Hi everyone, I've been lurking for awhile here and found this site to be a great resource in fixing up a 1993 Volvo 940 I just picked up a few weeks ago. I'm hoping someone can help me out with my recent transmission woes.

Car is a 1993 Volvo 940. non-turbo with 157k miles. It had been sitting for awhile before I acquired it so I changed all the fluids including a full fluid change/flush for the transmission by disconnecting the return line and running new fluid through. After fixing everything I thought was wrong with the car and driving it around locally for 2 weeks/400 miles I set out on a 3 state trip to visit some friends. The car was running and driving just fine the entire first leg of the trip, two days and 750 miles in with no issues. On the 3rd day of driving I had the cruise set at 75 and all of the sudden the transmission the transmission downshifted twice out of nowhere! I immediately cancelled the cruise control and when I pressed the gas pedal it was just free revving. Pulled it over to the side of the road, let it sit for a few minutes and started it up again. I was able to get it into drive/reverse but after about 30 seconds it would slip out gear. I moved it about 500 feet this way to get to a parking lot on the side of the road. I was in the middle of nowhere and 200 miles from my destination, so I bit the bullet and paid $500 to have the car towed to my destination.

When I started it up this morning, there was a noticeable whining coming from the transmission and it did the same thing, it would go into drive/reverse and switch gears fine for a few seconds and then nothing. Fluid level was fine. I pulled the return line that pumps fluid from the radiator back to the transmission put a hose on the radiator connector to see if it was circulating fluid. When I start the car, a very small stream flows out, nothing like the high pressure that was evident when I changed the fluid originally so it appears the fluid is not being pumped/circulated as it should resulting in no pressure.

So does anyone have any recommendations on what this could be, or where to start troubleshooting? I've been trying to research but this seems like a rather unusual failure/issues. Any help is greatly appreciated as I'm 400 miles from home and need to get this fixed before returning. I suppose worse case I could swap the trans with a junkyard one here, but hoping its something simpler as is drove and shifted excellent before this happened.

Thanks in advance,
Geoff

 

Did you pull the pan and change the filter when you did the fluid change. If the trans was never flushed in 157K miles then there would be a lot of crap at the pickup and the filter.

 

I have not done those yet. I actually bought a new filter, pan gasket and kick-down cable as I had planned to replace all 3 but I didn't when it turned out the original kick-down cable was just mis-adjusted. Unfortunately those parts are at home and not with me, however there is a Volvo dealership nearby here in Wisconsin and I will call and see if they have at least the filter and gasket it stock. I'll pull the pan tomorrow and take a look.

 

odds are pretty good that changing the oil won't fix the mechanical damage thats likely occurred

 

Talked to a buddy who works for a shop that specializes in Volvo repair. His though was while it's rare in these units, it sounds like an internal failure, possibly the pump. Does anyone think a clogged filter would cause the slow fluid circulation or should I still be getting a stream of fluid from the cooler with the line unhooked? Would be just my luck to have a rare failure from an otherwise reliable transmission. I'm still planning to drop the pan and inspect the filter but fearing I may be putting in a new transmission. Fortunately I found one nearby for $400 with 106k and a warranty.

 

This may seem unimportant but anytime there's a restriction in flow, everything in that line should be checked. You say there's low flow coming out of the radiator, how about going into the radiator? I've heard of those lines corroding and fluid pumped into the cooling system.

 

It actually had a newer radiator not long before I bought the car, although it had sat for awhile after that radiator was put in.... Coolant looks bright green still and transmission fluid looks pretty good too. I guess it's worth pulling the line going out of the trans and checking for flow.

 

Sorry about your ordeal I live through this situation before I tried the filter fluid nothing seems to work. It sounds as if you have the aw 70/71 transmission death whine. Car will move maybe a mile before it stops moving/engaging. Oftentimes on a high-mileage car when you flush the transmission fluid it will work fine for a little bit until you push and really drive the transmission hard is when the problems will show up. Sounds like mechanical damage and not a screen in filter/ screen. It's a blessing that you found a transmission for $400 with the warranty I definitely would take that and I pray that you work it out! Because i went thru same nightmare. My business partner has over 50 years exp with Volvos, so play it safe and get that used tranny, because they do fail... Osss

 

problems with the AW7x transmissions are quite uncommon. We did have to rebuild our original owner 240 at about 350-400k miles as it started to slip when it was shifting under heavy throttle, the repair shop said the clutch bands were worn. We've had a couple other 250K+ mile 740/940/960's without a problem, but that 240 was the only one that we took all the way from new to about 500k miles ....

 

157k miles is not too much for these trannies, especially on a NA car. Still, if the fluid was never changed before, who knows? It seems like you have mechanical failure of some sort now--changing fluid won't help. I'd get a used transmission, there are plenty of those out there usually quite cheap ($100 and up) as they rarely go bad.

 

Well yesterday I dropped the pan, didn't realize it was such a PITA on these cars due to the exhaust bracket under the crossmember, had to drop the crossmember to unhook it. Fortunately the oil dipstick tube didn't put up a fight and came off relatively easily.

Pan was surprisingly clean, the filter was a different story. It was absolutely FULL of gunk, so much that a few of the ports appeared to be completely blocked! The new filter I had on hand from IPD is apparently the wrong one, even though the packaging says AW71, oh well. Cleaned up the old filter with brake cleaner, reinstalled and the death whine is gone and the car seems to be driving fine!

Lesson learned, replace those filters! I thought for sure I'd be installing a transmission today, never imagined a dirty filter would cause such a restriction.

 

Get a new correct filter and drain and refill in a week or two. You still have stuff in the system. Good luck.

 

Curious, what kind of "gunk"? Was it just due to lack of changes, fluid that has lost its properties after too many miles? Because "gunk", like foreign matter, really should not be able to enter the system...

 

It was likely broken down fluid, it had an oil sludge like appearance and consistency, really should have taken a photo. When I changed/flushed the fluid a few weeks back by disconnecting the radiator cooler line, the fluid was extremely dirty and looked more like motor oil than ATF. I put 100 miles on it today, so far so good. Will be changing the filter next week once I figure out which one I need.

 

unless the metal screen is damaged, there's little point in replacing it, just clean it.

 

btw, appears volvo no longer has these filters, so you have to go aftermarket.

IPDUSA sells this kit, https://www.ipdusa.com/products/5425/
FCPeuro sells this, https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/vol...tersatz-271693 (looks pretty similar )

 

That makes sense! The fluid was likely never changed in 150k miles which caused the "gunk"! I've seen various stages of fluid neglect and this is about right; it's a testament to how good these trannies are that after a simple cleaning and fresh fluid they are still functioning. Too many car owners are fanatics about engine oil changes never addressing the transmission fluid... and other fluids like P/S, brake, etc.

 

The IPD filter you referenced is the one I ordered, however it was not the correct filter for this car. The filter I received from them was more rectangular, thinner than the stock filter and none of the hole spacing was the same. I just double checked and this is the part number I ordered from them. Any reason it wouldn't fit? I guess they could have shipped me the wrong one. The tag on the side of the trans clearly states AW71.

 

ask IPD? they have always had excellent customer service when I've queried them.