Rear driveshaft removal clarification

[helix350]

I think I'm going to have my 2000 made into a FWD rather than shell out for even a rebuilt driveshaft right now. (whirring and squeaking noises diagnosed as bad rear carrier bearing) I've read the other posts here and at Matthew's site pertaining to this subject and I see everyone says the car will run just fine as FWD, but I haven't seen any mention of if anything has to be done electronically. Is it really just as simple as pulling the drive shaft?
Will I have a light on indicating a fault with the AWD system or is there a way to "tell" the computer that it's no longer AWD.
I've having my independent mechanic do it for me. He's great but not a Volvo guy. Anything else I should tell him to help it go smoothly?
Thanks.

[ecbsykes]

2000 model, just pull the shaft and you are good to go. It's on the later, more electronic models where you need to pull fuses and stuff.

[JRL]

Put car on jackstands (or a lift)
Remove propshaft
You're DONE! [thumbup]

[helix350]

great. thanks guys.

[ecbsykes]

Just a bit of info on my experience though... I couldn't get the shaft out myself. I only had a jack and stands, no lift. Access was a bit difficult, but the main problem was that the bolts were on too hard and/or rusted a bit. Had a shop charge 1/2 hour of labor to get rid of the metallic banging noise. Not bad...

[bronson75]

I yanked the driveshaft on my wife's '99 this summer, in my garage. I rolled the front onto ramps and jacked the rear up and placed it on jackstands. There was enough clearance to get the driveshaft out without too much trouble.
Have your mechanic mark all the mounting bolts and their respective locations on the flanges, some are different lengths (mine were all the same), and need to be put back in the exact same locations to maintain correct driveshaft balance and eliminate driveline vibration.
[thumbup]

[helix350]

Thanks again for the encoragement. My mechanic was skeptical that it would be okay without it but I told him to go for it. He said he's not going to charge me anything. Should know in a few hours that it worked.
I honestly don't think I'm going to replace the shaft as I think I'd rather have a FWD car and save the money for future repairs I'm sure I'll be doing on it.

[Bobster]

Hello All,

This is my first post to this forum as well as this is the first Volvo that I have ever owned. it is a 1999 V70XC AWD. I bought the car maybe about 30 days ago from Goodwill which is where I work also. It was donated to us as a one owner car and you could tell this by the condition of the car. It was a very beautiful car both inside and out. Although I was scared of the nearly 200k milage on the car I bought it anyway after hearing about so many Volvo owners having more than that on a car. As I said I have had the car for 30 days when one day after getting fuel, I was pulling away from the pump when I started to hear a clicking noise which would get louder as time and miles passed. I finally got worried and I took it to a certified mechanic. Of course the noise stopped at that time and I thought it had something to do with the weight in the car. this day I had 4 cases of water and 6 cases of coke in the back, full tank of gas and myself sitting in the car all on the left side of the car. Could this be the problem for the noise that I am hearing. At this point, who knew. Certainately not the mechanic that I took it too. The noise and the vibration also got worse little by little enough to make me loose the false teeth which I didnt have yet. The new mechanic that I took it too shortly told me that it was a defective driveshaft causing me the problem and up till now, I never knew about a carrier barring going bad. So here is my predictiment. Do I buy a rebuilt DS @ 450 or a new onw from Volvo @ 1000.00 plus labor. there is nothing wrong with the car other than this. Is the car worth fixing? I am feeling yes at this point.

[JRL]

If you must have AWD then go the Colorado Driveshaft route. If not, just remove the damn thing permanently

[helix350]

Happy to report that removal of the shaft took care of all the vibrations and noises I was getting and after driving it about 200 miles I find no downside. I read someone complaining of getting bad tourqe steer but I've felt none at all. I don't think this car has the weight to HP ratio to generate "bad" tourqe steer but I have not been able detect any, even when trying.
Bottom line, if you're on the fence about this, just do it! Especially since it's summer. Pull your shaft and you've got 4-5 months to save for the replacement or decide you don't need to replace.

[JRL]

I told you so.
I'm even considering removing the propshaft in my 2000 R with 26K miles!
Why wear it out?
I don't need it, I don't drive it in the winter and if I decided to do that, one hour or less and it's back in

[msla]

What about rear diff. Do you have to remove that also?

[mbardall]

By removing the shaft, does this allow dirt and grime to get into important places causing premature wearing? Were can I get one inexpensively if I wanted to repair it well but cheaply? I have heard of Colorado Drive shaft on this page. Are there others that people know of?

[JollyGuy]

Had vibration at low speeds that progressively got worse. Jacked it up and noticed a bit of play but nothing to alarming didnt think it was the cause. After having it inspected by a couple different shops, I finally accepted that the problem was in fact the drive shaft. Found a company online that specializes in driveshafts and seem to have a pretty good reputation on these forums. Sense I wasnt to willing to buy a new one for the dealers crazy price! or a used one off some car that had been junked or something, I decided to give them a shot. Happy to report I was extremely happy with the way things turned out, got a brand NEW driveshaft for under $700.00, had it installed the day after receiving it. Considering what I was gonna pay to have it installed, needless to say I wanted it to work. One of my fears of buying a used one was having it fail shortly after install and having to pay again to have it re installed. 5K miles later and still have a happy Subaru and my wallet is still happy too. Anybody needing a driveshaft should check these guys out!

VOLVO DRIVESHAFT

[JRL]

Why didn't you just do a Colorado rebuilt for $425?
Absolutely no difference from new

[JollyGuy]

Had vibration at low speeds that progressively got worse. Jacked it up and noticed a bit of play but nothing to alarming didnt think it was the cause. After having it inspected by a couple different shops, I finally accepted that the problem was in fact the drive shaft. Found a company online that specializes in driveshafts and seem to have a pretty good reputation on these forums. Sense I wasnt to willing to buy a new one for the dealers crazy price! or a used one off some car that had been junked or something, I decided to give them a shot. Happy to report I was extremely happy with the way things turned out, got a brand NEW driveshaft for about $700.00, had it installed the after receiving it. Considering what I was gonna pay to have it installed, needless to say I wanted it to work. One of my fears of buying a used one was having it fail shortly after install and having to pay again to have it re installed. 5K miles later and still have a happy Subaru and my wallet is still happy too. Anybody needing a driveshaft should check these guys out

[JollyGuy]

Could have got a reman from Wholesale aswell but just felt better going with a new one. Im in it for the long haul... besides I know some people that had some bad experiences with the guys you mentioned.

[BEJinFBK]

Could have got a reman from Wholesale aswell but just felt better going with a new one. Im in it for the long haul... besides I know some people that had some bad experiences with the guys you mentioned.
Never heard of them. But with only 8 or 9 years on the boards, I may have missed'em.
I even took a shot at searching for a business called "Volvo Driveshaft... Got nothing.
And funny thing - I've also NEVER seen or heard a bad thing about Colorado Driveshaft.
Just plenty of excellent feedback - Got anything to back that "Bad Experiences" statement up?

And a rebuilt from Colorado DS has all the same fresh moving parts that a "new" one does.
There's nothing to go bad except the CV's, mid-joint and center bearing. Everything else is just tubing.

Go ahead and spend that extra gas money if you want...

But for me? Colorado Drive Shaft FTW ! [thumbup]

[8pack]

I think I'm going to have my 2000 made into a FWD rather than shell out for even a rebuilt driveshaft right now. (whirring and squeaking noises diagnosed as bad rear carrier bearing) I've read the other posts here and at Matthew's site pertaining to this subject and I see everyone says the car will run just fine as FWD, but I haven't seen any mention of if anything has to be done electronically. Is it really just as simple as pulling the drive shaft?
Will I have a light on indicating a fault with the AWD system or is there a way to "tell" the computer that it's no longer AWD.
I've having my independent mechanic do it for me. He's great but not a Volvo guy. Anything else I should tell him to help it go smoothly?
Thanks.

i have a brand new driveshaft with less than 1k miles if you are interested. PM me . It is just sitting around. I will give you a good deal. Thanks.

[BEJinFBK]

No electronics or lights to worry about. The system is entirely mechanical.
That's one of the elegantly simple advantages of the older P80 AWD platform.
Keep matched diameter tires on the car, don't let the bevel gear go dry and
these systems work very well. Drive shaft maintenance is pretty simple.

But - If someone drove it with mismatched tires, thrashed it or the car endured
other abuse, getting the AWD back into operation it can get spendy...

As far as FWD vs AWD, some people have gone FWD for various reasons and are fine with it.
I had my DS out for a month or so last summer and I couldn't get my AWD back soon enough!
To me, there's a noticeable and uncomfortable difference between the two. Torque steer,
wandering during lanes changes and I would never be without it in the winter. I say - AWD FTW!