My brick just hit 160k!

On my way home one evening, I noticed that she wasn't making it into 4th.

I took her to the shop, and at first they thought it was a solenoid problem.

However, after replacing the solenoid (13 years old), she still wasn’t shifting into 4th.


Now, the chaps at the shop want to replace the entire tranny for $2600, but the car is worth $2000.


Has anyone else had this problem?

Is there another solution to this problem, other than replacing the tranny?

If I replace the tranny, how much life can I pull out of her?

At 160K miles, is replacing the tranny worth it? My goal was 200K.



Since I have a turbo, should I expect engine problems soon?



Other than the tranny, she runs like a dream.



Thanks for your help

Ryoga:

I have a '91 Turbo wagon (149K) that is doing the same thing. I have had the overdrive relay issue on an '89 780 Turbo (130K), but that is not what I am experiencing now. I have noticed that after ten miles of driving 55 in third on the interstate it will shift up to fourth. It seems to be related to heat or the viscosity of the ATF. I am afraid it may be due to my taking it to a Grease Monkey for a transmission service. They put in 14 quarts of Dexron III, instead of the prescribed 7.9 quarts. I am not sure if you saw the posting on Aisin Warner Valve Body Service in a Volvo 940, at www.members.optusnet.com.au/~wightman.b. But I am going to try having my tranny drained and refilled with the proper quantity of ATF. If that doesn't do it, I am going to give this process a try. Good luck.

I had the tranny in my 89 240 (AW-70)replaced for 800 complete. Runs fine. Probably coud do it cheaper if I tried but liked the mechanic I went to. Dealer wanted 1000+ for same job or 2000 for new (rebuilt). Go with used and get the mechanic to give you a warranty.

I ran into almost the exact same problem with my '93 944t. I swapped the relay, and found that it was fine. I had a shop test the solenoid, and it came back fine. They dropped the pan and found some metal. Their diagnoses was that the OD was starting to shred itself.

Here is some other food for thought. This is from a post that I read earlier this summer. Unfortunately I blew my engine before having a chance to test this theory.

"If you can get the cable off of the spool and pushed back down into the housing you can then simply shift the transmission manually (because with it retracted like that it will shift much much earlier than normal). This will allow you to buy some time to get the car to the mechanic of your choice at home.

If you find that with the cable retracted fully the transmission will not shift into overdrive you may need to pull it out some and secure it to the housing with a plastic tie to enable the overdrive."

Bottom line is to make sure that the kickdown cable is properly adjusted, because it sets the shift points for the tranny.

Good luck,
Eric
'89 765t, 188k, Clyde the Clydesdale
'93 944t, 121k, R&R on the new engine starts this weekend
'72 BMW R75/5, 38k, alternate transportation

As Marlin suggested, used trannys are common and can be found for $250 US plus or minus. Add labor for the swap. Certain Toyotas (Cressida?) used the same tranny also, so a working yunit shouldn't be too hard to find. Much cheaper than rebuilding.

Steve C

I going to maake sure they checked the relay and flushed the tranny.

If that doesnt work, i will make a c/b analysis before getting a new tranny.

I only want to keep for 40k miles which is 2-4 more years




Since I have a turbo, should I expect engine problems soon?

I just had the transmission replaced on my '93 940T. Replaced the AW-71 with an AW-70 from an '88. Had to swap the bellhousings to provide area to mount the crank position sensor. Total cost (including transmission) = $600. My adivce would be to get a used transmission installed and drive the car another 140,000+ miles.

did you get a warrenty on that tranny

"did you get a warrenty on that tranny "

Nope, just the knowledge that I have approximately 1,060,000 miles on the AW-70/1 transmissions in the 5 volvos that I have and this is the first time I've had a problem with them.

Dear Ryoga,

May this find you well. Perchance, was the orange arrow warning light illuminated? This is on the right (passenger) side of the indicator lights, at the bottom of the instrument cluster.

If so, this means that the overdrive relay could have failed. I am not sure where this relay is located on a 1991 model. On a 1993, it is on the relay block, which is behind the fuse block, which is behind the front center console ashtray.

This relay is white, square in cross-section, and about 1.5" tall. It is on the right (passenger) side of the second row of relays. It is marked VOLVO 3523804.

If the relay fails, it is hard to go above 50 mph.

If the relay and the wiring from it to the tranny solenoid is OK (see FAQs, under FEATURES above for test procedures), have the transmission flushed.

When was the last time you had the tranny flushed?

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

spook

"was the orange arrow warning light illuminated?" nope, i wish it was that simple



"When was the last time you had the tranny flushed?"

I honestly dont know if it has ever been flushed...hmmm 33% chance that I had it done in 02

Ill keep you posted

Hi

This will be of no use to you but i taxi a 940 se tubo auto and the office radio mic would click the soloniod and prevent it from going into 4th, had to turn off ignition and back on whislst running, moved mic away from transmission area and all fine !