I just bought a 1992 940 GL automatic with 180K from its original owners. It's been sitting in their garage unused for two years, just and occasional startup. It was his wife's car and she no longer likes the RWD in the snow. They stated that it was in good working order prior to taking it off the road 2 years ago and was always serviced regularly at their Volvo dealer. It was always garaged and appears cosmetically to be in amazing shape. Here is the problem...

The engine starts and runs fine, I was able to back it out of the garage but when I put it into drive... nothing! The transmission doesn’t appear to go into gear. Is it possible that after sitting for so long the transmission would just stop working like that? Could it be a sensor or gear position switch or cable or bad fluid or something...? This is my first Volvo so I don’t know where to start troubleshooting this problem... any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

John

Note: Because they have to apply for a duplicate title, it was misplaced, I haven’t taken the car yet so there is still time to back out.

 

The linkage may be disconnected, but the car goes in reverse, so, that's unlikely... still, I'd check it out. Also, check the fluid level and condition but that's not gonna make it do what you describe. Weird things happen when cars go unused...

 

lev... Thanks for the reply. I should be picking the car up within a couple weeks. I will try some fresh ATF first and inspect the linkage then repost my findings.

John

 

Also, make sure that you are in D when shifting it, those displays get loosened up and you may be in fact in Neutral... I have a '92 that had the same problem until I changed the linkage bushings...

 

Well, I thought I had the problem fixed. I flushed the transmission fluid and changed the filter, it looked like chocolate milk in there. It even looked like some moisture had gotten in too. The car ran great for a couple months now once the transmission warms up it will just stop working. If you turn the car off and let it cool down it will work fine. I got a quote from a local shop to rebuild it $2500... So that’s not an option!

Any ideas before a part this thing out?

 

I wouldn't part the car out. These transmissions are pretty robust and easily last upwards of 250K miles with only the basic maintenence. You can find used ones fairly cheap. I don't know where you live but here in the Chicago area there has been one on Craigslist for I think around $230. It has been there for over a year because I think that is way overpriced. You should be able to get one from a junkyard for less.

If you are in the Chicago area and decide to part with the car, send me a PM. I might be interested.

 

^^^If it's non turbo, there's a good chance the transmission is the AW70 or AW70L. While these are strong transmissions, most would say they are not worth rebuilding. That's because there are so many AW71 and AW71L's out there behind turbo cars and some late model n/a cars. While the AW70 is indeed a stout transmission, the AW71 spanks them soundly. Second hand, they sell for about the same price. Most salvage yards do not know the difference. They look identical and are a 100% drop in swap. If you have the space and ability, the best thing IMO, is to buy a similar model that has been hit hard and totaled. I harvest what I might possibly need and flip the rest. The goal is to break even. Typically, wrecked Volvos sell for the cost of a transmission alone.