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HARD BACK SHIFT ALL 95

I have a 1995 850 Turbo, automatic transmission, that shift kind hard from park to reverse, or from drive to reverse. By hard I mean that it feels like drive line lash is being taken up, slight klunk (but not really a metallic klunk). Actually kinda hard to describe. I can say that my 3/4 Dodge van with automatic transmission does the same thing, and has for years. Well I wasn't worried about it because the car runs great and the automatic shifts smooth between all gears, whether in Sport, Econo, or Winter mode. But - I went to Hoy Fox Volvo in El Paso...just to look at the new models. Was considering trading in the faithful 850 on one of the new, pretty gold ones. They of course wanted to appraise my car. The dealer took the car for a drive, noticed the hard shift into reverse, and took it into the maintenance bay to have it checked. When he came back he said that the car needs a new transmission, and it would cost about $2500.00 to $2800.00. Of course this would have to come of the trade-in value (he didn't say that - I did)). I personally think the guy is full of crap, thought he had a moron for a customer. I took my keys, said thanks for the info, and left without pursuing a purchase from them. Probably never will either. Anyway - on to the question. Anyone else have this klunk into reverse? Should I worry about it if everything else is working fine? Any fixes for the hard shift? Thanks in advance for your info. And sorry for the rant.








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    Re: HARD BACK SHIFT ALL 95

    If you only have a problem going from P to R and from D to R, you do NOT need a new tranny. I had the same problem myself, and I would even describe it as more than a clunk. When was the last time you changed your ATF?

    I remember when I test drove an 95 850 Turbo Sedan a couple years ago and it did the same thing. The salesman said it was because the tranny needed to be broken in. Obviously, when I first test drove the 850, the tranny didn't shift as badly as my 855T a year and a half ago before I did my ATF change.

    When I changed my ATF, this clunking almost disapeared. It was still there, but at about the same level of clunk as a new 8K demo 95' 850 Turbo Sedan.

    Another thing I noticed is that coming to a complete stop and shifting from D to R doesn't produce the smoothest shift. I stop the car, and when the actual velocity has stopped and the car is still leaning forward from brake squat, I shift quickly into R, and voila, no clunk what so ever. Similarly form P, I go straight to N before the tranny can engage R, and go from N to R. Absolutely no clunks this way. I never tried this on another 850 before so I don't promise this will hold with your 850. All I can recommend is flushing and filling your ATF, it does more than you could imagine. But like I said, it doesn't totally take it away. And regarding this dealership, walk away. If they know Volvo 850's, they are trying to cheat you, 'cause every 850 does this to a certain extent unless you get lucky and the tranny shifts smoothly, the way it does once in a while.








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    Re: HARD BACK SHIFT ALL 95

    Check your tranny fluid.

    Is it brown? Does it smell like burnt metal?

    If not, then you don't need a new tranny.

    He was trying to make himself a little profit off your worry. I had the tranny replaced on my car and the thing still clunks into reverse - especially after it gets hot. This is just one of those Things That Volvos Do.

    -Malcolm







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