So just got a junkyard transmission installed, and included free of charge was a leak from the overdrive solenoid. The car still shifts in and out of overdrive just fine.

I have read the FAQ on this. Is my assumption correct that this leakage is coming from the two o rings on the solenoid, the replacement of which will stop it? Or are there other parts of the solenoid that can leak?

If the former, it appears that this involves

1. putting the car on ramps

2. removing the solenoid, allowing for leakage of fluid (according the FAQ I should not have to drop the tranny)

3. installing the two new o rings in the solenoid

4. reinstalling the solenoid

5. adding new tranny fluid to make up for the lost fluid.

Is there more to it than this? I am a relative newbie at this, and didn't want to get in over my head on this.

Thanks!

Alex

easiest thing is to bring it to those who installed the transmission and tell them whats what.

caveat emptor

it is possible the bolts have loosened and just need snugging up

on a lift this is fairly simple to remedy and should take 15 minutes

1. new outer and inner o rings
2. be very careful removing the 2 bolts
3. typically the BEST way and safest way to do this is to use only a 1/4" drive FLEX head ratchet and 12 mm socket

who ever does it does not want to over due it removing or installing the bolts. if broken you are looking at pulling the transmission OUT to fix

Thanks for the responses. This looks to be a relatively straightforward job, but if anybody has other thoughts, feel free to chime in.

Kittysgreyvolvo, thanks for the links. I am a NAUI certified diver. If you ever come on out here to the South West corner of the country to dive, look me up.

Dear U.S. Diver,

Hope you're well. With a view to preventing trouble, the area around the solenoid should be thoroughly cleaned, so no dust/grit gets into the tranny. Before loosening the solenoid's bolts, use a brush and/or compressed air to remove any loose dirt. Then, use a rag soaked in brake cleaner, to remove any remaining dirt, dust, etc., from the area near the solenoid. The surrounding metal should be "surgically" clean.

Further, as kittysgreyvolvo noted, if the authomatic transmission fluid (ATF) is other than a clear, rosy red, replace it. See the FAQs for the procedure.

The in-radiator ATF cooler is a heavy-duty double-wall copper tube, about a foot long and 1-1/4" in diameter. It has brass nipples brazed-on at each end, that stick-out through the wall of the radiator's passenger-side black plastic side-tank. Between the ATF cooler's nipple, and the inner wall of the side-tank, there's a thin bead of sealant.

It is very unlikely that coolant can get into the ATF, unless the copper corrodes and pin-holes form. But if the ATF pipes are improperly loosened, the seal between the ATF cooler and the inner wall of the side tank can be damaged. That will produce a coolant leak. See the FAQs for the proper way to loosen the ATF pipe fittings, which allows a flush to be done.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Thanks, all. If I drain to a catch pan, can I reuse the fluid that leaks out? Or is that considered dirty from contact with the outside of the tranny?

If I add new is it okay to add synthetic fluid, not being sure what is already in there?

Thanks!

Dear U.S. Diver,

Hope you're well. Fuid loss is likely to be very small. There's no reason to risk introducing dirt into a dirt-intolerant system, to save a dollar's worth of automatic transmission fluid (ATF). Dump whatever leaks and replace. You can safely add synthetic ATF.

If the in-service fluid is other than a clear, rosy red, I'd flush what's there - see FAQs for the procedure - and replace it with synthetic ATF.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

PADI or NAUI? I may have asked before.

I'm PADI Advanced Open Water.

Yet nowheres to dive in the festering middle of midwest.

It's been a long time I'd been under and looked at an AW-7x.

What you say here seems fine.

Though I have read the fluid can travel through the solenoid leaking through it and out the rear of the solenoid housing.

Here is a poor scan of the Volvo TP30868/2 automatic transmission service manual that includes the AW-7x and earlier (BW-35 in that 164: adjust them front and rear bands!)

https://www.scribd.com/doc/21651943/Volvo-Aw71-Manual

Well-hell, see http://www.volvowiringdiagrams.com/

Service manuals. Automatic transmission. That should help you.

No, you do not need to drop it.

Your fluid bright and pink and clean to no deeper than a rosy red? If darker, or brown, and smells strongly of burning phenolic, a flush, perhaps. Just watch that combo radiator you folks with RWD Volvo auto. They seem to like to fail and coolant and auto trans fluid mixes. Yet you know that already.

Though others like Spook for 700-900 and anyone with AW-7x hands on / owner / operator can better help you than I.

Questions?

Kenneth Burke: Rhetorical Scholar.
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