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1990 740 turbo wagon 205,000 mi. automatic with ATF changes - two of them were thorough flushes - every 20,000 mi. or so of the last hundred thousand miles.
Yesterday about half way through a 100 mi. or so drive the transmission gave a surprising and apparently clear indication of slipping when accelerating back onto the highway after having stopped at a gas station. The slippage was protracted and was controllable by backing off the gas. Last transmission service was about a thousand miles ago. That was just a refill but did include a new filter, even though the filter has never looked dirty on the car. Car was drivable the next 40 mi. or so back to the house. Car is sitting in the driveway now. More diagnostic is under way.
Looking back, there may have been subtle indications to me - not a mechanic - of transmission slippage the last six months or so. Hard to say for sure, also because I have been driving this car with a light foot on the gas for the last few years.
If the car needs major transmission work, is a conceivable alternative swapping out this automatic transmission for a salvage yard manual M 46? The manual transmissions are apparently becoming harder to find, but there is one available with drive shaft, pedals, shifter, i.e. all the parts are still in one car etc. about a thousand miles away through a local salvage yard here in Wisconsin. I like shifting, and would appreciate better gas mileage with a little more horsepower at the same time. Reasonable expectation? I would take the opportunity to dismantle and overhaul the automatic transmission on a bench.
The Volvo club website over in Britain has a transmission conversion page . That looks like a lot of hardware. Have many Brickboarders done that conversion, incl. recently ? Thanks in advance to anyone for posting.
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