I recently purchased a 1990 240 Sedan w/ 5-speed manual and 238,000 miles. The seller, a Volvo/Saab repair shop, said the clutch might need replacing.
After about a week of driving, I started missing second gear on occassion. I found that if I firmly held the shift lever down into 2nd, I was okay and didn't grind the gears. That worked for about 3-4 days.
2nd gear has become so unreliable, and in the hopes that the gear teeth are not too far worn, I am bypassing 2nd gear altogether.
I haven't been able to discern any problems with the clutch, and I've driven some nasty ones.
However, the shift linkage has more slop and flop than anything I've ever encountered. I suspect that this is the primary malfunction, or the source of the transmission's present condition. As a point of reference, once placed in reverse, the shift lever can be moved far enough to disengage the reverse lockout plus 1/4" clearance between detent plate and sleeve.
Any feed-back or advice would be appreciated.