I have a chance at a 78 244, b21a, BW35 with only 120,000 km. I have done some reading in the archives for problems with the BW35 and it appears it can fail at around 100,000 km. Anything you can tell me would be appreciated. The car is safety checked, has new brakes and exhaust, original paint, good interior and the asking price is $1650 Cdn.

Thanks,

Ron
87 745
near Brantford, ON, Can

I agree with Kane. Assuming this is a North American vehicle, the BW35 was only offered in the 240 lineup during the first year (1975) and it was mated to the old B20 engine (both were carryovers from the 140 vehicles). The '76 model year kicked off with the B21 engine and the BW55 automatic transmission.

The BW35 is an older design that requires a band adjustment every 30,000 miles or so. The BW55 is basically the same transmission as it's later brothers: the AW70 and AW71, except that the BW55 does not have an overdrive unit bolted to the back. The 55/70/71 are compeletely self adjusting (have no bands), and are some of the most trouble-free transmissions that I've ever worked on. Some of the check-balls start to wear down around 200,000 miles, but there's info in fixing this problem in the FAQ (you must feel comfortable in removing the valve body to do this). This usually does not hinder operation except for a noticably firmer shift (car almost pounces forward when up-shifting under moderate acceleration) and is a minor annoyance.

As far as basic maintaince, pull the pan and wipe it clean of sediment and deposits, make sure the filter/strainer is clean (not a true filter), clean the magnet that's sitting in the bottom of the pan, install the pan with a new gasket and use a few dabs of RTV on the bolts to keep them from slowly backing out, and perform a fluid flush with some good quality Type-F Automatic Transmission Fluid (also detailed in the brickboard 700/900 FAQ). You should get many years of reliable operation out of it (+300,000 miles or more if it's been cared for).

God bless,
Fitz Fitzgerald.
--
'87 Blue 245, NA 236K

In 1978, the tranny should be the BW55 - a relative to the AW70/71. In fact, take out the OD and that's pretty much the guts of it.

It's pretty durable, if not the most friendly on the highway.

-- Kane
--
Blossom II - '91 745Ti/M46 ... Bubbles - '74 144GL/BW35 ... Buttercup - '86 245GL/AW70 ... The Wayback Machine - '64 P220/M40

OK, I'm a bit confused here. I assumed it was a BW35 by checking Bill Garland's Volvo database at http://epic.mcmaster.ca/bill/volvo/database/240cars.htm
It is a Canadian model, a 244DL. I'll check the archives for info on the BW55, thanks.

Ron
87 745
near Brantford, ON, Can

The BW55 tranny is a good/tough tranny. In the Volvo Factory Manual on AT it stated that the BW55 tranny was used in applications where a tougher tranny is needed, i.e., V6's & turbos. Some NA 240's did get BW55's and that is a good thing. Both my 79 262C has the BW55 and it has 159K miles on the clock. My 79 264GL also had the BW55 and it ran great up to 119K miles on it until I swapped it out for the M46 tranny. As long as you do the regular fluid changes you should be fine. Enjoy!

Sincerely,
--
Julio Meza

1979 264GL B27F 124K --> BW55->M46, CLS, IPD Sway, 81+ Dash, Gauges

1979 262C B27F 159K --> Restore Project w/Possible V8

1984 245DL 211K -->Wifemobile

My 76 244 had one with about 170 000 km on it, it seemed to shift pretty smoothly. What I didn't like was having to run at what seemed like 4000 rpm on the highway. I guess they wouldn't have designed the car like that if it was bad for the engine to run that way, but I never got used to it.

While they may not be the smoothest trans in the world, they do seem strong, I have not heard of many failing, in fact the one in my 77 had some serious kms on it, and while it did not like finding reverse at times, it never seemed to stop the car, or get any worse.
I sold the car, and the current owner has a habit of just reving the ring out of it till it finds reverse, with a bang, and after 6+ months of this abuse it's still going.
--
My 85 760Ti, and her name is Veronica...