heya guys took my car for a 15 point inspection today as the dealership started a new campaign offering free inspections...anyway the mechanic showed me some oil leaking under the engine and said it was from the angle gear which has probable got a leaking seal which needs to be replaced...
my question is my car's mileage is 87700km now and wld need to be sent for the 90k major service which includes the change of timing belt,etc...could i wait till then to change the leaked seal in the angle gear or shld it be done asap...the guys at the dealership said the sooner the better but i wld rather just send the car once and get it all done together as the car wld need to be left there overnight for both the jobs in case the work cant be completed in a day...
cheers.

 

Pretty much every angle gear I have ever seen has leaked. I will bet it was from by the passenger side axle.

 

hi tech,

Some followupquestions for ya:

You're saying thatthey pretty much all leak, and all on the passenger side. If that front right seal axle seal is replaced, does it continue to leak? (Just curious if it's a known problem why Volvo doesn't belly up to the bar and do a recall...)

I expect I will need to replace brakes sometime later this winter. If I am in there and replacing the right front rotor, is the seal something I can replace at that time? Is that something one can do as a backyard mechanic or are there additional specialized tools or other major disassembly required?

Does this angle gear seal leak affect all XC90's including the V-8 AWD?

Thanks!

 

Even Volvo hasn't figured out how to stop the leak.

I have done a few of the seals and they are a Major pain in the Butt. You need special tools.

The seals only weap not enough to really cause damage as long as the services are done correctly. Then they would check and fluid and see that it is slightly low and top it up.

But it usually takes a long time for it to leak enough to cause any damage.

 

Thanks!

I haven't noticed any drips on the garage floor yet, so assume it's not weeping yet, or not enough to worry about anyway. I need to do another oil change in the next few days, and will take a closer look for any wetness in the area of the front axles and go from there.

 

Sounds like a PLAN!!!

 

The angle gear isnt leaking from the seals, its leaking were the angle gear is bolted together.

Have the dealer follow the instructions on the TNN, they'll replace the seals, clean the angle gear halves grind the inside of the angle gear as stated in the TNN and top it up. Also some of the vents leak on them, i always replace the vent when i reseal them.

Very easy job, not hard at all..

the reason your not seeing any drips on the garage floor is probably because of the engine pan thats bolted to the subframe, its all getting on it.. it wont make it to the floor.
Id atleast top it up, it can be an expensive fix if it runs low on fluid and begins making noise.

 

Thanks volvotechky.

I'll check the underside of the pan when I pull it to change the oil in the coming days. At the last oil change at 68,500 miles, the pan was dry.

This thread has been talking about the angle gear and the leak, but to be honest (or dumb?) I am not sure what we are talking about as far as what fluid it is that I'm supposed to fill, or where to find the fill location. Did I miss something in the earlier replies?

 

Maybe it is just a Florida thing here but I see the seal by the left side axle leaking all the time.

 

i doubt its a florida thing, maybe the ones you have seen have been after someone pulled the axle for some reaosn??? usally the only time the seals appear to be leaking, it after someone puts more fluid in the thing. and it leaks out the seals.

I've never seen just a seal leaking unless like stated above, someone pulled the axle out and when they put it back in hit the seal and cut it..
but again, it is a car, and we know how cars can be..



as for filling it, it is a special fluid, its also expansive.. its like 34-40$ at the dealer,im not sure if somthing else will work in, i just use the volvo stuff we have, i will tell you it smells like reg rear end grease, but im sure itsa synthetic blend of some sort. And as for filling it, theres a 13mm bolt with a copper washer on the pass side of the angle geal just remove that and add fluid. youll need a syringe of some sort, as the bottle wont fit in there to pour it in.

 

I changed the oil yesterday and took a few minutes to poke around with an inspection light.Everything was 'high and dry'. There was no oil/grease wetness anywhere around the axles, or in the engine pan.

 

Glad all is dry!!