I have a buddy who has just bought an 88 240 with an AW70 automatic tranny. His mechanic tells him that the metal shavings in the pan indicate a worn out tranny. And the shift into 3rd gear doesn't occur until 50 mph. Both of these symptoms are having my friend look into a rebuild ($1K) or at my suggestion a used AW70.

Or should he just have the tranny flushed,and what adjustment is needed to have it shift into 3rd at a lower mph?

How can we tell that a used (on a junked or parked 240) is still good?

gracias,
el raidman

If all else fails and the tranny still dosent shift good I would find a low mileage used tranny over a thousand dollar rebuild. You can find them in the junk yards for better then half that price. If you can find an AW71 out of a 740 or 940 turbo its a much stronger tranny and would proubly out last the car. oh and its a direct bolt in! good luck, justin

My 88 wagon had the same problem. The shift points were bad (felt like someone was hitting me from the rear). I take mine to my local Volvo dealership. They had recently changed the output bushing. The mechanic told me to use Lucas Transmission Fix. I was a bit sceptical but it worked. I would do the IPD flush then add this stuff. The mechanic drives a 960 and said he replaced his tranny with a used one and 6 months later it wouldn't shift. He put this stuff in and it worked again. He said its been 2 years working.

I've been getting the same lifespan that I get with the engines, close to 300K miles -- actually, I probably could get more out the engine and transmission, but the darn bodies rust away (I live in the northeast) too soon.
[This is with normally aspirated engines -- I've never owned a turbo -- which is, I guess, less stressful than a turbo even with a beefed up AW71. But I really can't comment authoritatively on AW lifespans with a turbo.]

The only thing that does go wrong with the transmissions, almost predictably, are the seals -- usually, I get a leak (often the tailshaft seal) and have to get that fixed at about 150-200K miles or so -- not unreasonable, IMHO.

Just change the fluid -- don't bother dropping the pan, as the screen is always clean (I've stopped bothering) -- regularly (I do it every 40-50K miles, or about every third year) and, for the past ten years, I've been using and I happily recommend, AmsOil's synthetic ATF. Use the IPD method -- no need to drain or drop the pan! Over the past ten years, I've owned five 240s (I've owned more 240s, but I only started using AmsOil ATF ten years ago) and still have three of them (the other two were junked only because of too much rust), and never had a transmission problem.
[Actually, I've used AmsOil synthetic engine oil for about 25 years -- maybe that's why the engines last so long -- but that's another story.]

As for your shift points, it's my best guess that your shift cable needs adjustment or replacement. No reason to go inside the transmission, unless that doesn't help. A few pieces in the sump are no special reason -- who knows how long they've been laying there. Only consider rebuilding or replacing the tranny if the flush (with synthetic) and shift cable repairs don't help. But I'm pretty sure they will.

As for your friend's mechanic, I would be suspicious. An '88 transmission is just far too young (unless the car has been abused, e.g., no fluid flushes) to need to be rebuilt or replaced.

Good luck.

If it's the same transmission that's in my '86, I have 338K on mine and it works perfectly. I do a flush every 25K miles and drive it 70% highway miles.
Engine has the same # of miles on it with oil changes every 2500 miles with a Mann filter.

Good luck.

or just get another car for $1000 - the volvo automatics are really tough, so it will probably keep on going... it isn't a Chrysler minivan.
--
Stef (scotia blue 81 245 B21A SU M46 3.91 350000km)

Do a tranny flush, got back with dino ATF, not synthetic.

Lubricate the kickdown cable. Cable sticking can mess up the chift points.

Good luck,

Bopb

:>)

I have to agree with Bob, I would flush the hell out of it and do it while it is good and hot and then lube the kick down cable and insure that it is adjusted properly. If it is too loose it will shift too soon and it will shift too late if it is set too tight.

As far as what is the lifespan of an AW70, what is the lifespan of anything? I have seen AW boxes go belly up in 100K, unusual it is but I have seen it, the longest I think that I have seen is about 350K or so. I would say that the average though is somewhere in the high 100K area. They pretty much all need resealing in the 150K range. As far as what to look for, red fluid, worn out tailshaft bushings, obvious leaks, torque converters that have been painted funky colors (God only knows who rebuilt it last). Otherwise if the fluid is red and it more or less looks good you will have to roll the dice and stick it in. I personally have gone through 3 transmissions from the local Volvo boneyard to get a good one. You can be I was on their shit list for sure, but on the same hand I did not enjoy doing a trans 3 times to get it right and paid for once.

Anyhow, flush it and adjust the cable and go from there.

Mark

I would say that it could also be the "lower" governor? having worn balls. The shift sounds more like kickdown, but the balls do wear some over time. It would be the last thing to check and not something you want to check yourself.

-Will
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1990 740 Turbo, on its way to stock specs, maybe beyond