Thud At 55 MPH

[i roll]

Here's the cover of my 2000 owner's manual and page 73.

[JRL]

Here's the cover of my 2000 owner's manual and page 73.

I believe you, I really do.
I sell these (used) and have NEVER seen these before.
I must have personally sold 100 model year 2000 Volvos, ALL of them have been 5 speeds, from a lowly non turbo S70 base to several V70 R's (which of course are ALL 5 speeds)
I think that almost all XC's are 5 speeds and yours are the exception not the rule.
However, as I said, tomorrow I will try to find out exactly what's up and how many of these were actually built in relation the total number of '00 XC's.
I may not get an exact figure but I should be able to get a percentage

[Revolvolution1819]

wow, i thought this kind of thing was only on VS

[i roll]

Greetings JRL,

I appreciate your help in trying to figure out this mystery.
BTW, I took it out for a run on the freeway today and it thudded at 65 and 85 too.
Sometimes the thud was stronger than others. It sounded like when you drive over the grooves that are cut into pavement.

Talk with you tomorrow.

[JRL]

Greetings JRL,

I appreciate your help in trying to figure out this mystery.
BTW, I took it out for a run on the freeway today and it thudded at 65 and 85 too.
Sometimes the thud was stronger than others. It sounded like when you drive over the grooves that are cut into pavement.

Talk with you tomorrow.

Regardless, if it's a 4 speed or a 5 speed, the same thing is happening, "thud" going into lock up, (4th or 5th ) and THIS I do have experience with.
Your best bet is a good transmission flush with the appropriate fluid for your transmission, drive it for 50 miles or more (get the fluid really hot and mixed throughout the tranny) and see if that cures it.
Caught early, this usually fixes everything
How many miles on yours?
With the 4 speeds, the overdrive gear pack/lockup is usually the 1st one to pack it in.
If this doesn't help I'm afraid there's not a whole lot more you can do besides a rebuild, but please try the flush first as this can do wonders. Don't wait, the pounding is not very good for the longevity of the tranny!
I change the (trans) fluid on each and every Volvo I sell unless I have confirmed records that it had been performed within the last 10K miles.

[JRL]

You two DO seem to have 4 speeds.
My 1st go around led to confusion with everyone I talked with and no seemed to have an answer.
I did find out that ALL NON turbos were 5 speeds. all R's are 5 speeds, but it seems the XC's and the few GLT's made in 2000 had BOTH
However, no one this morning could say how, when and where.
By that I mean which cars had what transmission and when.
The concensus seems to be that there was a running change somewhere in the 2000 production run of AWD Volvos from 4 speeds to 5 speeds. Stay tuned as I WILL get to the bottom of this.
For now I was completely WRONG about both of your cars and for that I apologize, I hope you accept it. I'm determined to find out the exact production figures, how and when they all became 5 speeds before the 01 model run.
Edit:
No luck yet. Everyone has the concensus that there was a mid year change to 5 speeds in the XC, but no one (yet) knows exactly if a 5 speed was standard in the SE's and/or if they were optional in the earlier production runs of standard Xc's
My service manager is going to email his friend and best contact at Volvo so hopefully I will get the PROPER answer for all of us soon.

[i roll]

Hi JRL,

I'd like to just how many 4 speeds were manufactured and why Volvo made the change. Thanks for looking into this.
As for my xc, I made an appointment with the dealer for this Thursday.

[JRL]

Hi JRL,

I'd like to just how many 4 speeds were manufactured and why Volvo made the change. Thanks for looking into this.
As for my xc, I made an appointment with the dealer for this Thursday.

That's what am trying to find out here, may not so easy but at some point someone will get me the numbers.
It seems more than I originally thought
Why, they were going to a 5 speed throughout the line.
I would guess that transmission production was ramping up and they couldn't fill the entire line so they started with the normally aspirated cars and wagons first, tested the torgue on the
(400 or so) R's and then phased in the XC, their most popular model.
The NA's are horsepower challenged (168) so the trans helped those cars with the extra low
1st gear, the R is high performance so that was the reason for applying to those cars.
The XC is a workhorse with straightline accelleration being not as importent (to them), PLUS in case it didn't work out the bulk of their cars wouldn't be affected
This is my personal reasoning, in reality it may be something totally different

[rodrigo]

Have you considered looking at the motor/trans mounts as they could be related to the thumping? Worth looking at since its at the dealer (if you trust them)

For the record: MY00 V70 XC SE....4 speed...as in P-R-N-D-3-2-1....and then the W button (of course)

[JRL]

Have you considered looking at the motor/trans mounts as they could be related to the thumping? Worth looking at since its at the dealer (if you trust them)

If the front lower is completely shot, that's very possible but not likely. It would just be generally shaking all the time