The transmission in your car is a very robust, solid, durable design. They rarely need significant service before 250-300,000 miles. My '86 245 has 270,000 miles and shifts fine except when the temp drops well below freezing, and then the final shift is delayed about 30 seconds the first time in the morning.

On my car, the only major repairs I've done to the tranny are a new shift cable and a rear bushing and seal -- and these fall into the category of "routine maintenance" for a car with around 150-200,000 miles.

As the other posters have said, the cable adjustment is among the simplest adjustments on your car. The "kickdown" cable tells the transmission how far you're pushing the throttle -- or how hard you're accelerating -- so the tranny knows whether to delay shifting for stronger acceleration, such as climbing a hill under load. The kickdown cable also tells the tranny when you've floored the gas, so it knows to "kickdown" one gear for passing.

Tell your mechanic -- on rare occasions, the cable can become stuck in the "out" position (for several distinct reasons), which will always cause high, hard, delayed shifts (happened to my '86).
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

Donna,
If you have to swap the transmission (which I doubt) make sure you get the rear main engine seal replaced or at least checked at the same time. They are pretty cheap but very expensive (labour) on their own because you have to drop the transmission. Just a tip.
Karl

The kickdown cable is a simple adjustment, like Simon said. It won't cure hard shifts (which aren't unusual if they're happening anyway...) but it will cure the late shift problem unless it is something more serious.

If the transmission behaves well otherwise (meaning, it doesn't slip or have any other massive malfunctions) I would ignore the recommendation to replace it.

Or, better still, drive on it for a while, and search for a spare used one. There's no need to get extravagant with an AW70 and have it rebuilt; they don't break that often and usually the $200 or so you spend on a used one is well worth the money.

But again, the AW70 transmission routinely goes well over 200,000 miles if cared for properly. 200,000 miles and up.
--
1992 940 wagon, 76k
as well as others.

Speaker,

There's a good description of the function, and adjustment of the kickdown cable in the 700/900 FAQ (don't worry, your car has the same tranny).

It's very easy to do, and a small adjustment can make a huge difference in the shift points.