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the overdrive solenoid on my aw70 is leaking. is it likely only the o-rings have failed or can a leak be caused by a defective solenoid? if its is o-rings, are these something i can get at the local parts store?
from reading the FAQ it seems access is tight and cleanliness vitally important. any hints/tips for someone undertaking this job for the first time? i will most be attempting the fix from my back since i don't have access to a lift. can it be worse than replacing the ps rack??
oh yeah..i forgot to mention the OD still works fine.
thanks!
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I did this a few years ago without lowering the transmission. I believe I used an open ended wrench. Whatever you do, do not purchase and install an aftermarket ScanTech overdrive solenoid. I made that mistake. Within 6 weeks the thing totally ruptured and spewed out transmission fluid all down my driveway. I was lucky to notice it before I cruised down the road and toasted the transmission. I highly recommend using an original Volvo solenoid. I was able to pull one from the junkyard and it has performed marvelously for the past 6 years! I agree that this job isn't as difficult as everyone makes it out to be. Of couse my two latest projects have been the blower fan motor and heater control valve, so I guess most anything is easy comapred to those two.
0-9
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I had one that developed a leak at the top of the solenoid where the wires enter it. It still worked properly, but was dripping on the garage floor. Take a good look at it.
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I've seen that too - dad's 245 had that happen. Apparently the inner seal allowed fluid to pass and it leaked up through the top of the solenoid and out of the wiring loom.
BTW, don't lower anything to change the solenoid, it's just way more work than needed. Buy a cheap 12mm wrench from the hardware store, heat it up and bend it at about a 45deg. angle. You'll be able to remove the solenoid in about ten minutes this way, or at least, I can.
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i ended up heating and bending a 12mm wrench, and that worked great. thanks for the idea! the o-rings looked fine, so i am wondering if my solenoid is leaking though the top? that rubber cap that sits atop the body of the solenoid doesn't seem to be as tight as i would expect. you can wiggle it a decent amount and pull the rubber sleeve/hood back away from the body of the solenoid and look far up underneath the sleeve. when doing this you can see evidence of what seems to be ATF fluid. should that be firmly attached?
in my boredom, i went to the junkyard and pulled one off an 88. the sleeve/hood on this one was very tight (sealed to the sides of the solenoid body) and you can't pull it back or look under it at all. i am now trying to decide if i should hook up the junkyard part or just replace the o-rings and put the original back on. since there was no visible damage to the existing o-rings and that rubber sleeve/hood is fairly loose, my gut says it is leaking though the top.
anyone ever seen a case where the o-rings looked ok, but actually weren't? or is it pretty obvious if they are the cause of the leak?
just trying to increase my odds of getting it right the 1st time.
btw - the impedance on the junkyard part is about 14.3 ohms. slightly more than the 13 ohms stated in bentley. think this is OK?
thanks.
kevin
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If the O-rings are bad, it's usually obvious. In fact, I've re-used old O-rings several times and never had any leaking problems due to it. The fluid has probably just found a way out of the top of the solenoid - even if the solenoid is working fine electrically, the rubber seal inside may have degraded. You could pull back the rubber boot, clean everything off and seal with RTV maybe.
And my findings have been the same - the rubber boot on the top is usually good and stuck on unless ATF has been leaking out of it.
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i installed the solenoid i pulled off an 88 240 junker (new o-rings) and it wouldn't seal. without even starting the car, its leaking from the mating surface between the solenoid and the tranny body. upon closer inspection i realized that the wire that exits the solenoid on the junkyard version is at an angle that goes right into the body of the transmission. the little stub where this wire exits the solenoid is firm enough that i think this is preventing the assembly from sealing properly.
the solenoid that was initially leaking (which i believe was the original) has the wire positioned so it runs forward toward the front of the car, parallel to the tranny body, and thus doesn't hit the tranny body.
so now its back under the car to put the original on and confirm that the leaking isn't coming from the mating surfaces. then, i get to decide to go look for another from the junkyard or buy a new one. i am a bit puzzled because from looking at fcp's site it looks like the same part fits all 240s from 81-93 and even some 740s. not sure why the angle of the wire is different on the version i found? if that isn't the cause, i can't imagine what might be causing it to leak from where its leaking.
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Make sure you're not installing it backwards. I believe it is possible to get in on there backwards, but of course it won't work that way. You are right, any car with an AW70 or AW71 should have an interchangable solenoid.
A really helpful tool in this job is a mirror, something like your dentist would use, usually on a metal handle with a pivot. You can make sure the mating surfaces are clean before installing that way.
Good luck, you'll get it eventually. On my car I decided I never wanted to fool with the OD again so I modified the solenoid to allow fluid to pass at all times, then cut off the wires. No electrical part of that system will ever keep me in 3rd gear again.
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i do have one of those mirrors and i can't imagine trying the job without it! when i pulled off the junkyard solenoid i took a very close look at the two and i saw that the little stub that protrudes into the tranny body was slightly wider than the original. i did some more research in the archives and saw a mention that the diameters of that "stub" were different in some of the earlier model AW71s. so i think that wider stub was hitting the seat in the tranny body and causing the solenoid base plate to not completely seal. maybe i was lucky enough to pick one of those out of the junkyard.
anyways, i put the original one back on there and it doesn't appear to be leaking at the base any longer. there was a moment where i was afraid i might have damaged the tranny body after tightening down the replacement.
unfortunately, it is leaking out of the top, so i can't use the bypass trick. i emailed fcp and they said their most recent aftermarket replacement has had about a 1% failure rate, so i may just go with that for $85. the gas and time involved for a few more junkyard trips are going to quickly approach $85.
thanks again!
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Before removing the solenoid, spray the area down with brake cleaner to degrease it and blow away the grit (the real enemy). If you put a small jack under the trans and unbolt the rear trans cross member from the floor (two bolts on each end), you can lower the tail end of the trans enough to gain pretty easy access to the solenoid bolts.
I would recommend going with Volvo O-rings that are the actual part number called for as it is VERY HARD to determine the needed OD and ring diameter from the old worn out O-rings, in short, you would be guessing.
Hope the above helps!
jorrell
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92 245 250K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!
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thanks! this definitely helps. if i decide to unbolt the rear crossmember, does this also entail removing the exhaust pipe? it doesn't look like there is more than 1/2" between the cross member and the exhaust on the passenger side. also, where on the transmission would you apply the jack? on the pan?
-kevin
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The exhaust will be fine, it has enough flex plus the rear exhaust hangers. What will limit travel is when the back of the cylinder head contacts the firewall... just make sure there are no wires between the back end of the valve cover and the firewall, push/pull them out of the way. If you are concerned about scratching the paint on the firewall, place a few rags over the back lip of the valve cover before lowering the trans.
Consider replacing the two rubber/plastic bushings in the shifter linkage (IF the shifter is sloppy), its a good time to do it. Also make sure the three bolts that hold the shifter assembly to the shifter "can" are nice and tight... another source of sloppy shifts. I believe those 3 bolts have 11mm heads, a wrench will do just fine.
Not a bad job at all.
jorrell
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92 245 250K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!
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posted by
someone claiming to be David Hunter
on
Wed Nov 14 12:37 CST 2007 [ RELATED]
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The difficulty of this job is overrated. With proper tool it is quite easy without lowering anything. The solonoid has a couple of 10MM bolts to loosen. I used a 1/4 drive socket set, others have used a stubby wrench.
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