We have a 1990 240 wagon with an AW70 transmission. Last month we got off the highway, stopped at a the light. When the light turned green the car refused to go. Initially I thought we had a major leak but this turned out not to be the case. Under the car, on the left side of the motor, just near the motor/tranny joint there are three green wires dangling. I have spent a bunch of time under the car and can't find out where they go. Are they perhaps part of a sensor. The only manual I currently have (Chilton) doesn't have a very good wiring section. I am wondering if either of the governor or pressure modulator sensors are not connected and therefore not contolling the tranny. Any other suggestions?

Are the wires bundled together, or are they random single wires hanging down. If you can track them back to another device or harness bundle, we might be able to help a bit further.

Regarding your transmission, as previously posted, the only electrical device on it is the OverDrive Solenoid and the car should still run fine even if disconnected. The symptoms you described sound very much like low tranny fluid. Follow the instructions in your owners manual for checking the transmission fluid (must be done with the engine running), and fill up as necessary.

You're probably long overdue for changing the fluid in your transmission, and the following post should help:
http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=655545&show_all=1

God bless,
Fitz Fitzgerald.
--
'87 Blue 245, NA 229K

Thanks to all with comments so far. I spent all of yesterday under the car. First I thought I would try some diagnosis by removing the pan. Fluid looks fine and there was enough of it as well. The magnet had some fuzz on it but nothing out of the ordinary. I then dug into the valve body, eventually removing the whole thing and dismantling it. I found quite a few passages that were blocked with black sludge and even a little bit of white sludge (water in oil type of white sludge). The black and white sludge wasn't too bad but I don't reckon it would be too good inside the tranny. About a year ago we had to replace the radiator due to a leak in the tranny oil cooler. Perhaps this is where the water got into the system. I could see where a transmission flush would have done this car a lot of good. Too bad I didn't do it last year. I just recently started reading this site in earnest. Anyway, I decided to drop the tranny because I didn't find a smoking gun. I was going to buy some gaskets (and a manual too) and reassemble the valve body ( including all those little balls that went flying everywhere) but what if the pump or something else was bad as well? My friend suggested that perhaps the tranny pump went due to a loss of a seal - anybody have experience with this? I am thinking that deep inside the tranny there is some of that white or black sludge clogging one of the valves or pistons. I also found the output bushing was completely bagged out on the tranny. so that would have necessitated removing half of the tranny anyway. So now the tranny is sitting on a bench, and I am looking for a used one in the NYC area. Any suggestions? BTW, this is a 1990 DL 245 with the notch for the crank sensor and it has not speedo cable hook-up suggesting perhaps a aw-71. I thought that it would have been an aw-70. The tag says 03-70 and some other numbers I can't remember right now. Thanks in advance to any replies. Erik

I'll try to make this post as complete as possible. Feel free to use this post for future reference by clicking the "SAVE" tab in the upper right of this text box. This will save it into your personal Brickboard archive that you can look through as needed.

In your previous post you stated: "About a year ago we had to replace the radiator due to a leak in the tranny oil cooler."

Antifreeze contamination in transmission fluid is a death sentence for the tranny. The Ethylene Glycol in the antifreeze will eat the laminating materials (and the adhesive backings) in the transmission clutches for lunch. In an average automatic transmission, catastrophic failure typically occurs after about 3 weeks after the introduction of any sizeable amount of antifreeze. The fact that you made it a year is good testimony to the durability of these transmissions.

The only way to repair a transmission that has been contaminated by antifreeze is a COMPLETE rebuild. You will have to replace all the clutches, all the seals, and it would be a good idea to replace all the check balls with new ones while you have it apart. The torque converter will need to have a small hole drilled into it and the fluid completely drained out (and then the hole plugged with a small self-tapping screw). This is not a fun task unless you enjoy this sort of stuff. I would strongly advise to you consider acquiring a new/used transmission from a scrap yard rather than rebuilding your existing one.

Before you attempt to either rebuild or replace your transmission, buy yourself a copy of the Volvo 240 Transmission Service Manual (part number TP30868/2). This covers the BW55, AW55, AW70, and AW71 transmission that were installed in 240 vehicles from 1975 to 1993. You can order it online at www.volvotechinfo.com or your local Volvo dealership might be able to get it for you (click this link to go directly to 1990 240, then select "Service Manuals" and then "Power Transmission"). This manual covers specs, rebuilding info, tools needed, tranny chassis and valve body part numbers (and the revisions that were made), etc.

From time to time, Skip Albright has some of the Volvo Service Manuals for the AW70 transmission for sale in his ebay auctions. There's two there now (eBay auction numbers 2447500283 and 2209088684), but if you can afford the $30 or so from VolvoTechInfo, you will be guaranteed to have the latest printed revision. Some of the final revisions/changes may have been issued in Service Bulletins, rather than updating the Volvo tranny book.

Regarding your question about the ID tag. Yes, 03-70 is an AW-70 transmission. I'm in the process of pulling a 03-70L from an '89 740 to install in my '87 240. The addition of the "L" in the model number means that it is a lockup transmission, paired with a Lockup torque converter. At crusing speeds (not-accelerating and not below about 50 mph), the two haves of the torque converter will lock together (via an internal clutch within the Torque Converter) and thus give you the same gas mileage as a stick-shift (manual) transmission. This should result in about 2-5 mpg better than your current non-lockup automatic. If you have time to hunt through the scrap yards, look for a late '80s or early '90s 740/760 with an AW-70L or AW-71L. It should mate up to your 240 just fine. Note: the only difference between the 70 and the 71 is that the 71 is designed for 'Heavy-Duty' applications and is typically found in Volvos with Turbo-4 and V6 engines. Both the 70 & 71 transmissions will work in your 240. If you do find a Lockup tranny, be sure to get the torque converter too (mark the outside of it so you don't mix it up with a non-lockup torque converter). Here is a table (mostly correct) that covers the various applications and years of the various Volvo automatic transmisions (lockup/non-lockup, and heavy duty). Brickboard Tranny Table. Note, to the best of my knowledge the AW72 was only used on the 16 Valve B234 engines found in the 740 GLE from '89 to '92. I believe this is a lockup transmission, but uses an electronic solenoid to engage the lockup clutch (and requires a signal wire from the computer).

It would apear that the '92 and '93 240s came with Lockup, but if you end up pulling a 740 lockup transmission (like me), then here are some part numbers for the Volvo manuals. (should there be any internal differences between the 240 and 740 transmissions, these would be a good idea to have on hand):
TP31635/1 A-Trans. AW70/70L; AW71/71L; AW72L. Specifications, Disassembly, Measurements, Reassembly, Special Tools, 130 pages.
TP31642/1 A-Trans. AW70/70L; AW71/71L; AW72L (Design and Function, Fault Tracing, Repair and Maintenance. Specificaiton, Power Flow Diagrams, Fault Tracing, Remove Install Unit, In-Car Repairs, 112 pages.
TP30687/1 Power Train 700 series cars (Fault Tracing, Repair and Maintenance. Specifications, Fault Tracing, Clutch, Manual & Automatic, Drive Shaft, Axle, In Car Repairs Only, 138 pages.
Just about any of the above 3 books will guide you through a basic valve body removal and replacment, but the 32635 and 31642 books will have the most info on the rest of the transmission and repairs/rebuilding. The 30687 book covers most of the info you'll need, but also has info on the 700 series driveshafts, differential, manual transmissions, and a section on the ZF4HP22.

If your automatic transmission seems have an unusually fast engagement from 1st gear to 2nd gear, one or more of the check balls in the valve body is wearing down. It would be well worth your time to read the Brickboard FAQ on AW-70/71 transmissions. There's also a section that covers just the Hard Shifts. My '87 240 Wagon has about 240,000 miles on it, and it suffers from the hard 1-2 shift symptom. The newer AW-70L that I'll be installing does not yet have this problem, but I plan on changing the check balls in the valve body for good measure (preventative maintenance).

Lastly, if you're looking for some affordable transmission pan gaskets, your local Napa should be able to order them for about $2.50 under the part number of 17828 (it's not a regular shelf-stock item). They're good quality rubber gaskets (not cork or fiber/felt), but I'd strongly advise putting a bit of RTV on the pan bolts to keep them from backing out over time. Loose pan bolts are the number one cause of transmission leaks that I see on my friends’ vehicles. If you're looking for a new filter, a filter gasket (one), and a pan gasket, order the Napa kit 17816 for about $17. -but be advised, many of the AW70/71 transmissions use a spacer block between the filter and the valve body so you will actually need two filter gaskets. Unfortunately, Napa does not sell the filter gaskets by themselves, but any Volvo dealership has them for about $4 with a Volvo part number: 3520329.

For more info on pan cleaning procedures, check out the following Brickboard posts:
http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=645312
http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=655545&show_all=1

Proper procedures on checking your transmission fluid level:
http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/TransmissionAuto.htm#TransmissionService
http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=717912

Proper procedures on flushing your transmission fluid:
http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/TransmissionAuto.htm#7XX940FluidFlush

God bless,
Fitz Fitzgerald.

--
'87 Blue 245, NA 229K

thank you for that lenghty reply. I just noticed that you wrote it only 20 minuted ago. Here is my update. I actually just posted a new thread on my latest question but here it is again.

I wound up buying a new used tranny from the local junk yard for $200. Exact same model. I had to fight the parts guys every step of the way everytime I asked for a tranny from a different model. They kept insisting it would never work. So when I found the exact same aw-70 model, I gave up trying to put in a beefier model. The replacement has been sitting in the yard since 4/96 and also come from a 90 240. I found it through car-part.com. The fluid looked real dirty so I plan on flushing it initially and then perhaps in 500 miles. The output bushing was sloppy and the seal was gone. I replaced both of them as well as the input seal. Put in a new tranny filter and gasket and sealed it all up. The parts came from fcp groton. They got me the parts the next day and were very helpful (I think the most inexpensive as well). BTW, the tranny filter kit only came with one gasket. Luckily one of mine remained intact.

Here is my latest question. The fit between the output flange and the bushing is really sloppy. Seemed as bad as what was there before. About 0.030" slop in the diameter. I discussed this with several of my mechanic buddies and came to no definite conclusion. Eventually, I decided to just put it all back together. Now that it is all bolted back together, it actually doesn't seem so bad. But I am not impressed by the design. I had thought about making my own bushing but I just don't have the time. The output flange bolt on both the old and new tranny were loose. I may decide to loctite it.

So tomorrow or Sunday I will put it back in and see what happens.

Do all the AW-71/72/L models have the crank sensor notch in the bell housing? Anyone ever modify a bellhousing by hacksawing a notch?

There is only one wire going to the transmission. It powers the overdrive selenoid.

It sounds like you have checked the fluid level. The only other I can suggest is to look through the 740 FAQ under the "features" pull down. The 240 engine and transmission is shared with the non-turbo 740.

good luck

I don't know much about trannies, but- when was the last time the fluid was changed? It kinda sounds like it might be gummed up. Also, popular opinion is, dropping the pan isn't enough to do a full flush. Maybe do a search, or just wait- plenty of helpful folks here. Either way, you should get lots of info, these trannies seem to get to slipping eventually- my old '84 did the same thing.

Another suggestion- get rid of the Chilton's, or keep it in the outhouse. Haynes makes a better manual, and Bentley is the best (but sorta pricey).