Iam a very happy 1st time volvo owner (740gle 1988 sedan) with 267000klms on the clock,and still going strong. I would like some advice on a drive train problem.

The car gets a rumbling noise on take off (normal take off) only when there is weight in the back,either passengers or weight in the boot.It disappears after about 30-40klms per hour. When there is no added weight in the rear the noise is not detectable.

The diff pinion seal is also leaking and Iwas wondering what to look for

when the seal is replaced

The auto changes ok exccept for reverse which shudders a little.Could all this be linked? Any advice will be appreciated.

Thankyou.(my next car will definitely be a Volvo)

Mine displayed similar symptoms. Result: broken transmission mount. Have this looked at before investing big $$$ in other fixes.

My first thought is that the nut holding the pinion gear in place may be loose. This will cause the pinion to move a little to cause the seal to leak. It will also cause a growling sound when accelerating because the Ring gear and pinion are not shimmed properly with that nut being tight.

Get this looked at quickly, It could get very expensive If I am correct.

Sounds like the pinon seal and bushing need replaced at the tranny.

Check the bushing at the tranny by grabbing the driveshaft about 12 inches from the tranny and pushing it up and down . If it moves 1/4 - 1/2 inch or more at the tranny you will need a bushing and seal at the tranny end.

Also you may need a U Joint [($10) at Auto parts store]there are 3 of them. They are easy to check drop the drive shaft and check the movement at the joints. If there is no binding when you bend the drive shaft at the joints then they are still good. And yes it can be expensive to replace everything. I did everything from the tranny back to differental it was $600 for all new parts and labor including centerbearing and all 3 Ujoints. By the way that was at a Volvo Dealer. Local garage would probably do it under $400.

I did the whole driveshaft because since they had to tear the whole driveshaft apart anyway. Why not do it all and never have to do it again. I figured since the seal and bushing at the tranny was bad as well as one of the U-Joints it wouldn't be long before another U-Joint or the center bearing went.

Plus the car has 233,000 miles, 372K kilometers on it.

If you plan on keeping the car for sometime I'd do the whole thing due to the age and miles. But if your only going to keep it for another year or two just fix what needs fixed.

Time to roll out the old TSB on shimming the center bearing carrier with $1 worth of washers. You can either raise or lower the position of the driveshaft by shimming between the carrier mount and the body or between the mount bracket and the carrier. Easy to figure out and cheap to do but it will require testing both up and down positions and testing the distance as well. It cured my 780's rumble on take-off for good three years ago. Goof-balls had recommended u-joints and more $$$.

I completely agree with the shimming solution. The U-joints on these cars almost never fail. If there's no leak at the transmission rear seal, DON'T MESS WITH IT! Also, you can actually lubricate the centre bearing; it's in the 700/900 FAQ.

The other thing you should look at is the control arm bushings which (if you have a solid axle, sounds like you do) stop the axle from twisting; my 1988 745 had really worn bushings and you could actually move the wheel about 10 degrees with the parking brake on. The axle twist will cause the driveshaft to deflect, aggravating your rumbling.

As for the transmission mount, check that as well; if it's bad, look to be possibly doing the engine mounts. But it doesn't sound to me like tranny mount.