I finally got the other wheel bearing changed and to MY HORROR the noise was still present.

Not only that, but as time has rolled on the noise had progressed and it no longer sounded/felt like a bearing to me at all, but the bevel gear. It was making all kinds of noises now - humming, buzzing, vibrating, sometimes more than one noise at once with different oscillating frequencies and pitches.

I had never personally experienced a gearbox noise before, so I guess maybe that's why it took me a while to figure out what it was.

Last night I removed the propeller shaft from the gearbox to the VC and my noise disappeared. What a relief. I now feel like if I had continued driving the car the bevel gear would have eventually blown up.

Now the question is this: where is the problem that was causing all the stress on the bevel gear? ie: is the bevel gear itself the problem, or is the VC seized up inside and putting too much strain on the BG?

Right now I'm leaning more towards the VC, since the BG no longer makes any noise...

Anyway, I'll sort that out later. For now, anyway, I'm done spending money and time on this and I have a FWD!

As far as that goes, the car feels 'lighter' somehow. Not quite as 'stable' in the turns, but still a very capable car. I think this is probably how the FWD version of this car feels, except I've got a bit more ground clearance and maybe therefore a bit more body roll.

I'll probably start a new thread to ask about this in the proper context.


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1998 V70 AWD Turbo 190k+