Just took my beloved and super fine running 1988 Volvo 240 (159,000 miles) in to my trusted Volvo specialist mechanic for some repairs I had the water pump replaced and since he had the water pump off, I had him replace the timing belt too. Additionally, the car had been leaking slightly from the transmission tail shaft, so he replaced the transmission tail shaft bearing, carrier and the seal. On the road test afterwards, the transmission slipped into and out of gear, slipped and the car bucked. Basically, it acted like the transmission was shot. Transmission fluid level is correct, although fluid is dirty. All shifter linkages and kickdown are in good repair and adjusted correctly. My mechanic thinks the transmission "just went".

I trust my mechanic, but frankly I'm stumped too. I've had tranny's go bad in other cars before and I've always noticed a slow deterioration. Before I brought my 240 in for repair, it was running and shifting absolutely perfectly. I'm having a hard time believing that the tranny just went.

Any thoughts or ideas? Thanks!