I have a 1995 Automatic Transmission Volvo 940 wagon, and today I noticed that when I shift into Drive, it doesn't fully engage. I can move the shifter between Drive and 2nd without holding the trigger down, but I can't push it up into Neutral. Same goes for Reverse. I can't push it up into Park but it can slide into Neutral without me pushing the trigger (although the transition from R to N has more resistance than from D to 2)

Never had any issues with this before today. A few nights ago I ran over a small cast iron sewage cover on a city road that was loose and hit the bottom of my car. Any chance that could've played a part in it? I've also driven it a few times since then and hadn't noticed the shifting problem until now. She's driving fine, but I'm afraid of her slipping from Drive to 2nd while I'm going down the highway and it killing my engine.

Many thanks,
Micah

 

Put car in park with emergency brake on and do a visual inspection of your shifter linkage.
It is directly under car below shifter... Look for any damage or missing clips etc etc.
Start there and see

 

the shifter lever inside the car pushes a shift rod under the car, and that shift rod in turn pushes a lever on the transmission. both ends of this lever have a plastic bushing, that wears out with age and makes the shift linkage sloppy.

easy cheap fix.
https://www.ipdusa.com/products/5881...t-vr217-666143

hint, put the new bushing in hot water for a few mins before installing so the rubber is softer, makes it easier to get it on.

 

Thanks y'all! This definitely sounds like the problem. The guy our family bought the car from 8 or so years ago suggested the same thing too. She's got 320,000+ miles on her so it's not surprising those wore out haha

Do you think it's safe to drive before those bushings are replaced? I'm at college and my dad's house is over an hour away and he's got a setup to lift the car and get under there easier.

 

long as its going into gear, sure. I think my 740T wagon was missing those for a couple years before I got around to replacing them.

 

So I crawled under there, but the bushings (while a little worn) were still intact. No loose movements or anything on that end. When I took the housing off the shifter from inside the car, however, I found where it's sliding back and forth between Drive and 2nd, but it looks as if it's possibly designed that way? But that seems unlikely because I've driven this car for years and just now noticed this. Also again, if you're driving 65 on the highway and bumped the shifter and you dropped to 2nd, I fell like that's a death sentence for a transmission, but maybe I'm wrong...
So currently I'm back to square one :/
I attached a video better showing what's going on under the shifter.

 

the pushbutton interlock lets you shift from D to 2 without pushing the button, it is designed that way. the transmission won't actually go into 2nd if the engine RPM are too high, but I believe you can rev 2nd to about 70 or 80 MPH before you hit the redline. there should be a fairly obvious spring detent in each gear, however, I believe these detents are inside hte transmission itself.

ok, just watched your videos, i'm suspecting its the internal detent thing in the transmission. if your 1995 has a turbo, then most any 740/940 turbo should have a compatible AW71 transmission, if its a non turbo you can use the transmission out of most 240/740/940 turbo or not (non-turbos came with AW70s, the AW71 has the same gear ratios, is just a heavier duty version). OH, you can NOT use the tranmsission from a 16V/DOHC version, those had a AW72 with different ratios. Also, a EARLY 240 or 740 might have a BW transmission, you don't want one of those, either. make sure the transmission shifter on the donor car has 1-2-D and *not* 1-2-3-D, as the 1-2-3-D version was a ZF transmission, used on some 740s and is also not compatible.

 

Okay, so regarding those internal detents, is that something that needs to be replaced? Or can I just continue driving my car without having that obvious spring detent and not have to worry about it dying?
Also, I checked my transmission fluid and it looks like it's at the minimum right now. Would you recommend just topping it off or doing a full flush?

Thanks again for all of the help! I'm a junior in college and don't really have the capacity to take her to the mechanic right now.

 

without the detents, the transmission control lever won't be in exactly the right place for whatever gear you've selected., this could cause further transmission damage.