Hey bl,

Funny, I just changed the trans fluid on my '96 850 Turbo (with 98k miles on the car, too) last weekend. It's simple enough, although I'm not familiar with the 740 procedure, it sounds similar. There's a round clip on the top trans. line that needs to be popped off (some folks recommend that you buy a new one before starting, just in case you bend/break the original). Then you unhook the line, route it to a container, start the car, & drain abt 2qts each time into the container. I actually used 10 quarts for the flush.

Bay 13 has instructions: http://www.volvospeed.com/Repair/Transflush.htm

Areas of concern on the car: one day after flushing the trans, my PNP switch went out. They are unrelated events, as I knew the switch was on the way out anyway. That's a $275 repair. 2 days after I got it back, I noticed both CV boots had ruptured, spewing grease out, so you might want to at least inspect those. Another $200. I think 98k miles is WAY early for boots to rupture. My 7yr old Integra with 140k miles on it still had original boots.

If it has heated seats, they either don't work, or have been repaired at one time. Check those. Check that the heated mirrors work; tend to fail often, but a reasonable repair. If you care, make sure the headlight wipers work. One of mine is shot. Check the interior panels on the tailgate. They get loose & often need a repair kit.

All in all, I really like the Turbo Wagon, but it can be a real pain in the ass as far as maintenance and repairs go. The car, in my opinion, is somewhat high maintenance, but this is coming from a guy who owned a Honda and Acura before. If it's in great condition and reasonably priced it'll provide you with a lot of usefulness. I'm a landlord, and some of the funniest things I've hauled in it are 8' 2x4's, 10' galvanized pipe (honestly), and 18 bags of mulch at a time. Not all at once, though. Good luck with it.