Hi all.

Very nice forum you have here.

Is there any vacuum shift control on my 1989 245 wagon? Any speed sensor shift control (the speedo is way too fast, odo broken)?

Ever since the trans was out to replace rear crank seal, the trans has shifted hard. Think I got everything in the right places on the re-install, marked all positions and re-installed the flywheel on same position. Never did figure out what that little sensor at the top of the block that seemed to meter against the flywheel was............... cleaned it anyway.

I have had problems with the trans kick down cable getting hung up on the manifold during real cold temps (have lubed the beezeeus out of the cable).

Still the upshifts are too hard for my taste and much harder than the spousal units '91 240DL.

Car runs fine, in spite of continued oil leak $%#%^^^$#$.

Fluid new and right level.

Did not clean the filter during the seal job.....

Thanks.

I agree with Matt about the shift control cable.

The Aisin transmissions (#s 70,71 and their brethren) have an idiosyncratic behavior in the 1-2 shift. It'll often slam hard on part throttle. That's the most noticeable one, and it varies from transmission to transmission which one will do it and which will not.

The most important thing is to have a free shift control cable (a new one is good). Also Matt has a good point about the recent change in behavior; you likely upset the cable somehow, somewhere.

As far as changing the filter screen on the transmission, Volvo explicitly instructs it's technicians NOT to do that unless the transmission is being diagnosed for problems other than a simple fluid change. In your case, if a kickdown cable doesn't fix the transmission, then it might be worth the effort to replace the filter screen. Otherwise it isn't necessary.
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chris herbst, five volvos.

Hi Chris

Thanks. Looks like new cables for my '89 245 and the spouse's 90 240. They both froze up this winter anyway.........

I got a good look at the routing with the trans out, so I know I can move the cable well.

Probably use the old one as a "puller".

Will read FAQ's and my Haynes.

Thanks for the specific advise on the trans. filter screen. I will leave it be.

Take care.

There is no vacuum shift control. The shift happens when governor pressure exceeds throttle pressure (or maybe it's the other way around). Governor pressure is related to the speed of the output shaft. Throttle pressure is related to how far the kickdown cable is pulled out.

The AW7x shifts hard (by design) in low throttle high RPM conditions (i.e. when there is a misadjusted kickdown cable). This is observed by putting the transmission into 1, driving up to 20 mph, letting off the gas, and then putting the transmission into D (CLUNK!). Since you say this problem has only started since you reinstalled the transmission, I'd say almost definitely a misadjusted cable is your problem. There are detailed notes in the FAQ on how to get the cable adjusted properly, or just play around with it. If you're having problems with the cable binding, then you should probably replace it. There are also instructions in the FAQ on how to do this.

BTW that sensor that you were talking about is the crank position sensor... that's how the engine computer tells where top-dead-center is.

Thanks Matt.

Yah..this cable should come out. I tried "rebuilding" the connector at the trans end during the crank seal change. Should have just stopped the job and bought another.

Take care.