My 1986 240 with an m46 transmission that has around 235K on it shifts hard from first to second gear. It doesn't grind, it just feels like the gate is stiff as it goes into second gear. Then to go back into first gear, i have to be well below 20mph or else it won't go into first. The gate simply won't let me. I'm curious if anyone has any clue or a possible fix to this problem that won't cost the price of a rebuild or something like that. The fluid is new and changed, i recently had a used(but great) OD unit put on, and otherwise the tranny seems fine...except for that odd whining noise which started after the new OD was put on and stops as soon as OD is engaged. Anyways, that's two questions now, so thanks to anyone who could give a bit of info.

Have you adjusted the reverse gear detent plate? Supposedly these things can get out of adjustment and make first and second difficult to engage. With that many miles on the clock it's probably a good idea to at least check it. If this is fine, have you changed the fluid recently?

- alex

'85 244 Turbo: no stereo

oh yeah, and I've changed the fluid a few times within the past year. The first was because I don't think it had ever been changed and the second because i had a new(used)overdrive put on. So that's one more thing that probably isn't the problem...

pardon my ingorance, but what the heck is the reverse detent plate? I'm not too keen on transmissions yet, so you'll have to fill me in. The other thing I noticed today when I got under the car and looked is that the clutch cable is tightened all the way. I cannot tighten it any more, and the friction point is REALLY close to the floor, so could it just be that the clutch cable is streched and thus isn't fully releasing the clutch which means the cable needs replaced? That would seem logical to me, but again, I'm not very experienced with transmissions. well, any help would again be much appreciated.

If you find yourself trying to put your foot through the floor when you shift, you have a problem. You should be able to just push the clutch pedal about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way down and shift fine (meaning it grabs near the top, not near the floor). I had a problem once where shifting got progressively worse over a period of one week, and eventually putting the pedal to the floor wasn't far enough and I had to turn the engine off to get into 1st gear. This turned out to be clutch cable adjustment problem, but if your's has no more length to adjust, then have it replaced (Volvo part only, aftermarket clutch cables have given many people problems).

The reverse detent plate is located under the shift boot. The rubber boot is held in with four plastic plugs, one at each corner. These are extremely difficult and painful on the fingers to remove and replace (at least it was on my car). Once you get the shift boot off, you'll see there's a white piece of plastic at the base of the shift lever (on the left side), and it rides against a metal plate. When you lift up the ring on the shifter to go into reverse, you're lifting up that piece of plastic over the metal plate so that the lever will move further to the left. If the plate isn't lined up correctly, the shift lever won't quite be centered as it's going into first or second gear. To adjust, loosen the two bolts holding down the plate and shift into 1st gear. Measure the clearance between the plate and the detent sleeve (plastic). It should be 0.5mm to 1.5mm (0.020" to 0.059"). Set clearance in 1st and 2nd gear, and tighten the detent plate bolts. Replace the shift boot.

I have the same problem on my 740, and the clutch actuation seems fine. Does the same reverse detent plate adjustment apply to this transmission in the 700 series cars? Thanks a lot.

Yes, the 200 and 700 series both used the M46 (4spd+OD) and M47 (5spd) manual transmissions which both use the same type of reverse lockout mechanism.

Seriously though, as Margaret said, your tranny could rapidly deteriorate as I bought a car that i couldn't get into first until I was nearly stopped, and the guy told me about it. Nevertheless it got so bad it was like parts would shift around and sometimes let me get into gear, or others i could only get into 3rd. I changed the tranny myself.

Allow for the cost of a transmission repair/replace in the future. Sorry!

I had a similar problem with my '83 245 that rapidly deteriorated until it became almost impossible to get it into any gear. As I was driving home about a week after the problem started, I realized that the clutch wasn't disengaging fully when I had the pedal pushed all the way in (mine's a cable, not hydraulic). So I adjusted the clutch back a bit (about 1/4 inch) and now it goes in smoother than it ever did before. You could try that, provided that yours is a cable too, and that your clutch still has some play left in it. Sure beats having to spend money on a new clutch.

Good luck.

Margaret.

Just out of curiosity , why would you want to shift into 1st over 20mph?

Are you racing?

If so ( or just having fun) have you tried raising the engine rpms while trying to downshift to 1st at high speed?

You mean raise the rpm's with the clutch out don't you? Otherwise it doesn't make a difference.

heheh, race race

Nathan

Yep, or at least part way out , just enough to get the input shaft spinning the same speed as the gear ( or rock it out of 2nd with the throttle on float then you only need the clutch once)

I know the stuff about the input shaft and layshaft, etc. But what do u mean by

> ( or rock it out of 2nd with the

> throttle on float then you only need the clutch once)

Toe on the brake and heel on the gas or the other way around whichever is more comfortable. While braking down to the shift point, ease the trrottle back up just enough to take the load off the gear and it slides right out , continue bringing rpms up to synchronize shaft and gear, stab the clutch lightly and you're in, without tearing the heck out of the clutch and overworking the synchros. Plus braking remains uninterupted in a curve .

Takes a bit of practice, on a closed course (see disclaimer). or find an old truck driver to show you how it's done (it's real fun with a 5 into 4, i.e. 20 forward gears and 2 sticks)same action used for racing.

* warning :Don't try this at home kiddies, if you don't know what you are doing , it's a good way to smack into somebody.