Coming home today in the 121, in overdrive, funny smell for a while ( hydraulic? ) then some noises from the transmission, then I drove home ( 60kms ) carefully.The soleinoid is working but nothing happens,when the car is coasting it seems to slip into neutral ( all gears) then back into drive when I give it some gas. Smell has gone.Previously teh box would slip out of 4th when coasting but not now ( could be red herring )
At the momment in the middle of the holidays the trusty Amazon is my sole working car.
Any idea of what has happened?
Can I do anything simple to disengage the overdrive and use it as a 4 speed?
Can I put it in reverse?
I really need to do a couple of long trips but don't want to get stuck somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
Thanks
Hans

Not easy to diagnose this from a distance but the first thing to say is, don't try to put it into reverse with the engine running, if the OD is still engaged, otherwise you will seriously damage the gearbox and/or OD. You say that the solenoid is "working", so can you feel it clunking back and forth if you hold the solenoid body? The valve that the solenoid operates can stick, and this leaves the OD engaged. This usually bleeds down when left parked, say overnight, and you can then carefully try to get reverse with the engine off. The smell may have been the OD clutch if the box and OD oil level is very low and certainly the OD will slip in and out if there isn't enough oil in there for the pump to keep it engaged. The smell could also possibly be from oil being burnt from a sparking loose connection on OD switch on top of the gearbox.
So, two possible options could be low oil or bad connections to the solenoid, which could itself be sticking or faulty. Oil leaking into the solenoid can cause it to lock hydraulically even if it's OK electrically.

Thanks for that, I changed the oil and only about 600mls came out so I think I have done something serious, will see if I have enough bits to put a M40 in temporarily

It's hard to kill these transmissions. I would suggest refilling the transmission, and test it!

A easy way to fill these transmissions is through the shifter-> 1.6 liters (3.4 pints) of 10W-40 motor oil.

I cleaned the filter, refilled it and took it for a test drive, gearbox is still perfect but the overdrive is permanently on and slipping.

Overdrives are pretty easy to pull and rebuild. They are very robust also.

What type of overdrive do you have? J-type have the solenoid on the left-side, and the D-type have it on the right-side.

Could it be the clutch?

Paul

Definately not the clutch,its a D type O/D I have pulled the gearbox out and tried to assemble enough bits to put an M40 in but I need some engineering done ( very difficult in holiday season ) for that so the only thing is put in a J type box I had for another project, I'm using the top off the D Type, Is there an easy way to see how to wire up the solinoid? Will it damage anything if I just guess, there are only two choices after all.

Swapping in a standard M40 will need the longer front propshaft of course. Going to the J type box will likely mean you've got to do some mix and matching with the output and prop flanges as well. Scources in NZ not as good as here in the UK or in the USA so I hope you have enough parts. The lids are all the same except the M40 lid isn't drilled for the switch. OD parts available from the UK if you have problems and I think all the links are available here.
http://www.volvoadventures.com/parts.html although I don't see
http://www.odspares.com/ or http://www.overdrive-repairs.co.uk/ on the list.
Good luck on your rebuild.

I found enough bits to make the J type fit, gearbox works very nice, overdrive not at all, I think its electrical, anyway the car is usable now so will worry about that later.
Thanks
Hans

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It doen't matter how you wire up the solenoid. The ground wire is usually attached to the OD housing (really short).

I've never used a D-type overdrive, but have been very happy with the J-types.

Paul

Is the oil level?