Is this really an angle gear problem?

[sfbaker73]

I have a 2004 XC70 with 69000km. Recently, my husband ran over a small boulder with the car and we have been having some issues as a result. The main problem is there is a vibration in the car: one vibration in the front end between 50-60KM/H. The other begins at about 110KM/h, again in the front end. The shop checked and says it has ruled out DV joints, drive shaft imbalance, and axles. In the process, they found that the angle gear is cracked and leaking fluid. They are suggesting this is the reason for the vibration. I was driving down the highway the other day and it felt like my car was going to explode, or shake all the parts loose. With 2 small kids in tow, I am afraid of the safety issues.

The part new is $2500, or reclaimed at $1000 and very hard to find 2nd hand. So, I would rather know that this IS the problem before spending the $. I have been reading the forums and no one has mentioned this vibration as a symptom of the angle gear. Any ideas? I just had the tires rebalanced as they are relatively new and it did help remove vibration from about 80-100km/h.
Suz

[sjonnie]

I was driving down the highway the other day and it felt like my car was going to explode, or shake all the parts loose. With 2 small kids in tow, I am afraid of the safety issues.
Yeah, this is a safety issue, you need to stop driving this until it is fixed. When you took the car in to be checked out did you say you had hit a boulder or did you just say it was vibrating? You didn't mention the alignment so are we to assume that this was checked by a Volvo shop and found to be good? The most likely areas to be damaged by a wheel hitting a boulder / pothole are the strut mount, control arm bushings, ball joint and wheel bearing, not the axles, so that makes me think you just told them about the vibration in which case you should get the alignment checked out also. You said the wheels were balanced so presumably there are no bent rims or anything?

Unless the car actually ran over or landed on the boulder and cracked / damaged the angle gear housing I can't see that being the source of your vibration. The belly pan would also show significant signs of such an impact, in fact I imagine it would be destroyed, is that the case? Angle gears are notorious for leaking anyway and can simply be resealed, so unless there is significant visible damage, they could just be taking you for a ride. Get a pic of the damage to the angle gear and post it, then we'll know more.

[billr99]

Check with your insurance broker as your auto insurance might pay for the repair, minus deductible, if they define such an occurrence as a "collision". If they will cover it, then ask under what provision it is covered and how it will affect your future rates. Might be worth than making a claim, maybe not based upon all their answers.

Good Luck,

Bill

[howardc64]

One idea is the take the angle gear out and see if vibration goes away. You loose AWD (just turns into FWD car) but don't need to source the new part all in one go and find out it isn't the problem.

[acools]

Most of the angle gears casings weep a little oil. Does your angle gear houding have a film of oil or are their actually droplets on the case and where you park?

As a previous poster stated, I would be more concerned with wheels, hubs and bearings.

Andres

[cattlecar]

The inside wheel rim is easily bent.
The symptoms you list fit with a bent wheel.
The symptoms also fit for a tire with a not so visible carcass failure. Tires do "bruise", i.e., have failures that do not mean leakage of air.
I agree with the others that angle gear is unlikely the cause and the wetting of the angle gear case is very common. Angle gear problem would likely create a noise for a long time before it would be a vibration you would feel.

[sfbaker73]

Ok, so this is what I know so far. The mechanic saw that the right front wheel was wobbling when up on the hoist, so he changed the CV joint which did nothing to stop the wobbling, so he has figured that it is the angle gear because he is following along the line of the wheel to try and reach the wobbling. I guess he also is using the leaking angle gear as evidence to support this. What if inside the casing of the angle gear was rusted or broken? could that cause the wobbling/vibrating?

When we took the car in after hitting the rock, the resonator muffler (catalytic something something) had been dinged and needed replacing, but there is no other evidence as to the rock making contact with the under side of the car. As a result, insurance won't cover this issue even though the noise arose as a result. One note is that for the 2 years we have had the car, we have heard a slight windy noise coming from the Right front wheel area as if there was a hole in the area creating this wind-like noise- but a slight sound.
Thanks for the advice.

[kamiar]

I don't think a wobbling right front wheel could be related to a bad angle gear, its more like a bearing or suspension, there also is a bearing on the right cv shaft, i had once one of the bolts broken, maybe your mechanic wants to check that too...

[billr99]

I don't think a wobbling right front wheel could be related to a bad angle gear, its more like a bearing or suspension, there also is a bearing on the right cv shaft, i had once one of the bolts broken, maybe your mechanic wants to check that too...

Agreed! I'd recommend getting a more knowledgable second opinion.

Good luck,

Bill

[sjonnie]

Ok, so this is what I know so far. The mechanic saw that the right front wheel was wobbling when up on the hoist, so he changed the CV joint which did nothing to stop the wobbling, so he has figured that it is the angle gear because he is following along the line of the wheel to try and reach the wobbling.
Bad CV joints will only cause significant vibration when they are under load, that is, under acceleration on the road. The angle gear is even further away from the wheel and cannot possibly cause a wheel to wobble. Your mechanic either a) doesn't know what he's doing or b) is trying to bleed money out of you. Either way, you need a new mechanic. A wheel that wobbles when on the lift has some significant damage to the wheel or the suspension components and is dangerous to drive. Get a competent mechanic to fix it.

[Ars Gladius]

Bad CV joints will only cause significant vibration when they are under load, that is, under acceleration on the road. The angle gear is even further away from the wheel and cannot possibly cause a wheel to wobble. Your mechanic either a) doesn't know what he's doing or b) is trying to bleed money out of you. Either way, you need a new mechanic. A wheel that wobbles when on the lift has some significant damage to the wheel or the suspension components and is dangerous to drive. Get a competent mechanic to fix it.

I second sjonnie. Go to a different mechanic.

The only purpose of the angle gear is to transfer the power of the transmission to the back of the car which requires a 90 deg direction change. The transmission is parallel to the front axle line, the prop shaft is perpendicular.

There is no relationship to the front wheel stability.

The issue will be in the wheel/suspension assembly and related parts.