Been fighting a vibration problem on my V70. But, probably not the same as yours. High frequency vibration when accelerating hard. Have swapped in/out aftermarket axles, with no luck. Rest of front end brand new. High levels of aluminum, lead, copper, and tin in transmission fluid. Noticeable radial play in transmission output shafts. Beginning to suspect differential. I might try some used Volvo axles as a last resort before spending big money.

 

Found it. Driver's side driveshaft bolt at the hub had come loose. The rotation direction kept it loosely in place but there was maybe an eight of an inch play in it. The boot tore while I disassembled it so I put an old, known good driveshaft in, cleaned the threads with brake cleaner, hosed it with blue loctite, torqued it to spec and took it for a test drive.

No vibration whatsoever.

I also replaced the propshaft front CV joint while I was at it. It was binding really bad and may have contributed to the bevel gear failure last summer. The rear joint isn't in great shape either so I just ordered another one and replace them both before installing the propshaft back.

To add insult to injury, my son shot a very nice whitetail buck last thursday and because the XC wasn't in driving condition, we took his Celica. There's no way in heck to transport a 200lb+ buck with a 2+2 coupe, short of strapping it on the roof, so we dragged it to our summer house by hand. :angryfire:

 

Propshaft is back in, with new front and rear CV joints. They were amazingly simple to replace and set me back $30 each. I also realized that front suspension arm bushes are shot, and I mean torn on both sides, so it's about time to call Powerflex now that they've introduced poly bushes for both joints. Toe and camber may wander a bit and cause vibration in some situations, the bushes have some 260k miles on them so replacing them is way overdue. :nono:

 

Where does vibration feel like it's coming from? Could it be prop shaft center bearing?

2002 V70XC, 2003 V40, 2004 S60, 2010 V70

 

Where does vibration feel like it's coming from? Could it be prop shaft center bearing?

It could've been but it wasn't. Center bearing and its rubber bushing are still serviceable. All that's really left is front suspension arm bushings, rear is ok except for slightly worn subframe bushings. I'm planning to give the XC to my son shortly anyway and let him do the rest, he needs a "winter beater deluxe" and it'll be perfect for that.

 

Oh $#!%. The vibration returned.

I'm beginning to think it might be the transmission. Flex plate, torque converter or something else. It only occurs occasionally and unpredictably, sometimes after acceleration from city traffic to highway speeds, sometimes after a kickdown acceleration (passing), sometimes by itself, out of nowhere, with no explanation whatsoever.

The only reasonably common factor is that after driving 10 miles or so at steady throttle, at 50...70mph it usually disappears.

Any ideas? I'll try to avoid pulling the transmission because once I do, whatever goes in there will have to be reinforced and heavy duty, probably Level 10 internals, as the engine is very close to twice the power levels it originally had. Another junkyard tranny is probably not a smart or cost-efficient option this time.

 

Subframe bolt not torqued enough? I’m reaching...


2002 V70XC, 2003 V40, 2004 S60, 2010 V70

 

I have a similar occasional vibration as well. It has occurred 4-5 times in the last couple of years. The first time I experienced it I was cruising at moderate highway speeds and it felt like a front wheel was loose. I was approaching an exit off the highway and so turned off and braked fairly quickly to a stop. After a roadside inspection which revealed nothing obvious I resumed my trip and the vibration was gone. It has returned sporadically and I have tried hard braking (without stopping), driving trough it but it just persists until I come to a full stop.

I have had the car up on the lift last summer and replaced front hubs, ball joints and inspected the front end and nothing seemed obviously wrong. It is something I need to chase down but because it occurs so infrequently it has not been top of mind.

Probably not very helpful but there it is.

 

I have a similar occasional vibration as well. It has occurred 4-5 times in the last couple of years. The first time I experienced it I was cruising at moderate highway speeds and it felt like a front wheel was loose. I was approaching an exit off the highway and so turned off and braked fairly quickly to a stop. After a roadside inspection which revealed nothing obvious I resumed my trip and the vibration was gone. It has returned sporadically and I have tried hard braking (without stopping), driving trough it but it just persists until I come to a full stop.

I have had the car up on the lift last summer and replaced front hubs, ball joints and inspected the front end and nothing seemed obviously wrong. It is something I need to chase down but because it occurs so infrequently it has not been top of mind.

Probably not very helpful but there it is.

I've had something like this and it turned out to be the parking brake was dragging. Replacing the springs with original volvo hardware and cleaning/lubricating all the contact surfaces, expanders, and cables seems to have helped.

 

Parking brake hardware is fresh but I noticed something: driver's side rear wheel has been unusually warm. So I grabbed a pro grade FLIR and inspected it. HOLY CRAPOLA. Front brake rotors were at around 120°F, right rear 90°F, left rear... wait for it... 600°F. In 25°F ambient weather.

Time to pop the caliber and see what's going on. Looks like we have a binding issue here.

 

Almost smokin'!

 

Phew! Glad you caught this!


2002 V70XC, 2003 V40, 2004 S60, 2010 V70

 

OK, the caliper came out, got a thorough cleaning and lubrication. I moved the piston back and forth a few times and it started to move freely until I can replace them, at €80/pair it's cheap for the peace of mind. A test drive showed no signs of vibration for now. Great! On the other hand, while checking other calipers I noticed that the front driver's side lower ball joint is shot so it seems this didn't end here quite yet. :angryfire:

 

New ball joint is in, as a matter of fact I replaced both while I was at it.

The vibration is still there from 60mph on up. It's not constant, it comes and goes randomly.

Confirmed good or replaced so far:
- Ball joints
- Front driveshafts
- Propshaft
- Bevel gear
- Front struts
- Engine and transmission mounts
- Wheel bearings
- Brakes

This is not funny anymore. I'm rapidly running out of parts to check. Damn.

 

Try having the wheels roadforce balanced. This cured my vibration after chasing many other components.

 

Thanks, but that's already been done and I have two sets of wheels, one with studded winter tires and another with summer tires, neither of which affect the vibration. Were imbalance the culprit, the vibration would be constant and not appear only randomly.