Well I found out the hard way of what happened to my axle and why it was making noise... BAM! It appears that the cast axle housing had developed a crack over the past years and with the additional loading, steep grades galore it was to much for it and this morning it let go big time. After inspecting the left over broken parts I found where the crack had started and from the depth of the rust that penetrated it had been cracked for a very long time. What lead to the sudden explosion of parts seems to be a tooth had cracked off the pinion during a misalignment under extreme load going up an 8% grade in 3rd full throttle and I was able to get the car into a "runaway truck" stopping area for the downhill traffic so I could park and survey the damage. Now what are the odds that this small Iowa junkyard would have a 740 axle? Couple those odds of it costing $45.00? The only bitch was getting it a mile up the hill and into the car, thankfully the salesman let me take the tires and all PLUS cut the axle out for me without damaging a single brakeline or the parking cable. 3 hours later we were back on the road and wondering what the county sanitation guy will think when he goes to empty the garbage can of mangled iron and steel. The new axle seems to be much shallower however I couldn't find a marking on the tube as to the ratio, would anyone have an idea of the ratios available for a 1983 740-GL with the 3-speed non OD transmission? At 60 in 4th Im currently running 2250 or so where before I was running an even 3000 at 60 in 4th gear. I cant use OD anymore as it drags the engine down to 1500 at 60. Oh well it did get me home and I plan on swapping in the correct ratio this weekend along with an undercarrage total cleanup and exhaust replacement as the pipe got pinched and I had to cut the pipe to about 24 inches from the turbo outlet, it does sound MEAN when I nail the throttle and let the motor spool past 3000... Come'on ricebaby lets have a go!

Anyway thought you guys might like my little brick adventure.

Brandon 988

Played with the axle ratios and if your right on the tach&speed readings looks like you have a 2.73 rear end.

Hey,

I m glad to hear that you got out of this intact.
I can identify with your situation. Had almost the same thing happen to me several years ago. It wasnt a volvo, its was a rambler(god forbid). I was on the road from Lousiana to California. Before leaving on the trip, I kept hearing this noise that I couldnt, and apparently no one else could identify what the noise was.

Well, I turns out that it was a rear wheel bearing going bad. you could only hear it now and again. The sucker ate through the axle and broke, snapping the brake line in the process(single cylinder brakes). The lucky thing is that it happened(somewhere in ariz) just as I was cresting a hill, huge truck on my right.

The whole left rear suddenly set down on the ground, and I had no brakes. This all in a heart beat. There was just enough left of the hill to slow and stop.
This could have ended alot worse(crispy critters).

Well, after I chaged underwear, and collected myself, I too was escorted(passing tow truck) to a wrecking yard, that happened to be just at the bottom of the hill. And yes they had the axle in question. They towed the car, fixed it, and sent me on my merry , glad to be alive, way. But broke because the wrecker had every last penny of the money I had on me.

You can imagine that now Iam a real stickler about any unexplained noises, especially those that appear to come from suspension parts. This can be deadly. OH yea!

Lets be safe out there.

Lawrence

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I'm sure that poor little axle took a lot over the years.

http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/Driveline.htm#RearAxleRatioTable

Perhaps you got the one year only 3.15 ratio...maybe somone with a v8 3speed car would need that?

4th gear at 60 is just under 2000 for me I think with the 3.50 ratio...3100@80MPH in overdrive, tires are 205 60 15. My first gear feels a little weak, and I might like the 3.73 better, but then again I sometimes catch myself looking for 6th gear on the freeway, maybe I just need a bigger motor. Does anyone have a favorite ratio for the diesel?

I know exactly what you mean about the nasty turbo noise....I hit a flooded part of my street last winter and knocked the pipe loose just ahead of the first muffler. I'd say more but work just called.

So how DID you get it a mile up the hill, I mean did you just pull it along on the wheels? That's quite a feat in itself! And to swap it in 3 hours! How did you do that on the roadside, get access etc? I must confess I'd be all day and probably would have given up and had it towed (although I'm in the UK and 500 miles would be the maximum typically). I'm impressed. Regards.
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BillB

Great story. Which junkyard?

Dude, as a guy who has had a similar thing happen while on the highway (rear end siezed up at 70mph) I can honestly say I know what you mean.

But yours is definitely a great story(and much better than mine)!!! You can tell that one to your kids and grandkids!

awesome!

Mike

Volvo did not sell a 1983 740GL in North America. Give me the model year, engine, body style, transmission, and I'll give you the ratio. The ZF was a four speed non-OD automatic transmission.
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john

Hi John

I went by the build DOT tag on the drivers door that said 8-83, it would be for the 84 model year. This one honestly had a 3-sp automatic in it, no OD button on the shifter and was correct from what I could tell of the console. Went P-R-N-D-2-1 with no buttons on it. Was this an odd duck car or someone not do a good job on the production manifests? Who knows... It "feels" about like that of a 3.21 ratio or maybe less, the diesel tach was driven off the stator diodes in a convoluted manner with pulley ratio games, not what I would consider accurate.

Getting up the hill was going alright until the time I suspect the tooth broke off and got jammed between the gears, I could be wrong on this as the end result was a BIG mess of busted parts. When it did happen all I had was wheels and no means of driving them and had to back coast into the runaway truck area and hoping no one was coming in the other direction, needless to say I was very tense at that moment. If the car had drum brakes Im sure the wheels would have just slipped out and jammed inside the wells, the discs held them in place and allowed a moderate coast speed given the drag plus weight and grade I was on, hwy 52.

Anyway went shopping this afternoon and found the correct 3.70 axle that is not only clean it also sports new calipers and parking brake linings, only cost me a pint of blood and $75.00 plus I got the driveshaft with a new center bearing. The donor car had a trunk fire thanks to the owner whom I suspect was a kid and didnt use fuses with his boom-thumper amp and sub that turned to a crisp in the trunk. Some people are born stupid and others try real hard at it!

Chowtime here but I will be back later

Brandon 988

83? The 760 came in 1984.

It must have been a pre-production version. ;)
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Warren Bain - '99 V70GLT G-Valve > 80K mi, 89 300SE, '96 965 >120Kmi, near Manassas Va.. Check the 700/900 FAQ via the 'features' pull down menu. This post written with 100% recycled electrons.

I'm sure it's confusion as to the month built vs. model year. The cars built in late 1983 would all be 1984 models.
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '87 244DL/M47- 229K, 88 744GLE- 218K, 82 245T-181K Also responsible for the care and feeding of: 88 745GLE, 231K, 87 244DL, 239K, 88 245DL, 246K

Good story, thanks. You were lucky.
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Warren Bain - '99 V70GLT G-Valve > 80K mi, 89 300SE, '96 965 >120Kmi, near Manassas Va.. Check the 700/900 FAQ via the 'features' pull down menu. This post written with 100% recycled electrons.