Hi, I'm having some pretty serious tranny problems with my 98 s70 glt, the problems may have started 2 weeks ago when I noticed a slight lag or hesitation in shifts between 1st and 2nd--but still perfectly drivable. Then about a week ago after about a steady 30 miles at 50-60 mph, after exiting the freeway the car showed severe slipping when pulling away from the light--and of course threw the check engine light! this was the first time it had slipped at all--and really the first time I thought I had more than a minor problem. I was able get off the road--shut it down--checked trans fluid--looked for leeks or anything abnormal. The trans fluid was pretty ugly but not really low--pretty greyish with only a hint of pink.
After letting the car sit for a few minutes--it would start up and drive fine for a few blocks before acting up again (major slipping and not shifting to higher gears). I was almost home so I limped a few more blocks like this and made it home. The two codes it threw were p0734 and p0740--p0740 being probably the more important one (lock up circuit malfunction).
Well over the weekend I flushed the tranny twice, and also noticed some pinkish oily residue in the coolant res--so thinking this was probably trans fluid, I changed out the radiator. After all this the car seemed to shift well and strong and the slight hesitation was gone as well. Now after driving about 60 or so miles a day between last sunday and today--it failed on me this morning but sort of in a slightly different way. I had just gotten on the freeway after driving about 5-7 minutes--got it up to about 65-70 and all seemed perfectly normal and then after a minute or so at that speed it slipped completely--no response at all from change in engine rpm. I managed to get it off to the right shoulder, shut it down, and called for my back-up ride to work (my happy girlfreind-5:45 am). After letting it sit for a couple minutes (engine off) i was able to run fo a half a mile or so shifting normally before acting up again (slipping like it did before the flush). I managed to get off the freeway like this, parked the car in a safe location, and waited for my ride. I'll go back for it tonight! So Obviously, I'm in need of some help--Any ideas, suggestions or sollutions would be really really appreciated--really!!! And If you've read this far--Thank you for you patience and time!! Look forward to hearing back. Zak.

1959 544
1966 122s coupe
1988 240dl
1996 960
1997 850t
1998 s70glt

 

when u said changed out the rad. do u mean u replaced the rad?? anyway if you have a slipping tranny. u will need to replace the tranny. how is the colour of your coolant now??

 

Hey thanks for the response--Yes I replaced the radiator and the coolant looks perfect after driving the 4 days it drove-no contamination.

 

hi zak
i have just purchased a 850 and have stawberry milk looking transmission fliud , how did the water and oil conect in the system. only picked up car yesterday and was thinking that it had a cocktail of oils in trans , have to investigate further, was planing to flush and change oil. let me know how you went,lucky phil.thanks

 

i have never owned a volvo before so its all new to me. this is a brock sport volvo .850,im trying to find out some more info on them. i have been told the only made 500 off these ,but its the only one ive seen.any one know any thing .thanks for the info on the radiator, zak.

 

Hey Phil, I have'nt heard of a brock sport but it might be simular to the limited edition t5 that was produced for the us market in 1995--I think it was about 500-1000 units and only came in yellow or platinum--I think... I'm not a pro! anyway, sounds cool! So the trans fluid goes through a cooler inside the radiator--if that cooler leaks you will have some transfer of antifreeze to trans fluid or vise versa--so also check your coolant for signs of pinkish floaties. The flush is pretty simple and there are some great directions on "mathews volvo sight", sorry I dont have the link but it's pretty easy to find. If your radiator is leaking, thats a pretty easy job as well--the radiator comes out from the bottom, and you CAN leave you your ac hoses and condensor intack--a little tricky but totally doable! As for my trans--Seemed I had some bigger problems--and I've since swapped the trans out for another from my parts car--and It's working like new again!! (knock on wood). Good luck with your new volvo. let me know how it turns out!! Take care, Zak