98xc awd drive train rumble

**Beaufort** · 07-13-2003, 05:35 AM

New to this group. Looking for help to answer a long time problem. Between 95 KmH and 105 Kmh a low frequency vibration occurs that is worsened by slight accelleration and even more evident after 2-3 hrs summer hot highway drive. Shifting to neutral doesn't change anything, nor does turning right or left. Dealer has been trying to fix since March 2002 to no avail. He has replaced CV joint, driveshaft, bevel gears. What is strange to me is that one of the dealer's first 'fixes' was to put synthetic ATF at around 50,000 Km. This made rumble less noticeable but still there. During 96000K service last week, however, they inadvertantly put back Dextron ATF and the vibration is much more noticeable again. I will go back to the dealer with this but before I do; does anyone know if Volvo have had any unacknowledged tranny problems along these lines? I have an extended warranty on this car but it's difficult to get them pinned down when a major repair like tranny replacement might be necessary. Any help or comments appreciated.

**slender** · 07-13-2003, 07:12 AM

Hi, Beaufort, and a warm welcome to the site. Sorry to learn of your problems but I may be able to point you in the right direction. If you scroll down in this 97-2000 forum you wull find a forum topic title ` Not another fault`. Have a read and let me know what you think.

Armchair fault diagnosis is alwyas a dodgy thing but it can sometimes be helpful.

Good luck.

**Beaufort** · 07-13-2003, 07:38 AM

Not sure..., but assume you're saying I may find it difficult to get satisfaction under new vehicle warranty. Thanks for pointing me to that thread and you may be right about the underlying warranty as it's now expired. I do however have the Volvo VIP extended warranty that is good to 160K Km so it is under this umbrella that I propose to rectify the problem.
Like you, I'm quite impressed with this car when it's running properly but I have found that it's a high-maintenance vehicle compared to anything else I've ever owned.
I'd like to approach Volvo peacefully with this problem but would appreciate other any other comments about possible transmission vibrations (I believe it's what's called a sympathetic vibration when it occurs only at a certain speed)

**xclogan** · 07-14-2003, 09:33 PM

Thinking this is the same issue I had on MY 99 XC back in May 2002 (just 3-4 months after purchase) at 40k miles (am at over 70k now).  It was the driveshaft and the driveshaft seat cushion that had to be replaced.  Take your XC to your mechanic and reference the following part numbers for him to inspect.

# 9183941 - Propeller Shaft
# 981507 - Hex Socket SC

What happened was a small piece of rubber on the drive shaft seat cushion came loose and was "flapping", but only under certain conditions...i.e... It did not do it all the time.  In my case it only did it when the car was under 3000 RPM going on a slight uphill grade....SOMETIMES...

I drove around with a Volvo Mechanic hanging out the open passenger door with his head about an inch off the ground trying to reproduce the sound and to pinpoint it's source.  After 3 mechanics and over an hour of driving around...that is what we concluded the problem to be.  

They replaced the driveshaft and the seat cushion and no more noise or vibration.

I was told that not under warranty that the parts alone are over $1000USD (plus labor).

Please let me know if this helps answer your problem, or for any other questions...

**Beaufort** · 07-15-2003, 03:22 PM

Thanks for reply. Sounds like it could be part of the answer.
Here's what I know: Vibration occurs at 95-105Km/Hr. above or below it's not noticeable. If you shift to neutral or put tranny in lower gear while at vibration speed, it's still there. If you start a gradual uphill climb and keep speed at say 103 Km/hr, vibration is most noticeable.
So far they've changed the driveshaft as well as cv joints on either end. If anything that made it a bit worse.
The Volvo mechanic says he test drove the car without  the driveshaft and it made no noise so I have to assume it's related to the rear part of the drive train. So what's left to check? Could it be a bent rear axle shaft or something in the differential?

**goviggen** · 02-01-2010, 07:13 PM

Can anyone offer an explination of the part described below as the driveshaft seat cushion. On my 98 V70XC I've recently noticed/acquired a strange sound which can only be described as a rubber thing that seem to be flapping around the prop shaft. My initial impression is that this drive shaft seat cushion may be my problem, but I'm not sure what to look for when I look at it under the car to see if I can even assess if this truly is the problem. I'm not having any other issues or symptoms related to the driveshaft and I'm wondering if I could just replace the shaft seat cushion If I could just determine what it is.

Originally Posted by xclogan

Thinking this is the same issue I had on MY 99 XC back in May 2002 (just 3-4 months after purchase) at 40k miles (am at over 70k now).  It was the driveshaft and the driveshaft seat cushion that had to be replaced.  Take your XC to your mechanic and reference the following part numbers for him to inspect.

# 9183941 - Propeller Shaft
# 981507 - Hex Socket SC

What happened was a small piece of rubber on the drive shaft seat cushion came loose and was "flapping", but only under certain conditions...i.e... It did not do it all the time.  In my case it only did it when the car was under 3000 RPM going on a slight uphill grade....SOMETIMES...

I drove around with a Volvo Mechanic hanging out the open passenger door with his head about an inch off the ground trying to reproduce the sound and to pinpoint it's source.  After 3 mechanics and over an hour of driving around...that is what we concluded the problem to be.  

They replaced the driveshaft and the seat cushion and no more noise or vibration.

I was told that not under warranty that the parts alone are over $1000USD (plus labor).

Please let me know if this helps answer your problem, or for any other questions...

**holler1** · 02-05-2010, 05:40 PM

Driveshaft seat cushion - The only part on the driveshaft that I can think might be referred to as a "cushion" is the center bearing assembly, which is held in place by a disk-shaped rubber part through which the shaft passes. The bearing assembly is held in place above and to the side of the exhaust pipe by metal supports that fasten to the frame. Here's a picture of that section of the driveshaft showing the bearing and the boltholes for attachment, and another one taken from the front side showing the bearing in place on the car (mine is now removed). As I understand it, the shaft comes with the bearing assembly. Colorado Driveshaft sells a refurbed shaft for $485.