Oh 'eck 'Tank' is not at all well.......

[Clifford Pope]

Forget about the shims - there are none, As marcmarcel says, the bearings are self-contained and non-adjustable. 940s might be different.

A complete replacement shaft will just pop straight in, assuming it is a good one. Just be ultra-careful it doesn't pick up any dirt in the dismantling/transport process.

[Jim760]

hate to say it but, if its the shaft leaking and it looks like its happened for a while, your dill will have gone dry and the grinding could well be the actual diff its self grinding its self apart..

[Paul240480]

Right, the penny has dropped at last. I had visions of having to replace 1/2 the axle complete from the diff to the hub thinking that was 1/2 a shaft! Not just pulling out the bit within the axle carrying the bearing. Yes that is despite reading 940_turbo's how too twice! Yes I know, I know I'm hard work

So next job, as mentioned is to pull the shaft with the bearing on & see if it is knackered. It has been mentioned that the carrier may have been damaged which would clearly cause me more grief!

Jim760, lets hope not eh? Time will tell.......................

[Paul240480]

Okay, the 1/2 shaft is out. Oil dripped out of the 'hole' so I hope this means some is left in the diff & it didn't run dry.

Some pics, not in the right order maybe. All clicky:








Now when I spin the bearing slowly, at one point it grumbles, only about say, 1 o'clock to 3 o'clock on a full turn. I guess this is the source of the noise.

Now as for the 'carrier' which I assume is the bit from where I withdrew the 1/2 shaft. How do I tell if it is okay?

Also I understand I need to replace a seal? Where is it please.

Thanks

[940_Turbo]

Originally Posted by Paul240480

Right, the penny has dropped at last. I had visions of having to replace 1/2 the axle complete from the diff to the hub thinking that was 1/2 a shaft! Not just pulling out the bit within the axle carrying the bearing. Yes that is despite reading 940_turbo's how too twice! Yes I know, I know I'm hard work

So next job, as mentioned is to pull the shaft with the bearing on & see if it is knackered. It has been mentioned that the carrier may have been damaged which would clearly cause me more grief!

Jim760, lets hope not eh? Time will tell.......................

There isn't a carrier as such. All there is is a spline in the shaft that goes in the diff and a bearing at the outer end the cone of which sits directly in the machined part of the axle tube. I have seen a couple where the bearing has seized destroying the axle tube. At that point the axle's days are numbered but you can effect a short term fix with bearing fit (like a thick Loctite). Chances are yours is fine, it is a real rarirty.

Beyond that you have two oil seals. The inner one that in essence looks like the one on my 120 series axle and the outer one.

The bearing doesn't run in oil, the bearing runs in grease. Do replace the inner seal as that will be where your oil leak is. Pull the shaft out of another axle, re grease the bearing and slap it back together with the outer seal that is on the replacement 1/2 shaft.

As to the shimming thing it is a bit of a red herring. I've done a lot of these over the years, hundreds probably, and I have the proper Volvo tool for changing the bearing. As it says in section 13 of the manual check that the end float is correct; it pretty much always is. But you do just need to do the sanity check. You don't need to set up the dial gauge, just give it a good pull and a push. I have seen the odd one that has had its bearings adjusted.

Once you've got a serviceable halfshaft you can do it in a couple of hours, no need to bleed the brakes, no messing with the bushes. It'll be way quicker than swapping out the axle in the cold!

[Paul240480]

Righto, so I need to buy a new inner seal. That'll be an after Crimbo job then, by the time it's ordered & delivered

The old seal will be in where the bearing sits in the 'hole' then, so I've to remove that without causing damage.

Then as Paynes say's re-fitting is a reversal of dis-mantling! lol

Thanks

[940_Turbo]

Inner seal.

Outer seal is the blue thing on the shaft.

[Paul240480]

Originally Posted by 940_Turbo

Inner seal.

Outer seal is the blue thing on the shaft.

Excellent, that is exactly the sort of help I need! lol

[chesters6]

pretty tight things the bearings on the shaft.
i managed to find a hefty bit of iron 1.5" wide 1/2" thick and two feet long and used this rotating the shaft on an old rear brake disk (clever that if i say so my self) with every blow on the retaining ring an inch or so.
what would have been better is a bit of scaffold pole longer than the half shaft so you could drive the ring on evenly if its wide enough to fir over the bulge

i cut the old bearing off the shaft carefully with an angle grinder and one of those brilliant 1mm ish thick cutting disks.
i'm sure i bought the bearing from GFS they ordered it and i got it later that day

the bearing comes complete with both seals

you might as well drain the complete dif and refill it seeing as you will be topping it up anyway

the worst part of the job is getting the hand brake shoes back on IMHO

[Paul240480]

Yeh I'll give you that one Chesters, clever indeed

I tried to cut my seized on front bearing from the axle stub 18 months or so back. As careful as I could be I still managed to knacker the stub-axle by gouging a great lump out of it! As it happened it was trash as the bearing had welded itself on! Ended up down the scrappies for a replacement strut!

Anyway, I've tied a big bin bag over the end of the axle to protect it & have wedged a big sheet of corrugated plastic into the wheel arch to hopefully save the bag from the wind.

I've not removed the inner seal, yet. Thought I'd have a dig at the one in the yard............when I get there.

Seeing as I need to order the seal, it maybe after crimbo now by the time I get down there.

So once again, very many thanks to all for the help & advice so far. Will pick this up again once I'm at the next stage.

All the very best to you all for Christmas