Hello BB,

Quick thanks to all who read and replied regarding my posts on the BW55-AW70/M46 conversion and all those who helped answer the RATIO/RPM question I had stuck in my head. After a LONG 10hr day at the junkyard yesterday I came away with a M46 for my tranny conversion. I was leaning toward the AW70/71-71L but could not come across any setup that had low miles and was complete. So I did the next best thing and took out a M46 from a 81 264GLE w/150K. Since the GLE had the B28F the bell housing is a spot on match to the my engine and all the other componets needed for the swap were there for the taking. Below is a picture of the future tranny for my 79 264GL. I hope this tranny gives me years of service, more so helps my B27F give me years of service. Thanks to all for the advice and time and I will post results on the BB later on. I plan to have the conversion done about mid-December. It won't take me that long to put the tranny in I just want to make sure the tranny gasket/seal & bearings/mounts are all replaced.



One a side note does anyone know a good source to get M46 parts like the pilot bearing, thrust bearing, gaskets and seal for this tranny? Any info would be great. Thanks again to everyone for their advice and time.

Sincerely,

Nickvjr
1979 264GL 120,600

You're gonna love the M-46 man...

You thought you had a smooth ride before? Just wait...

Heh heh heh...

Putting on my work shoes to go clean up this M-46. I will try to rplace the gaskets too while I'm in the mood. I can't sleep at night because of these dreams I have of my BW55 laughing at me while my B27F is spinning a 4K RPM's. Maybe it's time for me to see a shrink. I'll try to see if my Volvo mecahnic can schedule me in on Thursday. HE, HE.

Sincerely,

Nickvjr
1979 264GL 120,600

I'm thinking of upgrading my M45 (1979 242 DL) to an M46. I've matched the front driveshaft length-wise, but am wondering with all your experience with tranny swaps, how interchangeable the front and rear driveshafts are.

Hey Mike,

I do not know if it is this horrible toothache I have or if I'm dumb but I'm having a bad time understanding your question so please bare with me for my answer.

You have a M45 and are thinking to go to a M46. (VERY DO-ABLE)

You have two front driveshafts of equal lengths and one rear driveshaft? I think this is where I'm losing you but here is my answer.

When you do the swap the M46 is bigger (length wise) due to the OD unit installed on the tranny. This in turn changes the length of the front driveshaft (makes it smaller) and the rear driveshaft and support bearing stay about the same. I see no PHYSICAL problems with getting a FRONT DRIVESHAFT off of a M46 setup and linking it to the REAR DRIVESHAFT from you M45 setup. Please do not quote me on this but my reading of the Volvo Factory manuals shows it is very possible. I would highly recommend just getting a COMPLETE driveshaft off of a M46 Setup from you local pick-n-pull. It's about $20 if I'm not mistaken and just check to see if the U-Joints make noise and if the center support bearing sounds smooth. By getting a complete driveshaft in good shape from the junkyard you can just install it without having to balance the driveshaft, which would be my only concern regarding putting together a front & rear driveshaft from different setups. I hope this info helps.

Sincerely,

Nickvjr
1979 264GL 120,600

Sorry about the confusion; I'm having trouble with driveshaft anatomy.
I have the front shaft, bearing, support and the rubber fitting w/front half of the U-joint that connects the front shaft to the rear shaft.

I matched the M46 tranny and the shortened front shaft in the junkyard to an M45 driveshaft. They seemed to match at the center bearing support.

Hopefully, I have some redundancy between the donor parts and the junkyard parts. Everything in this driveshaft assembly seems smooth and quiet in operation. Where's the best place to separate the donor driveshaft, ie easiest or replacing area of greatest breakdown?

Man is my brain fried. I'm lost by what you just wrote. It makes sense but for some reason I can not understand it. E-mail me @ Nickvjr@yahoo.com with your phone number or call me on my cell at (310) 748-1793 , I live in Los Angeles, CA. I have a TON of ROLLOVER minutes I have to use up so I would be happy to make the call to you if it is long distance. I hope we can get this resolved over the phone because I'm going nut's here.

Sincerely,

Nickvjr
1979 264GL 120,600

Nick, about the BW55-AW70 conversion you investigated - what vehicles
were you looking at as donors? I was thinking it would have to be a
760 to get a bell housing matching the v6.

Your right on the nose Joe. I saw a 760 with a B28F attached to a AW71 but by the time I went back to the yard I was too late; CRUSHED. When I went to the yard on Thursday for their After Thanksgiving Sale I did not have any luck finding any 760/780 and all the 240's with the AW70 were heavily picked over. I could have pieced together something from several different vehicles but I already had a 260 w/B28F and the M46 there just wating for me so I decide to go for that instead. And if I had waited any longer on that 81 246GLE that I had found I would have lost a lot because 4-5 people came by asking if they can take tranny parts. I told the about the BW55-M46 tranny swap and they left me alone. If for some strang reason I do decide to go back to a automatic I can always get a AW70/71 out of a 240 and just change the bell housing out for one that fit's the V6 engines (my initial idea before I came across the 264GLE). But for now I will give this M46 a try. Thanks for your reply.

Sincerely,

Nickvjr
1979 264GL 120,600

If you need internal trans parts, try your local volvo dealer. That's where I got mine. I had to go out of town, but they mailed them to my house. There are 2 different types of thrust washers. One is a spring/washer arrangement. That's what mine had and didn't need the washer. There was play in second gear. It was from a bushing between the gears. I don't recall exactly which one. The trans aren't difficult to work on.

Ed

A tranny that's not hard to work on, that's good news. Without taking any internal measurements and just looking at the physical condition of the gears and oil the tranny looks great. Needs a cleaning on the outside but other than that some gaskets and fresh oil and it would be ready for the install. I'll let the BB know how everything turns out.

Sincerely,

Nickvjr
1979 264GL 120,600

Hey, nice score !!

Any reliable parts store or foreign parts sources (Groton's, etc.) have clutch kit available, as well as individual parts. Kits usually conatin disk, plate, pilot, throw out (release) bearings, and some have alignment tool. Shop around, just be sure you you get the right kit. When I did my swap, I had to mate to a 9" deep dish flywheel.

If all is in order (parts, tools, etc.) it is an easy swap with a few moments of growling.

Drop a line if you have any questions.

Al

Thanks for the info Al. I will be at the very least thaking care of the simple stuff like gaskets, plates, discs, and bearing. I want ot make this swap fun and DURABLE. One question, when you did the swap did you swap from a BW55 to a M46 (AT-MT)? Are you happy with the results of the swap? Thanks for the info and your time.

Nickvjr
1979 264GL 120,600