hi all!

here's the scoop:

1989 245DL, 188k, auto with O/D

a few weeks back I posted about my transmission. here's a background/recap:

about 2 or 3 weeks ago I was driving on the freeway and all of a sudden my car acted like it's losing power. I exited the freeway and realized the tranny was acting very strange. it seemed to be slipping, and I could hear my engine rev while my car was barely able to move. it did move, however, it seemed like the tranny was engaging and disengaging, making the car lurch intermitently. there was no grinding sound. I pressed the OD button and noticed the orange arrow came on, so I guess the OD still works. I also realized I had lost REVERSE. this was no surprise, as prior to this incident, my REVERSE had been acting odd. for example, after driving for a while (especially on the freeway), the car would not roll back automatically or smoothly on R unless I gassed it. if I let off the gas, the car would buck/jerk as if it was going to die. sometimes the car would not reverse unless you let it sit for a bit. this did not happen all the time; sometimes reverse went fine and smoothly. anyhow, I carefully "limped" back home. I left the car sit for over 5 hours. later that evening, I decided to test the car. I drove it to the gas station and it reversed out of the driveway without any trouble. as I drove it, it drove fine and appeared to be shifting gears. forty was my max speed, so I can't say how well it shifted and to what gears. however, I did notice a whirring/whizzing sound coming from under as I accelerated. I don't think it was there before.

recent update:

so after letting the car sit for about a week, I finally muster the courage to drive it to this new volvo indie instead of my regular volvo shop miles away. it seemed to drive fine and reversed fine! but the whizzing sound was still there though not obvious at first. again, I did not gas the car for fear of causing any further damage (if there was any damage to begin with) or having it break down on me. well, here's the diagnosis: I need a new tranny! the volvo tech said my tranny is shot and even though it may still function, it's going to wear out if I continue to drive it. I was hoping the isue was a small one, and he at first thought it might be the driveshat bearing making the noise. but after looking at it and testing it he believes the tranny is shot.

here's my decision:

my baby (yes, she's my swedish princess!) is in good shape, engine runs well (knock on wood), has a rare power sunroof, virgo rims, and interior is nice. the volvo shop said he can install a used (not rebuilt), low-mileage (from accident car) tranny from a '91+ 700 or 900 series model (I don't remember exactly which model he said, of course, a tranny from a 240, if one is available) for $1100 out the door. this includes tranny flush and all that stuff. he said that my model shares the same tranny as some of the 700 and 900 models, and that the procedure is pretty much plug and play. he feels confident in the used transmission and the swap itself that he's willing to give me a written 6 month warranty as opposed to their standard 90-days warranty. the shop only specializes in saabs and volvos, and I felt like I received good customer service from them when I first visited it. I like to promote good shops and would like to pass their name around. but I'll wait until I get something done by them.

QUESTIONS!:

so, do I fix my car or sell it and go after my 855/V70 dream? if I go for the latter, I'll be in debt. if I get my car fixed I'll be $1100 lighter, but it'll be temporary! most friends and families would say sell it because it's an old car. what say you guys?

also, I forgot to ask the tech this, but does the torque converter also get swapped with the tranny?

last but VERY IMPORTANT question. does $1100 sound right for a new used tranny?

thanks guys! please, please give me yer $0.02!