is covered with oil. any ideas what would cause that?

 

Check the same joint as you have pictured for the rear but in the front. The rubber boot in the joint falls apart and all the grease comes out. Then the joint rattles and causes vibrations.

For the oil it might be dripping off the turbo. If you can clean it all up and drive it for a day or so and see if it gets wet again.

 

I'll take a closer look, but didn't see any signs of oil/grease leaking by either end except for the little bit you could see in the pic. as for the angle gear/transfer case (I'm assuming that was what the oil covered part was), I was searching around on another website and came across a comment about the tires causing the angle gear to burn up if they weren't symetrical. something about larger diameters in the back burning up the gear because it is still a primarily front wheel drive vehicle.

at one point, the PO bought a newer set of fronts about 1.25 years after buying a full set of four. therefore, the fronts are "generic" (american brand) and the rears are coopers. tread depth looks ok, but the "Newer" americans are definitely a little more worn looking for being newer tires, but they are pretty close when it comes to tread depth. Any chance that might be causing the oil to seep out of the seals and halves of the angle gear and make it look all oily? And maybe cause my vibration? rotate em and see what happens?

The reason I'm delving into this is because I live in Upper Michigan, and wanted the awd for our lovely winters. and even if I pull the shaft temporarily, will replacing it do nothing over the long run if its the oil covered angle gear that's the culprit? aka, not the shaft at all, but the gear...or both?!?

and thanks for the guidance. It is greatly appreciated.

 

All the angle gears will leak some. I have never seen one that did not leak.(well unless it was a new car)

The driveshafts go bad alot more than the angle gear. But the angle gears do go bad at times. But I would clean it up good and see from there.

 

FINALLY got around to doing it. The vibration had become a bumping, clunking, annoying mess, so finally got around to crawling under and wrenching.

Removing the driveshaft fixed the problem. It also made the car seem "lighter" and "more nimble". It feels like it is quicker off the line, though I have to be careful now cause a little bit of throttle does a lot more than before.

The Carrier bearing (or whatever that ring by the U-joint is called) was shot. The rubber was torn and the entire shaft was banging around in there. The U-joint itself looks bad and doesn't freely move, so I'm thinking that is the actual original issue.

Any way to "fix" that?

Also, for those who are thinking of tackling this job, it is easy. Took about 1.5 hours, a 12mm socket wrench, a 6mm hex key (allen wrench), a hammer, and some penetrating oil to help loosen the bolts. (and jackstands of course). Got plenty dirty, but hey...that's why some dude invented soap.

thanks for the guidance.

 

I forget where they are but there is a place that rebuilds then for alot cheaper than a new one.(1K)