How to diagnose a broken AWD collar and remove angle gear on phase 2 'R' models.

**Leeds_finest** · Sunday 1st January 2012, 15:14

As many of you will know, the collar that links the transmission output shaft to the angle gear input shaft is a very weak point in the AWD transmission of the P2 'R' models.

The way in which I found out my collar was broken was to raise the car with all four wheels OFF the ground. I started the engine and put the car into first gear. The front wheels were spinning but the centre prop shaft was not moving at all. On these cars there should be PERMANENT drive to the prop shaft and therefore if your front wheels are being driven but the prop shaft is not spinning, something is wrong with the angle gear, collar or gearbox.

My car's a 2004 S60R although i'm sure this procedure is the same for later/earlier P2 S60/V70 R models too.

Unfortunately guys I didn't take any pictures along the way but once you are underneath the car it's VERY self explanatory.

Required for the job:

1. Ideally a two poster car ramp. I'm sure it can be done on axle stands on a driveway, but having a ramp makes things MUCH easier. I wouldn't personally attempt this without a ramp. If you do attempt this on axle stands, you need all four wheels off the ground.

2. It really helps to have two sets of available hands. Whilst the majority of the job is only undoing bolts, it helps to have someone there.

3. A very basic set of tools I suppose. Nothing complicated, a socket set and spanners etc. Make sure you have male 'allen key' type ratchet bits; I imagine allen keys themselves would work but it's a lot easier being able to use the same tool but with a ratchet too.

The removal:

1. Crack drivers side front wheel bolts but do not remove them.

2. Get the car up into the air safely. I can't be held responsible for cars falling on top of people. If you are a half decent amateur mechanic, you should know how to do this by now

3. Remove the drivers side front wheel.

4. The first part of the AWD I decided to remove was the prop shaft from the angle gear. This is really easy to do but did require two people. Firstly remove the bracket/cradle that sits underneath the exhaust pipe just before the start of the cat converter. It's held on by four bolts and supports the heat shield in the tunnel. Be careful as this has a brake line and lambda probe wiring attached to the upper side. They simply come away from the bracket/cradle by popping out the black plastic clips. With this removed, access to prop shaft bolts is made easier.

5. Locate and remove the bolts holding the prop shaft to the angle gear. This will require two people! You will need an allen key or allen key bits that can be attached to a ratchet to remove these. One person needs to stand towards the back of the car and hold the prop shaft still just before it goes into the Haldex unit. The other person will need to undo the six bolts. It is VERY important that the prop shaft is re-fitted afterwards in the exact position in which it was removed. If you do not do this, you will affect the balancing between the angle gear and prop shaft. Simply make some sort of mark on both the prop shaft and the angle gear so you can line them up when re-fitting. You can use a pen, a dot of paint or do as I did and simply scratch a mark into the dirt

the prop shaft can now be pulled away from the angle gear.

6. Locate the drivers side front drive shaft. Now the wheel is already removed, remove the two large nut/bolts holding the bottom of the shock absorber to the knuckle/top of the hub. Also remove the 14mm bolt in the middle of the hub that holds the drive shaft into the hub. It would be adviseable at this point, to have the second person support the hub/disc so as not to put stress on the brake line and ABS sensor. The shaft must then be pulled out of the hub end (back towards the gearbox) but may need to be tapped out of the hub if stuck. Once the shaft is out of the hub, rest it forwards of the brake caliper and loosely cable tie the hub back to the shock absorber or anywhere that will allow the hub to hang freely without straining the brake line etc.

7. Now that you have the hub end of the drive shaft removed, follow the drive shaft back towards the gearbox and you will see a large round centre bearing that the drive shaft passes through. Undo the two bolts holding this together and remove.

8. The drive shaft will now pull out of the angle gear. Have an oil catch tray ready as oil will seep from the entry into the angle gear.

9. Now that the prop shaft and drive shaft have been removed, you will need to remove the bolts holding the angle gear to the gearbox. There should be five 14mm bolts but it is easy to locate these once under the car. After you have removed these, try to pull the angle gear (gently) away from the gearbox. Again, have an oil catch tray ready as it will seep from this end too. My angle gear was stuck on the collar, so gently tapping the angle gear away from the gearbox with a hammer allowed it to slide off.

10. Once the angle gear is away from the gearbox, this part can be fiddly, but, start to manouvre the angle gear in the space available and it will eventually come down past the subframe and off the car. It's a myth that the downpipe, power steering lines or subframe need to be removed for this... it simply comes out with a bit of wiggling around.

11. You will now be able to inspect the teeth on the input shaft coming out of the angle gear towards the gearbox. Also, the collar will probably be left attached to the output shaft on the gearbox but you will be able to see if the teeth on the collar are in good or worn condition.

Conclusion:

It really is incredibly simple to do this. My write up may sound a bit daunting because I haven't included pictures but I can't stress how easy it is if you have half an idea about cars and tools.

In total, it probably took me and my friend around 2-3 hours to do this, but we had no instructions, had never worked on an AWD system before and were just taking our time really. I imagine it could now be completed in half the time.

Removal of the old collar can be a real hard job as it is often stuck to the output shaft on the gearbox. If anyone has any questions about this then please ask... but I haven't attempted removal of the old collar yet.

I don't have the Volvo part number for the replacement collar but I do have the Volvo part number for the angle gear fluid:

Angle gear fluid part number: 31259380 (will need one of these bottles) capacity approx 0.8 litres.

**Santa** · Sunday 1st January 2012, 16:57

You forgot to mention the other test. Can you spin the wheels in 3rd when its slightly damp? lol

**Leeds_finest** · Sunday 1st January 2012, 17:30

Lol

To be honest like you said originally Rich they would spin in the wet regardless of AWD working or tyre pressures :p

Another way is to put the car in neutral and move the prop shaft by hand. This is meant to move the front wheels if the collar is ok (i think).