Angle Gear sealing and modification

[Astro14]

About 5,000 miles ago, I decided to reseal the angle gear on the XC. I waited to post anything, until I could see if it all worked.

I followed this TNN: http://www.volvoxc.com/0/resources/how-to/pdf/01-23-09/TNN,%20Drivetrain%20-%20Angle%20Gear%20Fluid%20Leakage.pdf

I was replacing a right front driveshaft anyway, and since I had it out, I dug into the angle gear and re-sealed it.

The "chinesium" driveshaft that I got from IPD was garbage. I went through 3 of them before I got one that only vibrated a little. The first two were worse. It lasted about 40,000 miles before boot failure, and never did smooth out. The GKN driveshaft that I got from AutohausAZ was about $300 and is great. NO MORE VIBRATION under load at low speed!

Old and new:

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When I pulled the angle gear out, it was leaking slightly.

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I cleaned it up and put it on the bench. Major torque needed to remove the pinion nut.

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A puller to remove the pinion.

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[Astro14]

Once I had it apart, I chamfered the edges as described in the TNN.

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Before I sealed it back up, I drilled a hole and tapped the bottom of the case for a drain plug. Note that I flattened and smoothed the case for a good seal. That took a bit of work on a flat surface. I used a diamond stone that I use for plane bodies and chisels, but any flat surface would do, and then an absolutely square/orthogonal hole is required for good sealing.

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Here it is all put back together. I used the genuine Volvo Anaerobic sealant, new bolts and new seals, all provided in the kit I got from IPD.

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Look closely, you can see the flat and the drain plug (14mm thread, gold plug magnetic drain plug). The thickness of the case only provided for about 3 threads, so I didn't torque it very tightly. I had a helicoil standing by to reinforce the threads, but so far, that's not needed.

Now, before it went back in the car, I replaced the collar spline...not easy, I had to grind out a flat notch to get enough purchase on the collar to lever it out. You can see the grinding here:

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This is the collar before it came out. Ugly with rust, but, pleasantly, not stripped, or damaged that I could see.

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[Astro14]

With the new collar in place, the freshly sealed and modified angle gear went back in.

All that was in February. I just did some work on the car, it's been 5,000 miles since this work was done, and the angle gear is tight and dry. No leaks.

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So, next oil change, I will pull the drain plug, check the magnet for metallic wear, and pump in 700 ml of Mobil 1 75W90 synthetic gear oil...no more extracting the old oil via vacuum pump a few hundred ml at a time...just drain it, check it, refill it.

I should've done this ten years ago!

Cheers,
Astro

[BillAileo]

First class work & very well presented! Thanks.

[Xfingers]

First class work & very well presented! Thanks.

Well said!! Astro14, do you know how much fluid was leaking before the reseal or how often you were adding to the angle gear? What mileage when you noticed the leaking? Any noises or symptoms of low fluid levels?
Thanks!

[Scopeman]

Great write up, thanks!

[Astro14]

The angle gear had no symptoms of failure. No noise, or roughness in operation. It was always "wet" on the bottom and used to leave a wet spot on the splash pan. But I also used to overfill it - not knowing that the correct fill was 700 ml - I would just pump in oil until it was up to the plug.

I doubt that it used more than 100ml between oil changes, which is when it would get topped off.

Because I was doing the driveshaft, and because I wanted to change the collar, I pulled the angle gear. Since it was going to be off, I addressed the sealing issue. It was very clear that the right hand side (driveshaft side) seal was gone. All worn out and the source of the leak. The case was actually fine, as far as I could tell.

All the work, including the drill/tap for the plug, was about three hours. Not too bad.

[toolmaker10622]

I have a 2006 and 2007 xc70 that need front drive shafts. What brand is close to Volvo OEM?

Thanks.

[Astro14]

GKN makes good axles - available from FCP or AutohausAZ.

[Scopeman]

Pelican Parts also shows the GKN on their website.

[Xheart]

Referencing your write up Astro "Major torque needed to remove the pinion nut." Can this nut be loosened before un-mounting AG?

[Astro14]

Referencing your write up Astro "Major torque needed to remove the pinion nut." Can this nut be loosened before un-mounting AG?

I would think so. It's question of clearance and ability to swing the wrench under there. I would imagine that if the transmission were still in park, that you wouldn't need the counter hold that I used, so you would just need the socket and wrench.

The TSB (Volvo) procedure has you do it on the bench, as I recall...so, I'm wondering if Volvo had a good reason to not put the 150+ ftlbs on it while it was still bolted up.

I've got no idea if there might be a concern.

[SkagSig40]

Astro14, That is very impressive!!! Good work!!!! I'm no where near mechanically inclined to do that work! Did you put a magnetic drain plug in it?

[Astro14]

Astro14, That is very impressive!!! Good work!!!! I'm no where near mechanically inclined to do that work! Did you put a magnetic drain plug in it?

I used a Gold Plug magnetic drain plug.

I did this a second time on my R Angle Gear. I used a Time-Sert to strengthen the threads. So far the threads on the XC are holding up, but on the R, since, I had it apart, and it was on the bench, I used the time-sert.

The Time-Sert advantage is stronger (steel) threads to protect against overzealous mechanics in the future (I won’t be able to Servide the car when it’s out of state). Disadvantages are cost (Timesert kits are expensive) and a few ML that will be left in the bottom of the casing as the rest of the oil drains, since the insert goes into the case by just a couple mm.