Ever seen Pepto Bismol in a transmission?

Last May (2003)I noticed that the transmission started slipping and immediately parked the car last year and didn't driven it again. The other day (Feb 2004), I had the car towed to a mechanic who discovered that the transmission fluid looked like Pepto Bismol. (The car set for a year in the garage.) The problem? The transmission cooler developed a leak and the engine coolant got into the transmission oil. He flushed and flushed the transmission oil...changed the filter and replenished with fresh oil. I've got my fingers crossed on this one. Don't know if the car is going to make it or not. He installed an "external" transmission cooler in front of the radiator. I drove the car tonight to get it home (about 2 miles)..and believe it or not, it shifts great.
I haven't changed the engine coolant yet...that's next. I promise I won't drive it until I've changed the coolant.

Is this false hope? I've heard that the anti-freeze will destroy the transmission. I'm gonna flush the engine before I drive it again. Any words of wisdom? (other than start looking for another transmission?) Do you think that the tranny can survive?

Cabbie2169

The fact that you are driving this transmission right now is testimony to the quality standards that Volvo requires of their parts. If this had been an American made vehicle, I would suspect that you'd be grinding and chewing clutch material right now and going nowhere in a hurry. I would grab up a spare transmission as quickly as possible, and avoid taking the car any farther than you're willing to tow it back. You are driving on borrowed time... (read a previous post for more info)

Automatic transmissions are cheap if you can shop around, and the AW70/71 is a very durable transmission (make sure you also get the Torque Converter). I'm in the process of changing a few seals and check balls in an AW70L from an '89 740 before I put it in my '87 240. The lockup will give a nice 2-5 mpg better fuel economy and it's a direct swap. Lockup trannys (AW70L) can be found in most '89 and newer 740 non-turbo sedans and wagons, and I believe the '93 240s also had the AW70L. FYI, the Torque converters that come with the AW70L have an internal clutch that is actuated by the transmission, and thus they are not compatible with the standard AW70. If swapping in a Lockup tranny, you must swap the torque converter too.

There's a lot of preventative maintance work that you can do to the transmission before you install it. Read the following post for details:
http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=757313

God bless,
Fitz Fitzgerald.
--
'87 Blue 245, NA 232K

If you were quick to diagnosis this drama then you most likely got the luck of the draw. Did your mechanic plug the trans. cooler in the radiator? The transmission cooler will be fine, and that was great thinking on his part -which saved you some cash.

Make dure you drain and change ALL the coolant.

Any words of wisdom?

Flush the cooling system, change the radiator, and cross your fingers.

Nothing you can do now but wait and see. The fact that it shifted well on the way home is a good sign.

Good luck,
--
Bruce S. near D.C.

the antifreeze attacks the clutch material when it's allowed to sit. also, the bushings and bearings get a chance to rust from the water. had the fluid been flushed as soon as the problem surfaced, no problem. now, you're looking at a rebuild sometime soon. good luck, chuck.

Great!!! I'll go ahead and buy one so that when mine goes out, I can simply replace it. Thanks for the heads up.