Hey,
My automatic transmission went the other day and when I brought it a local Independent Volvo shop and they gave me an estimate of $2406.77 to replace the whole tranny w/ labor. Is that a reasonable price?

It does sound high. For a Front wheel drive nightmare , $2400 is normal but not for a conventional rear wheel drive.

Justin,

I am assuming you are driving a RWD car since this is the RWD forum. From my experience, $2400 for a tranny rebuild on a RWD Volvo is very high. A couple years ago I was having some issues with the AW71 tranny my '88 745T. Talked informally with my local AAMCO shop and found the simple solution to my problem. Just needed a new downshift cable, and it has worked fine ever since. Before I did this simple repair, I was considering doing the rebuild myself. Found out that the master rebuild kit for this tranny (soft parts, gaskets, seals, clutch plates, etc.) was about $160. During the conversation with the AAMCO guy, he indicated that a rebuild of my tranny would be about $1200 plus any hardparts. Remember, AAMCO is probably one of the more expensive shops around. The rest is labor, and there is a fair amount of labor involved with a tranny rebuild.

Back about 8 years ago, I had two 240s loose their trannies. Both were BW55 trannies that needed complete rebuilding, and the work was done by an independent tranny shop with a national warrentee. One car cost me about $750, the other was about $950 since it needed a new sprag clutch and torque converter.

You can go the junk yard route. You may make out, or you may loose. Very often the junk yard automatic trannies are in need of rebuilding. You just don't know what the history is on one of these units.

Now if you are talking about a FWD car, then $2400 may not be too far off. FWD tranny rebuilds are 50% to 75% higher due to the extra labor involved in R&Ring them. Plus, they can be more difficult to work on.

From what I have seen, there are few bargins in tranny repair. If you get a cheap price, you tend to get a cheap job. Hence, the old saying, you get what you pay for. This does not mean that you always get a top quality job for top dollor. But the trend is in that direction. So shop around. My technician had an inexpensive tranny job done in her car, and within 9 months it failed again. Paid to have it repaired again at a reduced price (since it failed so fast), only to have it totally Cr@%p out 18 months later. She is out about $1800, and there is no sense putting more money into the car. So shop around and get referrals.

Have fun,

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Gary D

I have a rwd 89 745. I decided to go for it... mainly cuz im a student and I dont really have the time to try some used tranny w/ miles on it and have it potentially go out later. I got a manufactured refurbished one which is about $1800 which is the price ive found everywhere. About $400 for labor... and ofcourse, the california sales tax which is 8%. So this hopefully guarentees me my car's tranny lasting for another 10 or so years...hopefully

That might be reasonable for the work, but is it necessary? You could potentially save a LOT of money by buying a used trans for a few hundred dollars and then paying the labor to install it. You could get a used trans for under $100 from a junkyard, but other than looking at the fluid to see if it's burned or not, you can't really determine if it works. If you're paying for labor, you might want to buy a trans that you know will work. The first thing that comes to mind is Brian Leppin in MD who sells Volvo parts. His transmissions often come with a warranty of about 90-100 days, which is pretty good. His prices are often very good too, and I believe he'll ship anywhere in the US. See www.volvousedparts.com.

Another option would be to find someone who's parting out a car that has the same trans as the one you need, and hopefully you could drive the car before pulling the trans. There are also some other used parts sources on my links page, including Revolvstore which may be able to supply a good used trans.

Good luck.
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Michael -- 1987 244 GT | Volvo 240 Links

It is about $2365 higher than I paid for a very clean looking AW 70 (1992) with 120,000 miles on it. It is also $2365 higher than an M47 I got out of an '89 240 with 90,000 on it. Of course, I looked at a lot of cars and had to pull the tranny myself and lug it home. Then too, I won't know if it was successful until I install and drive with it but still, $2365 is still theoretically in my pocket. I am just trying to describe an extreme alternative solution to your problem.

rhaire, where do you live that Junkies still let you walk around their Yard and pull parts? Here in the "Land of Lawsuits" (New York)you can't get past the greasey counter. God I miss the days of pulling what I needed and bargaining.

In Maryland, I could pull a tranny for $75 from one yard I go to ($60 plus $15 core). I live in VA, but the only u-pull-it yards I've found in my area are in MD.
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Michael -- 1987 244 GT | Volvo 240 Links

It does seem a little high to me, but then I shop for used stuff and there is plenty out there in good condition. If you do the work yourself and shop around you can save at least $1400.
dick