Angle Gear Revisited - w/ Pics

[clemstock]

Okay, I've searched and read several threads about the infamous angle gear. I just wanted all of your opinions about this. I coudn't get my pictures small enough to post here so you are going to have to go to my blog that I created to have a look. It's clear to me that the angle gear seal is shot. I was wondering if that is a repair that a "do it your selfer" could handle. Would I have to pull out the right drive shaft in order to pull out the angle gear housing to access the seal/gasket? HubbardWoods here in Chicago (indy volvo specialist) wants $325 to do the job so I'd like so save some money. I can't seem to find a good "how to do it" anywhere?

My next question is seen in the second picture. There oil leaking from that component. Is that the turbo? Whatever it is, it is directly above (about 1 foot) the angle gear housing, which can be seen in the lower right hand corner of the picutre. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Click on the link below to see the pics:

http://chicagovolvo.blogspot.com

[jesse850GLT]

second picture is of the turbo

[MoeB]

The oil on the turbo is probably an oil line leak. Apparently a common problem. Mine is doing the same thing. Not sure how to get to it and fix it. It's hard to see the oil line at the angle your pic is shot from, but here's another view (line has green thing around it):

http://home.comcast.net/~moebdick/turboleak.jpg

I've seen exploded diagrams of the angle gear somewhere on this site, but I haven't found any detailed instructions for seal replacement either. I'm gonna need to do the same down the road. Maybe BillAileo or Willy or somebody will whip some of their VADIS mojo on us for these fixes. :)

[volvoshad]

Leaks from the oil return line on the turbo have been common since the 850. That was a pretty easy fix, but on the AWD cars, it is a long reach.:eek: Mine has a drip similar to MoeB's. Since it is a minor leak, I have just left it alone.:rolleyes:

I am pretty sure Art had his bevel gear seals/vent replaced, but I can't find the post. Maybe he can give you an idea of the job necessary.

[clemstock]

So I made some calls to the dealer about the angle gear/bevel gear and I found out something interesting. The chicagoland dealers are telling me that the angle gear is a "non-serviceable part" and that if I wanted to fix it I would need to replace the entire casing for only $2500. What a bargain? Would they throw in a tranny too? Hubbardwoods said that they had a fix for it because they quoted me $325 to fix it. Not sure what the fix entailed though. I asked about the turbo return line leak at some dealers and was getting a quote around $250. Some indy places were quoting $100.

Since it is non-serviceable, I was thinking that maybe I would just keep an eye on the fluid level and top it off at every oil change to avoid problems in the future. Mobil1 75-90? What do you guys think about that?

[BillAileo]

Sorry, if your angle gear is indeed "shot" then I'm afraid that what you are being told by the dealer is accurate. To the best of my knowledge, VADIS does not describe any work inside the bevel gear or detail any of its internal components. These components simply do not appear to be available other than as part of a replacement unit. All that is dealt with in VADIS in regard to servicing is the replacement of the bleed value. VADIS does include in its parts listing the various seals and O-rings where the bevel gear mates with other components but thats about it.

Bill

[volvoshad]

I think Clemstock's bevel gear seal is shot, not the gear itself. Like our infamous trannies, the bevel gear is non-serviceable, and must be replaced if broken. As I recall, the bleed valve, which is a vent, gets plugged leading to seal leaks. Same principle as the plugged flame trap in the NA 850 leading to rear main seal leaks: if pressure can't be equalized on both sides of a seal by way of a vent, fluid will be forced through the seal.

Please check VADIS - I am pretty sure that the bleed valve and seal can be serviced, but removal of the gear housing is required. The $325 charge must be for this procedure. To check the gear oil level, pull the fill plug - the oil should be at that level. You may fill with Volvo gear oil, or synthetic 75W 90 gear oil, such as Mobil 1. Instructions for changing the oil are in the resources section of the volvoxc.com.

[BillAileo]

Volvoshad,

As I stated in my earlier post "All that is dealt with in VADIS in regard to servicing is the replacement of the bleed value." I had misread Clemstock's initial post as saying the gear was "shot" but what he really said was a seal was shot. You are correct that the instructions for doing the vent replacement require removal of the bevel gear, and that requires a fair amount of work that could justify the $325 tab. And yes, new seals could be installed in the course of doing that work.

Bill

[swedeng]

Call this guy:

Wolverine Transmission
1904 Packard St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 663-3314

Ask for Lou

He located and replaced all the bearings and seals and the car (2000 XC) is back on the road, without a whine. He may offer to rebuild yours.

[tranmkp]

Doing my modification of the bevel gear - my mech told me it was a no brainer for anyone who has worked on transmissions.

The poster above is correct - vent gets clogged. BG is splashed lubed. Lots of pressure. Pressure will blow seals. I put in a vented loop.

I dont want to get in a s--t fight with anyone but I have my doubts about the tire size issue. Short of some idiot putting a huge tire on the car. I ran a size larger on one tire on the back of my car. I took temp readings of the BG with stock and with the larger tire. There was no difference. This was on a 90 mile trip.

Keep the BV filled, vented and cooled and all will be well.

[BoBoKwok]

How many of you have the angle gear blown?
I had my first 01V70XC early this year and blown the angle gear. Now I have my second V70XC.
I notice a minor leak from the transfer case.
I like the XC but I am fear for the angle gear problem happen again. Can we replace or clean the vent of angle gear by ourselves w/o taking it out?
what major(cost) failure an XC70 has?


Doing my modification of the bevel gear - my mech told me it was a no brainer for anyone who has worked on transmissions.

The poster above is correct - vent gets clogged. BG is splashed lubed. Lots of pressure. Pressure will blow seals. I put in a vented loop.

I dont want to get in a s--t fight with anyone but I have my doubts about the tire size issue. Short of some idiot putting a huge tire on the car. I ran a size larger on one tire on the back of my car. I took temp readings of the BG with stock and with the larger tire. There was no difference. This was on a 90 mile trip.

Keep the BV filled, vented and cooled and all will be well.

[MoeB]

I recently had the bevel gear seals replaced under warranty at a Volvo dealer and thought I'd post the info. According to my invoice, the job required two parts, a sealing ring (30735126-2, $20.85) and an O-ring (977023, $5.53). Oddly, no charge for fluid replacement is listed, but I would assume a quart/liter of that is required, too. Labor was $297.00 (not sure what the rate is). I don't know if the unit was removed or not, but I'll check next time I change the oil and see what it looks like.


I dont want to get in a s--t fight with anyone but I have my doubts about the tire size issue.

I believe tire size would affect the VC, not the bevel gear.

[BoBoKwok]

According to the posts on this forum, clogging vent is the origin of angle gear problem. Replacing the seal may correct minor leak from transfer case. Keeping the vent working is the key to keep clear of angle gear problem.
I had a look at the transfer case early this year. I found a small piece of brass tube(~1/4"long) but I had no time to check whether it is the vent or not. Can anybody confirm it?
Is the vent simply a small opening or a one way valve?


I recently had the bevel gear seals replaced under warranty at a Volvo dealer and thought I'd post the info. According to my invoice, the job required two parts, a sealing ring (30735126-2, $20.85) and an O-ring (977023, $5.53). Oddly, no charge for fluid replacement is listed, but I would assume a quart/liter of that is required, too. Labor was $297.00 (not sure what the rate is). I don't know if the unit was removed or not, but I'll check next time I change the oil and see what it looks like.



I believe tire size would affect the VC, not the bevel gear.

[BillAileo]

There is a small brass tube that VADIS calls the bleed valve.VADIS also indicates it has a filter inserted in the end of the tube after it is tapped into the bevel gear case.

Bill

[BoBoKwok]

Thanks for the confirmation.
I don't have VADIS.
I didn't find any filter at a glance.
I hope the vent is easily accessible so that it can be cleaned by compress air, WD40 or whatever.


There is a small brass tube that VADIS calls the bleed valve.VADIS also indicates it has a filter inserted in the end of the tube after it is tapped into the bevel gear case.

Bill

[BillAileo]

I've never had to do anything with the bleed valve so I don't really know how accessible it is. One bad omen, however, is that VADIS calls for the removal of the bevel gear in order to replace the bleed valve.

Bill

[Sasquatch]

Wow. What an awesome car. Parts which can only be purchased in "modules". Whoopie!

[BillAileo]

Sasquatch,
I'm not sure whether your "modules" comment is in response to my posting. If it is, I did not intend to say anything about purchasing parts, I was just saying the VADIS indicates removal of the bevel gear is one of the steps involved in replacing a bevel gear vent.

Bill

[shawn_75]

I have one of these sitting in my garage. The vent is a small brass tube. It is not accessible while mounted. I'll check it to see if there is any type of valving in it, but I do not think so. I'll post some pics soon.

I had to replace my bevel gear recently and bought one from Voluparts. Luckily they had a new one and the price sure was right, too bad I can't turn the old one in for a core refund (I already checked). I may be able to pull the seals out and cross reference the part numbers. There's not a whole lot to this unit but it is a major job to replace it.

Shawn

[Lee-Bob]

Dang. I just got started in all this, and just read the OP. That pic looks like it was taken in MY garage, of the BG housing in MY '01! :( I got a good look at it last night as I was flushing the tranny.

So, as this noob understands the above discussion.... Keeping the vent clear is an important part of keeping an expensive part from failing, and to check or clean it, you have to remove it, which is a major PITA.

Do I have it so far?

How many days would it take the average S**thouse mechanic to do this job? A weekend? Special tools? Double-secret computer resets afterward?

[ltoolio]

So, just got a call from my dealership after bringing my 01XC in for some maintenance and to get my Nokian WR's mounted.

I had a leak in an area where they previously fixed my Turbo Return Line, so I mentioned that it appeared that it might be leaking again.

Got a call 30 minutes ago stating that Angle Gear is shot. The materials run around $2400.

Should be covered under my extended warranty, but now need to wait for further inspection.

Would I have noticed any symptoms of it going? I can't say that I noticed it driving any differently, but my wife is the primary driver.

I'll share more details as they arise.

[clemstock]

Hey Everyone,

I'm the one that started this thread so I thought I'd follow-up and let you know what I did. My first thought was to make sure that the BG had enough fluid until I could get a more permanent fix. Well, I bought the correct wrench, got under the car, and pulled/tugged/battled for 30 minutes and could not get that bolt to move one millimeter. So, I just said screw it and took it to an Indy-Mech (hubbardwoods) here in Chicagoland. They looked at it and told me that my gasket was actually fine and that they would just do the nipple/vent repair as given in a Volvo bulletin. The job cost me around $300 with parts and labor. I think the estimate of $2400 would be for the entire BG case which would be a last resort after checking the nipple/vent and gasket. Another option would be to say bye-bye to AWD and just disconnect it. So, thats my story. Several months later I havn't noticed any leaks or problems from the BG housing. I wasn't experiencing any symptoms but I knew that it would be an arm + leg + 1/2 kidney to fix if it went out.

Next project...this weekend: B4 servo cover....OMG I love these transmissions........yipee! 114K and still doing all I can to not have to replace trans at some future date.

[ltoolio]

Got the call from the dealer that the car was done today.
They mounted my tires, fixed a couple of the other small things I needed fixed.

However, they said that the Angle/Bevel gear is fine and that I just have some seepage, which they say is not covered under warranty.

The advice I got was just to make sure that I keep it topped off. So - under the car I go tomorrow. I don't definately know that they filled so, so I think I'll do a full flush.