Folks,

I have a new to me 1990 745 16v with the M46 4 speed + od tranny. It has a hydraulic clutch mechanism. The clutch feels very heavy compared to my past Volvo (a 145) and to any other manual tranny car that I have driven. Plus, I have to push the pedal almost to the firewall to disengage the clutch (yes, I bled it - no change). Further, it 'takes up' quickly, ie the transition from disengaged to engaged occurs with just a small amount of throw. Is this normal?

I noticed that the support bracket on the transmission for the slave cylinder has been welded (re-welded?). I also noticed a capped off tube coming out of the tranny that someone on this forum identified as a speedo sender tube used on earlier models, but not mine. Thus I suspect that the original tranny has been replaced with one that strictly doesn't belong on this car. Is there a way to ID the tranny? Could this be the cause of the heavy, touchy clutch? Also, the speedo reads about 10% high, making me further suspect the drive ratios are non-stock although a speedo can be out buy that much I suppose. I am running 195R60's instead of the stock 185R65's (or was that 70 and 75's, can't remember) which accounts for 5% of the error).

Bill