it is very difficult going into first,and I suspect I need another transmission. My question is this.Does the year of the 5 speed have anything to do with the quality of the gearbox? were the early years worse than the later? one junk yard has 2 87 240's with 5speed transmissions.How does one tell the tranny is good before it is in the car? or can you? any advice on this topic will be greatly valued. Kris

This is actually a common problem. There is a reverse detent plate under the shift boot to stop you from pushing the shifter too far to the left and accidentally selecting reverse. Try pulling the ring on the shifter, pushing the shifter to the left as if you were going into reverse and then, while holding the ring, push the shifter back toward neutral and up into first. Smooth engagement of first?

Pull the shift boot and you will see the adjustment bolts. Move the plate to the left and then try selecting first....keep adjusting the plate to the left until the shifter goes into 1st without protest.

Other cause could be that your clutch is not disengaging completely. Check the cable adjustment, if the cable is adjusted properly then you may have a dead pilot bearing. Which means that, unfortunately, you will have to pull the clutch and do a clutch job.

Does it go into 1st gear easier when the car is not running? If so, its probably the input shaft spinning. Your clutch cable may be too tight, or the disk not be sliding on the splines, or the pilot bearing may be seized. I had this problem on my 89. In my case disk was not moving freely on the splines.

The first sign of m47 failure is bearing noise in all gears except 4th. I don't know of a good way to test them off a car. You can spin them by hand and see if they turn smoothly without any play, and you can check the fluid for metal filings. But the advice I got was used m47s are risky. I put used M46s on my 89 and 93 240s instead of gambling on used M47s.

When the M47 won't go smoothly into first the cause could be old transmission fluid.
Try this: With the engine running and car stationary put it in third gear, shift back into second and then into first. If it offers less resistance on the 2-1 shift think about replacing the fluid.
The original is type F or G ATF. A good substitute is Redline MTL. It's pricey but this transmission loves the stuff.
Volvo says the capacity is 1.6 qt. It will hold 2 qt if you raise the left side of the car before filling.
The early M47's are said to be inferior. I don't know the particulars. Someone else can fill you in on when and how it was improved. Your '92 will already have the later version. I really doubt that you need to replace the whole gearbox.
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'80 DL 2 door, '89 DL Wagon

it goes into 1st very easily when the car is moving and was grinding a little going into reverse so I tightened the cable slightly, reverse is easier now but 1st is still very tough,if I downshift as mentioned it is sometimes a little easier,but can cause a slight panic when the light turns green ,the previous owner told my wife to just put it into first while the car was still moving,but I know that is hard on the pilot bearing , I will check the fluid as the car does have close to 300k. I know the previous owner had a mechanic adjust under the boot which made it shift easier for a short while. Kris

Kris:

Try the adjustment under the boot of the shifter again. As the nylon socket at the bottom of the shifter handle wears, the reverse lock-out plate will need adjusted again. Another way would be to replace the nylon cup.

jorrell
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92 245 250K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!

thanks Jorrell, I will try that adjustmeny again. Kris

Remove the shifter boot, find the reverse lockout plate on the driver side of the shifter, loosen the mounting screws and readjust. From there, you might just get a few more zillion miles out of first and second gear!

jorrell

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92 245 250K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!