Hi. I have a 99 xc70 with 130,000 miles.

First, I have a rumbling/grumbling sound that sounds like a wheel bearing coming from the front end. I haven't determined which wheel the sound is coming from. Is it particularly unusual for the wheel bearings to go bad in these cars? My Haynes manual says that these bearings are "lifetime bearings."

Second, when accellerating at low speeds -- say 5 - 15 mph -- while turning, there is a mild vibration in the steering wheel. Is this a sign that the angle gear/differential/cv joint are goinng?

Thanks in advance!!!!

 

1. Yes these bearing go bad somewhat often.

2. It could also be the driveshaft going bad as well.

 

Did you ever determine what was wrong. My wife's car has the same symptom.
2001 V70XC 170,000mi

 

Send petes99xcan e-mailthru his member profile. He was just around with a turbo leak on 11-22-07.

 

I have yet to resolve either of these issues, although things have gotten worse re both.

1. I think the wheel bearing noise is actually coming from a rear wheel now, but haven't fully investigated.

2. I was getting a loud knocking/tapping sound from the angle gear, and determined that it was low on oil . I put oil in it, but now it is making unusual whining sounds, esp. when cold.

 

After more than two years (and 12,000 miles - my wife doesn't drive her car much) the vibrating has gotten significantly worse. It feels like whatever the problem is, it's going to fail soon. How exciting.

After reading other posts, I was thinking about disconnecting the driveshaft to rule that out (or in), but the issue seems so related to turning, I don't think it would be the driveshaft to the rear of the car. The car is totally fine driving forward; the problem only appears while turning either way at low speeds.

 

I just got back from having the timing belt replaced and he was saying that the universal joint (u-joint) is bad on the driveshaft. I was experiencing a grinding sort of noise when breaking and knocking when driving and also turning which was do to excessive play in the joint causing the driveshaft to bind.

He also said if it started to get worse than to really think about getting it fixed.

This just sounded like it might be related to your problem. I have a 98 v70.

 

Thanks for the post.

I disconnected the driveshaft (where it leaves the trans/angle gear, headed toward the rear of the car) today and drove it, and the problem was totally gone.

But I am still not sure it's the driveshaft or driveshaft related. Why would turning the wheels be so influential on creating the vibration? Could having the driveshaft disconnected be relieving stress on the angle gear, such that an issue with the angle gear is not causing an issue when the driveshaft is disconnected?

 

The front joint on the driveshaft goes bad. The boot rips and all the grease comes out. Then it runs dry causing the issue. Almost like a CV axle when all the grease comes out and they start clicking.

 

I replaced the rear/center driveshaft and the problem has gone away completely.

I got a remanufactured drive shaft with a one-year warranty from "Colorado Drive Shaft."

$460, including the $50 core deposit, and they pre-paid for shipping the core return to them.

Thanks for the assistance!