I recently acquired a 1983 Volvo 240 Turbo with the 4 speed manual. How hard/how much would it be to swap the transmission out into my 1989 Volvo 240?

I've been considering a similar swap since December 2014.....An '84 M46 setup into a '77 244. I would be interested if anyone knows of an online tutorial or forum thread that might give detailed information.....Yeah, I know about the drive shaft, but does the transmission cross-member need to swapped?....are the bolt hole present in an AT car for the different brake/clutch pedal assembly?....Ya know, things like that. Any guidance of that sort would be very much appreciated.
Cheers!
Jeff P.
Raleigh, NC, USA

I've done this swap twice. One was an '89 and the other was a '92. All of the bolt holes for the pedal cluster are already there. Swapping the pedal cluster, in my mind, was the hardest part of the project. There is a lot of stuff under there to work around and it is an awkward place to work. You will need to drill a hole for the clutch cable.
As for the cross-member, I believe they may look a little different, but both will work. As I recall, the cross-member will be mounted in a different location with the manual transmission, but the holes are already there.
The manual transmission makes the 240 a totally different car. Certainly worth the trouble! I would like to do the swap to my '87. I have a couple transmissions and necessary parts, but am lacking the time these days.
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1966 122s, 1968 142s, 1969 144s, 1979 245dl, 2001 V70 XC

Search this forum and turbobricks.com - it has all been covered in-depth.

Not very.

you need to take it all though. Transmission, driveshaft, and rear end.

I did this two years ago, pulled the dead auto out of my 89 and threw in a 91' M47 into it.

Let us know what you decide to do.

Matt

"you need to take it all though. Transmission, driveshaft, and rear end."
Leave the rear drive in. It contains the speed sensor. But the flange on the rear drive may have to be switched to accept the '83 drive shaft.

The '83 likely has a mechanical speedometer which runs off a cable connected to a speedo gear in the transmission. That hookup won't be used in the '89.

BTW, the '83 probably has an M46 4speed transmission with electric overdrive. Nice strong unit.
http://www.nuceng.ca/bill/volvo/database/tranny.htm

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1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb, M46 trans, 3:31 dif, in Brampton, Ont.

And you will need to look and document very closely and get all the electrical wiring for the OD on the '83 M46. You will need to be certain you get the OD solenoid and harness from behind the '83 dash. Otherwise, you won't be able to activate the OD. I'm assuming that '83 240 had the OD button in the shift knob like my '85. I had my 240 professionally converted to a manual about 5 years ago with a donor set up from an '86 and I've been in hog heaven ever since. Yes, I hate auto boxes. Have always preferred rowing my own gears. If you can pull off the swap, it will be worth it. I gained 3+ MPG over the old AW70 automatic. My rationale was why spend upwards of $2K on rebuilding the old AW70 and still end up with a trans I hated when I could spend $1400 on a very good condition used manual set up that was literally a turnkey situation and I totally love it. The manual feels smooth as a new unit. I had the shop put in a new rear main seal since the the flywheel had to come off anyway and new clutch parts. The conversion even activated the green "5" light in the instrument cluster telling me when I'm in OD. No regrets. Good luck on your project.
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'85 240 DL B230F 4spdOD 330K; '87 740GLE B230F ZF22 340K

Just for clarity---MrData referred to the OD "solenoid" behind the dash -- he meant "relay". The solenoid, attached to the transmission, is what engages the overdrive.
I've made the swap both ways - you'll like it because it's what you want. You'll want to keep your differential since it has the sender for the speedo while the '83 did not. So you will have 3.73 gears rather than the 3.31 of the M46 cars. Volvo started building them that way sometime in the early 1980's. Earlier cars like my M46 equipped 1980 245 had the same 3.91 as auto cars. You'll have more dig off the line compared to a factory equipped 240 but slightly higher rpm at cruising speed. The M46 has an OD ratio of .80 while the AW70 is around .70 -- so you'll see slightly higher rpm at cruising sped compared to the current auto. -- Dave

Dave, you're right in your correction. I knew what it was but said it wrong, it's a relay.

Yes, the only downside to the swap is for some reason they made the manual OD .79 ratio while the autobox was .69. I didn't realize that until after the swap and my cruise RPM was higher at a given MPH. Frustrating but it is was it is. I was hoping for a similar low RPM cruise. My AW70 gave me 75 mph for about 2600 RPM. With the manual OD ratio, at 75 it's turning about 27-2800 with the 3.73 axle. I can live with it!

Roger
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'85 240 DL B230F 4spdOD 330K; '87 740GLE B230F ZF22 340K