[prienzo]

Looks like I'll be posting here a little more often. I just picked up a 1999 V70 XC, silver with black interior. It needs the following:

-ABS Module
-Heater Core
-CVVT Solenoid
-02 Sensor

Not too worried about the repairs, they seem manageable. Got the car very cheap and the interior is in fantastic condition, pictures tomorrow

Question about the AWD. Right now, the drive shaft and viscous coupler are out of the car. He had pulled them to get repaired and never put them back in. I know a lot of people run these cars in FWD without the drive shaft. What I don't know is why. If the AWD system breaks, does it break everything else? Am I better off just leaving these parts off?

Thanks guys

 

[PDLarson]

Why can vary but I bet usually because something goes wrong with it and when looking a $1000+ repair bill or an hour of labor to remove a shaft, many opt for disabling the AWD. Some also do this for performance reasons, less rotational mass, less overall weight when removing parts from the car, etc. Also, the AWD is not 4WD and most people don't try to take these rock crawling or anything like that so in areas where it rarely if ever snows, it just isn't needed. I was looking at a Saffron V70R in SoCal, AWD disabled, why, clunking noise in rear end. Solved by removing the shaft. As far as they care, this was a permanent fix.

I need the AWD in Montana so that is an important feature for me.

The AWD going out shouldn't affect anything else unless things get really bad but I don't really know how these things fail. I wouldn't chance it. Either leave it disabled or fix it correctly.

Congratulations, these are great cars, enjoy!

 

[Big Will]

The previous owner could have removed the DS because one or several of the joints had gone bad and it was vibrating/making noise. That's the optimistic answer. Most likely more parts need replacing. The VC may have been removed just to save some weight (it's a bit hefty) or it may be toast. Additionally, the angle gear could have a problem as well although for certain angle gear issues you would still hear it whining while driving even without the DS hooked up because the angle gear is still spinning while it's attached to the transmission.

Good luck troubleshooting!