The strange tale of Doctor Bombay,and the AW70
Greetings to all fellow Volvo owners, and members of this board.;
For whatever it's worth,here is a little story about Doctor Bombay,my 85 240.
Around 6000 miles ago,Dr Bombay had a radiator problem that caused coolant to enter the transmission.You can imagine my shock and chagrin when I saw the brick red water in the coolant tank.I figured Dr Bombay was ready to retire.(after all,the good doctor had logged 245k)…So, I happenned to have a spare radiator, and I decided to see if I could revive and/or rehabilitate Bombay.I replaced the radiator, and flushed the trans with cheap Autozone "DexMerc" tranny juice.I drove it around town for a week or two, then changed the fluid again.I was kind of happy.Dr. Bombay was acting normal.I drove him over 3000 miles with no problems;..then,all of a sudden, it would not shift out of first gear.I figured the tranny was shot,but then,I found out it was a broken kick-down cable!I ordered a new cable from FCP Groton, and replaced it.I was back on the road!I logged another 2000 miles,,then,on my way home from Tucson,the trans all of a sudden would not shift out of first gear! .I was 95 miles from home, and thank goodness I had AAA+!.I got towed home,(the tow truck driver said it would have been around $450 if I didnt have AAA)…
Of course I assumed the problem had something to do with the kickdown cable.I drained the trans, and dropped the pan.Everything looked normal and good with the cable,so I put the pan back on, and put new fluid in, tweaked the cable adjustment,,,but it still would not shift out of first gear!
Luckily,(?), I live in the big city.Groceries,etc., are within 3 blocks from my house…so,I'm thinking Bombays tranny is shot.I had read that once an AW70 gets infected with cooolant, it is a "death sentence".,,but, Bombay still runs good, and I am driving locally in first gear. I gave Bombay the nickname of; "The Zephyr",because I would have to wind it out to 4000 rpm,to do 25 mph.../?/...OK, so,after 3 weeks of driving the Zepher around town, I'm on my way back from the store,as usual,I wind it out to avoid slowing down traffic, and it shifts into 2nd!!.I couldn't believe it!,,then, it shifted into 3rd! So, I went home and checked the tranny fluid.It was normal….I was in utter disbelief!I decided to give it the freeway test,so I got on the 405 and went north for 5 miles.Everything normal.RPM to MPH ratio.etc..
So,yesterday,I drove it 40 miles,and it seems OK,,HOWEVER, I dont mean to brag, but I am sort of proud and glad to know that I am not quite stupid enough to think that Bombays tranny is just fine.It still wont shift out of first until it's warmed up, and, sometimes after coming to a stop, it will not shift down to first, (it will stay in 2nd).It also shifts very 'softly'.
If you've read this far,I hope all this was sort of entertaining)?(…

Bottom line; I was awestruck when Bombays' AW70 hit 2nd gear after weeks of being the 'Zephyr'!!..I guess maybe there was some piece of crud or something that clogged an artery,and it was finally dislodged due to zephering around town.?…none the less, I am going to have to do a transmissionectomy in the near future.
.Fortunately,I have a spare AW70,
Unfortunately,I dont think I want to perform the brutal task of swapping trannys in my driveway,(again).