'03 xc70 rear angle gear

[barrysharp]

Had car in for it's 15,000 service today. Car's actual mileage was 16,110.

Technician had me come back to see car on the lift and pointed out the oil leak coming from the rear angle gear box (splitter box is sometimes used as its name as well) that sits just aft of the engine and just above the engine skid/protection plate. The leak isn't bad but having the alloy engine protection plate made it obvious it had been leaking over time as there were dried dollops of oil plainly visible on the light gray color of the plate's upper surface. This is one benefit of the alloy engine skid/protection plate as any oil drips are CLEARLY visible compared to the black plastic plate that comes as stock.

The rear angle gear box will be special ordered and replaced under warranty and should be shipped out within two days.

FYI

My brake pads were
LF @ 8 mm
RF @ 8 mm
LR @ 9 mm
RR @ 9 mm

This shows very even wear at front and rear.

Tire condition was
LR 7/32"
RF 7/32"
LR 7/32"
RR 7/32"

This shows an even wear on all four tires (amazing).

Cost for the 15K servicing was
Labor @ $132
Parts @ $49.94 (Filter insert $7.50, Gasket $1.48, Cabin Fresh AirFilter $40.96)
Oil @ $11.50
Misc @ $9.24
Tax @ $18.03
TOTAL @ $220.71

All in all I was pleased with the servicing and thankful the inspection found the leaking rear angle gear box.

[Raynald]

Hey Barry! Nice to hear that your XC is nicely rolling along! Did the tech person made any comments about the rear angle gear/box leak?  

[barrysharp]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Raynald @ May 03 2004,20:16)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Hey Barry&#33; Nice to hear that your XC is nicely rolling along&#33; Did the tech person made any comments about the rear angle gear/box leak? [/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
The technician was very accommodating and allowed me to inspect the leaking box. He started off saying the box should be absolutely clean on the outside -- same as for a similar box in the rear of the car which was bone dry. The leak is really quite small but apparently my service dept has only seen this on one other XC70 and they replace its box also.

They know I&#39;m kinda annal when it come to my cars so they wanted to show me the actual leaking condition to avoid my endless questions when they told me the rear angle gear box was leaking -- that was kind of them.

[Raynald]

So, nothing to worry about as it seems to be a very rare problem...

Thanks Barry&#33; &nbsp;

[BillAileo]

Barry,
Been there done that.... At the 15,000 mile mark I was changing the oil on my &#39;03 XC70 and noticed the bottom of the angle gear was damp with gear oil. I had read Volvo Tech Notes No. 46-08 that covers all 5 cyllinder AWD Volvo cars from 1997 through 2004 and begins with the description &quot;If oil weepage is found at the Angle Gear Vent, a new vent valve should be installed.&quot; I called the dealer and scheduled an appointment for the new vent. However, when the dealer did the work they determined that the seepage was not due to the vent valve, but rather failed internal O rings. They installed a new Angle Gear.

I have a couple hundred miles on the new Angle Gear and it seems tro be staying completely dry.

Still love the car.

Bill

[barrysharp]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (BillAileo @ May 04 2004,13:19)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Barry,
Been there done that.... At the 15,000 mile mark I was changing the oil on my &#39;03 XC70 and noticed the bottom of the angle gear was damp with gear oil. I had read Volvo Tech Notes No. 46-08 that covers all 5 cyllinder AWD Volvo cars from 1997 through 2004 and begins with the description &quot;If oil weepage is found at the Angle Gear Vent, a new vent valve should be installed.&quot; I called the dealer and scheduled an appointment for the new vent. However, when the dealer did the work they determined that the seepage was not due to the vent valve, but rather failed internal O rings. They installed a new Angle Gear.

I have a couple hundred miles on the new Angle Gear and it seems tro be staying completely dry.

Still love the car.

Bill[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Thanks -- interesting that your mileage was very close to mine and quite likely very close sine I overan my 15K by 1100 miles.

[toma nova]

I&#39;ve been off the forum for a few months and decided to check in ...

I was changing the oil this past weekend and noticed fluid on the stock skidplate: &nbsp;I have the same leak you have described Barry. &nbsp;I cleaned it off and looked real close with a work light and it does appear to be coming from the vent area of the gearbox.

I&#39;ll schedule service for it and I&#39;ll be prepared for either the O rings or a complete gearbox.

Thanks for the timely info. &nbsp;As usual, XC70.com comes through. &nbsp;Thanks Taylor&#33;&#33;

BTW, car has 31k miles.

[BillAileo]

Tomma,
In your message you noted &quot;I&#39;ll be prepared for either the O rings or a complete gearbox.&quot; &nbsp; I think what you&#39;ll find is that you&#39;ll either get a new vent (which is basically an external component of the angle gear) or a complete angle gear. &nbsp;According to my dealer, if the O rings are bad they don&#39;t replace them, they replace the whole angle gear.

Bill

[Willy]

Barry,
&#036;11.50 for oil, is that engine oil? I think they will charge me that amount for 1 liter over here (Belgium). My car was delivered with full synthetic oil (Shell Helix Ultra, Ferrari spec oil &nbsp; &nbsp; )
Willy

[barrysharp]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Willy @ May 08 2004,12:08)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Barry,
&#036;11.50 for oil, is that engine oil? I think they will charge me that amount for 1 liter over here (Belgium). My car was delivered with full synthetic oil (Shell Helix Ultra, Ferrari spec oil )
Willy[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Yes the oil was &#036;11.50. We do get off lightly in USA I must admit.