hello guys, I am going on a 2000 miles trip on my 240 volvo with 270,000 miles . I noticed a slight play in the drive trian at the tranny end. the car was up and I held the ball joint portion and wiggled the drive train. it has about 1/16 inch play inside the tranny and very little tranny fluid is leaking. is it safe to go on my trip with this problem? is this just a seal problem? please call me 718-305-3600 or email me casinocyberlaw@earthlink.net

thanks, andrew

If you mean you have play in the front end of the driveshaft (at the universal joint), you need a new tailshaft bushing and seal in the back end of the transmission. You can put off repairing it for your trip, but you cannot neglect it. Make sure you fill the transmission fluid and check it regularly- every gas stop. Get a very long narrow funnel to make refilling this easier. IT is a pain to get fluid in the tube without it.
Keep an eye on fluid consumption- the thing only holds 2 quarts of ATF, so if it goes low by even 1/2 a quart, that's a significant amount. Keep it topped up. And get the bushing and seal replaced when you get back, it's not an expensive job. $37.50 (list) for the 2 parts, maybe 1.0-1.5 hrs to install.
Good luck.
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 744GLE, 91 244: 808K total