Driving without my driveshaft

[moose_man]

Hello,

I have a problem with vibration and a clinking, metal on metal, noise when I drive. After a lot of searching, and finally taking it in I have been told that it is a problem with the driveshaft (propeller shaft). I read on this site that it is possible to remove the driveshaft and still drive the car, so I thought this would be a good way to check whether or not the problem goes away. My real question is if anyone knows, or has an opinion, on whether or not the car could be driven without the rear driveshaft for and extended period of time. Of course this would make the AWD car only 2WD, but I was wondering if there could be any other side effects. Damage to the AWD system, etc.

Also, any tips on where to find a good replacement? I am searching online and there seem to be a lot of options, but any recomendations would be welcomed. Thanks for your time.

orin

[cossie1600]

Oh boy, you will be in for a treat when your rear differential goes out....

[Tyrant11429]

probably is the most expensive thing on the XC's. Good luck!

[methos]

We had a similar problem with our 2000 although it started out as more of a growling noise. The growling turned into a ratcheting and grinding ending with gear crunching/snapping. The bearing at the output shaft of the transfer case for the rear driveshaft went out causing mis-allignment and undue wear of the transfer case around the output shaft resulting in a catastrophic transfer case failure. If you are going to have a driveshaft replaced, I think it would be a good idea to have the bearing checked. We were happy we bought Certified Pre-owned, all the communications with Volvo in NJ and the work at our local Ford Dealer (we live a long way from a Vovlo dealer) went very smoothly and the transfer case replacement only ended up costing us $250. Don't delay!