But..... only when I'm accelerating slowly. The slower the acceleration, the harder the shift. So I've been punching it off the line to try to extend the life of my transmission, and as long as I'm accelerating briskly is as smooth as silk. Could this be play somewhere in the driveline?

Not sure where to start, I did replace the tranny pan gasket and the filter about a month ago along with topping off the tranny fluid, but these symptoms have just popped up lately. I also replaced the shot to heck tranny mount which has made the biggest difference in the car thus far. It's doing great for a 200 dollar car and I hope that something isn't too terribly wrong with the driveline somewhere.

Don't know if this matters or not, but the transmission shifter has a lot of play in it when I put it in drive.

 

Well, sounds like the shifter bushings are shot...a very cheap and relatively fix. $5 max to tighten the shifter. The transmission kickdown cable may need to be adjusted. Often times, newbs get it out of adjustment somehow thinking it's a throttle cable. Worth a shot.

 

Just to make sure, is this what I would need to get? Sounds like I need to get 2, anything else such as a retaining clip?

Volvo 240 Linkage Bushing- Auto Transmission- Volvo Parts

Should I just get the kit and replace everything?

Volvo 240 Linkage Bushing-Auto Transmission-Volvo Parts


Will replacing these bushing and adjusting the kickdown cable help with the shifting of the car? That almost seems too easy.

Thanks for the help!

 

The bushings will only give the shifter a more positive feel; it won't flop around. Adjusting the kick down cable may help the shifting issue. If it doesn't, changing the filter and fluid might help. These are some basic steps to take prior to condemning the transmission. Furthermore, if you feel adventurous some weekend, you could pull the tranny pan, carefully pull the valve body and, with compressed air remove the three accumulators and springs. It is possible the 1-2 accumulator (think of it as a shock absorber) is stuck. The fact that it only does it under moderate acceleration makes me think it is a partially obstructed passageway. By the way, short, sharp shifts are arguably easier on a transmission as the clutches are in use for a shorter time. I removed the springs within my 3 accumulators and inserted small metal rods to KEEP the accumulators from working. Afterwards, I was able to bark the tires in all three gears...

 

Your 1-2 check ball in your valve body is probably worn down to barely functional. You're not damaging the transmission, actually the 1-2 clutch and packs will last longer with a firmer shift, not wear out. Being that it's ONLY the 1-2 upshift it's most likely not the cable being out of adjustment. If the cable was out of adjustment the trans would have hard upshifts/downshifts every time, not just on the 1-2 upshift.

 

Dont mean to butt in but just curious i notice that my shifts from 1 to 2 is really firm 2 to 3 sorta firm and 3 to overdrive not firm at all....is this an issue i need to address? its more noticeable under hard acceleration.

 

I would first address any fluid quality issues, like old burnt up fluid. Then I would address any kickdown cable mis-adjustment. Then, if those don’t effect your poor shift quality, I would address possible bad accumulator valves and check *****.

 

Well, I'm bringing this thread up from the dead. It's been a long time but I finally got around to buying the bushing replacement kit from FCP and was wondering about some pointers on installing those things. I got this kit = Volvo 240 Linkage Bushing-Auto Transmission-Volvo Parts
and am sort of wondering where to put all the pieces. The AT shift linkage bushings make sense, what about the rest of this stuff? What are the 3 small pieces and the sprocket?

Thanks for any help.

(My bushings apparently have been deteriorated for a while now. No signs of them whatsoever.)

 

UPDATE. got under the car and starting poking around at stuff. The bolt/pin that holds the bottom of the shifter bar to the linkage (horizontal bar) is stuck in place for some reason. Not easy to get leverage on it either. I took the pin off the end of the back bolt but it will not slide out like the front one did. Am I missing something or just being a weakling.

I did manage to get the front pin out and replace the bushing there. Just that made a big difference in the way the shifter feels. Still don't know what all the stuff in the kit is for.