yesterday i was parking my car. I was at a complete stop, still in Drive. I kept my foot on the brake, while shifting into Park. normally, when the shifter is in park, thats the safe sign to take your foot off the break. pretty basic driving rules obviously. but, when i did so, my car starts rolling backwards. Puzzled, i shift back into drive, but still, my car rolls backwards when my foot comes off the brake. i put the shifter in park and turn my car off. i get out and push it, and it rolls. so its definitely not in park. I get back in and start it back up without a problem, but it is still stuck in reverse. no matter where i set my shifter, i can not get my car out of reverse. I've been talking with my friends who are volvo savvy all day. I'm really hoping this is not a transmission issue. Does anyone have an idea of what could possibly be going wrong, and what the best way to fix it would be?

 

crawl under on driver side.
take a look at the shift lever assembly...check if missing nuts or loose or missing!!!!parts

pop the shift lever cover and see if your "neutral start switch" adjustment bolts are tight or if the switch is cracked or has moved do to loose bolts...etc...plastic brown or blue triangle inside the shift lever housing...

and as routine...check fluid level and leaks..

 

yeah, sounds like shift linkage to me.

here's a picture of the parts for reference.



not 100% clear there, but part 45 is on the side of the transmission, held on via nut 49, this is what actually selects the transmission gear. When you move the shift lever forward (to the left in the picture) to P, lever 36 pulls the rod 38/39 back, which pulls lever 45 back

I bet one end or the other of rod 38/39 has gotten disconnected. you'll probably need to jack up both ends of one side of the car (on jack stands!) to get far enough under there to see.

 

Thanks pierce! I found part 41 laying on the ground. I haven't had the chance to climb under yet because ive been working a ton and its been raining or dark when im not working. any chance you might know the size nuts i need to remount part 41 with? I'm just thrilled that this isnt a transmission issue. going to try to get it up and running tomorrow.

 

nut 40 is a lock nut on the shaft 38 or 39. parts 42 and 43 are spacers or washers, and 44 is a spring clip, what I've always called a 'jesus clip', because when you try and take them off, they sproing away to get lost in a dark corner, and you say JEEZUS. the distance 41 is threaded onto shaft 38 or 39 sets the transmission shifting, it has to be adjusted right or you'll find yourself between gears, which could be bad.

parts list - all prices MSRP per a volvo dealer site I use.

40 - locknut - 955800 - $1.02
42 - bushings - 666143 - $5.06
43 - washer - 955894 - $1.71
44 - lock brace - 942915 - $2.04


so, this all appears to be in stock stuff, so any volvo dealer should be able to order it.

note, my 'call out' numbers and diagram are from the pasge for a 1987 Volvo 240. the callouts are different on the 1988 240 diagram, but the part numbers are the same. the 1988 /only/ shows the 39 rod style, not the 38. (38 was for a older style BW55 transmission, which wasn't used any more in 1988)

 

or... take the piece you have to the hardware store. find some washers or spacers that fit over the shaft to use instead of 42, 43, and a 'jesus clip' that will fit in place of 44. figure out what size metric thread fits into the end (by testing with various metric bolt sizes), then get that size metric nut. I'd suggest getting stainless hardware as the cheap galvanized stuff sold hat hardware stores wouldn't last long under a car.

 

every volvo site i look at online does not have an option for a 1988 240. i dont want to order the wrong part. it will only show 240 parts after 1990. any suggestions?

 

TascaParts.com and use the PN's I gave above (the 6 digit part numbers)

or, go by your friendly neighborhood Volvo dealer and visit their parts counter. they'll have to order these, but you'll get them a lot faster than from Tasca (who is a volvo/ford dealer on the east coast somewhere)