I have a 92 VOLVO 960 with the AW 30-40LE made Dec 91 – Car made Mar 92. I just bought it used and it only has194,000 miles – LOL! It shifts fine except for the timing of the lock-up torque converter. After it has warmed up, and therefore the temp sensor gives the OK to enable the lock-up, it wants to lock-up instantly upon shifting into 3rd and it doesn’t mater if the gear selector is in “3” or “D” (OD enable). After it locks up (to fast), the rpm tanks and so it shifts back up to second for a brief moment before going back down to 3rd. This gets very anoying. I recently drove a friend’s 94 850 and it made the lock-up much smoother and there was a delay between shifting into 3rd and engaging the lock-up.

I have put a voltmeter on the SL circuit (yellow wire on the connector next to the transmission) and noticed that as soon as the trany shifts to 3rd the SL voltage goes up to 12V instantly instead of the 5 second ramp time the manual says it’s suppose to take. The SL resistance is 14.3 ohm and it seems to function fine. I disconnected it and love the way the car drives and shifts – just like the old days before lock-up converters. But there is a 10 to 15% mileage penalty especially if you do a lot of highway driving. Also, I’m concerned about the long term effects of the extra heat generated. BTW – I have no Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC’s) that come up.

Anyway, I think I need a new TCM – what do any of you think?? A new one costs $300 to $400 and one from a wrecking yard is $150. The price for a used one is compelling but I don’t know if I want to risk damaging the ECM if there was something wrong with the used TCM. Also, I would really like to get the latest version. Well, it all comes down to money, but I was just wondering if you guys had good luck with used control modules.