Hey guys,
Question about transmission here. I've noticed for the last couple weeks that my '91 240 is having some problems with what I guess would be the transmission. It's an automatic and everytime I put it in reverse the shifter bounces and rattles and clicks....very horrid sounding. The car runs absolutely fine in drive...don't really notice any slipping or anything. Things got worse though...I was out enjoying a nice drive and when I put the car in reverse again....WORSE THAN EVER....CLICK CLICK CLICK, RATTLE, CLICK.... and then when I got home I tried to put it in Park and had absolutely no luck...went all the way to reverse and wouldn't go any farther...I tried everything...did it again...pressed the shift lock release...no luck...I'm taking the car in tomorrow to be looked at...anyone experienced anything like this before? Is my transmission gone or is this just a matter of lining up all the bells and whistles so things move smoothly between the tranny and shifter?

Thanks

Actually guys things didn't turn out so bad. Whoever said it was the linkage was correct. I took it to my local service shop that has done some other work on the Volvo and it's where I take all my other cars so I'm very satisfied. It was fixed today. $3.25 for the part and $64 for labor. Too bad though...my dad told me I was going to get his 1997 Infiniti QX4 with less than 36k miles on it if the tranny was shot...I was almost hoping that was the case. Ha Ha. Oh well back to the old reliable Brick. For some odd reason I like it a lot. Anyways thanks for your help guys. I appreciate it.

Ryan

Frankly speaking, and I may take some flak for this, an Infiniti QX4 is a nicer ride than a 240..my recommendation is to put sand in the transmission fluid.

It is most likely there is a problem with the linkage from the shifter to the transmission or bad transmission/motor mounts.
Not serious.
You do not need a rebuild, a flush or fluid change will not fix it.
Take the car to a reputable Volvo shop (not a dealer). DO NOT go to a transmisssion shop for this problem.

Please tell us what your mechanic says. My amateur impression is that the transmission is dying. My neighbor's mechanic said that you can test an automatic transmission by putting the car in reverse and checking responsiveness (as another contributor here wrote, more strain is placed on the transmission in reverse, thereby testing the transmission). Perhaps changing the transmission fluid to synthetic fluid and adding one of those transmission fluid additives might help (or cost only $40). It cured slipping in my girlfriend's 1994 Honda Civic. However, I would get a second opinion before changing the transmission. I priced labor and found that Pep Boys charged only $300 for rear wheel drive transmission replacement. Good luck and let us know the verdict on your tranny.

No, your trans isn't gone, but there IS a linkage or mount or driveline problem. Generally unless it's in forward gears too (like a universal joint) you must have some weird deal going on. Should be a simple thing to find.
--
Chris Herbst, near Chicago, IL. 93 940, 91 240, 90 240, 88 740, 87 240

I'd venture to say that it sounds like a really bad tranny mount. I won't be suprised if it isn't even in one piece. Reverse is tougher on 'em, because the power is being thrown in the opposite direction of what it's used to (foward).

Shift linkage bushings could possibly bad too.

-- Kane ... that's where I'd start looking first.