So I picked up the new 240 sedan. 1988, DL, 146K, AT, pretty beat up. The engine runs well, the tranny is having issues. I test drove it before I noticed that it had a tranny fluid leak, so I checked the stick and it was LOW!!! Got some fluid in it, but the leak is still there.

Shifts ok, but has some shuddering when I take off from a stop. The shuddering has been less since adding fluid. It is also whining a little.

So here's the question. What to do? Should I have someone check this out as I know next to nothing about auto transmissions? Is the transmission shot (any way to tell if it's worth trying to save)?

Then there's that darn leak which is dripping from the coolant lines just before the lines meet the transmission. Any good places to find out where this leak is really happening? I'd assume the easiest course is to have someone that knows transmissions look at it, tell me what's leaking have them drain and fill the AT to it's appropriate amount and see what happens. That will be my course of action unless someone has some good ideas on how to diagnose this baby.

Thanks everyone.

 

Quick update. I've found a AW-71 transmission from a yard here. Has the torque converter and has been stored inside. Guy is "asking" 300 for it. Claims it came from an 89 740 turbo. Could I throw this AW71 in the '88 240? I would think so, but don't have any experience with these things.

Also, If I can put said transmission in said car, how difficult would it be to DIM (do it myself)?

Thanks

(Next I'll just have to find a good 93-94 turbo engine)

 

Seems a lot of work to throw a tranny at it without paying $100 to someone to look at it - and while they are looking at it they might spot other things.

Also, if its really the cooling lines at least those are easy to repair.

Anyone use those Lucas trans fix in these trannies? Maybe worth a shot.

 

Totally agree about having it checked out. I'm just wondering, in the case that it is shot, if an 89 AW71 would be alright in the place of a 88 AW70. And from the sounds of it, it's generally a lot less expensive to get a used (but functional) tranny vs. a having a rebuild done or having a rebuilt put in.

 

Sure! The AW71 is a definite upgrade over the AW70 currently in your car. It is a direct bolt up EXCEPT a. you have to use the 240 cooling lines as 740's are different b. save the shifter connections off of the 240's transmission as they will need to be transferred over to the AW71. I don't know what labor rates are like where you live but here in Dallas I'd feel bad taking more than $20-30 to tell you your transmission is fubar! If the leaks are near the cooling lines than that is probably the leak...either where they connect to the radiator or further back where they can rub against each other if not secured properly and leak.

 

Nice. So is this something someone with a full set of socket wrenches and jack stands could do as a weekend project? Or is it something I'd need a seasoned pro like you to do for me? I've had a lot of experience mounting transmissions.... too bad it was on farm equipment.

If I was in Dallas you'd have me as a customer on this one Swift.

One final question, is there a good way to temporarily plug that leak in the coolant lines?

 

Temporarily fixing the tranny lines depends on where they're leaking...if there's been a physical hole worn into one, there really is no fix. The only other solution would be to tighten the ends where they go into the radiator and possibly where they attach to the case.
As to the swap, it's pretty straight forward. Drop the front drive shaft, disconnect the shifter, neutral safety switch/reverse lights, and o.d. wiring, trans cooler lines, kick down cable, trans cross member and mountg bolts, bell housing bolts and starter. If you've done a tractor, you can do this!

 

As a temporary fix if it is a hole in the line you can just cut the line and slip a hose over it and clamp it. As long as it isn't to close to the exhaust it will hold until you get a replacement line. As to replacing the transmission you should be able to do it based on what your other fixin skills are. Good luck.

 

So, pretty good news, and some bad news.

The leak was caused by one of the cooler lines rubbing on it's brace about a foot in front of it's attachment to the transmission, so I'm going to "compression union" that little sucker and hopefully that's the end of the leak.

I also finally got around to draining it and the old fluid is still a dark red which really surprised me. I thought that sucker was dead. I then started to wonder what in the world was causing the shaking/shuddering and lo and behold, right under my nose is a torn up center driveshaft support. Now the plan is to replace that, flush the tranny, get a new filter in it (hopefully that stops the whining noise) and see what she can do. Would replacing the U-joints be a good idea, or should I just wait till that "needs" to be done?

I was looking forward to getting that AW71 but I don't think the pocketbook can afford it (can I afford NOT to get it for 250 though?) if I can get by with less than 30 dollars in parts if this transmission is still good.

Now the bad news. found a HUGE section of badly rusted floor pan (1.5' X 1.5') about where the rear passenger would have their feet sitting. The rest of the car looks like it's basically rust free and I just didn't notice that with the quick visual inspection I gave the car before buying it.

Ugh, anyone have any brilliant ideas for fixing something like that?

 

Finally got the old volvo patched up enough to take it out for a drive.

Drove well, shifted great, little lack of power and a little shaking when starting from a dead stop.

Here's some of the next issues I want to tackle.

1. When the car is stopped but in still in "D"rive (at a stoplight etc) there is a low rythmic rumble coming from somewhere and a little vibration with it. Goes away when I put the car in park. How concerned should I be? Is this most likely driveline related? U-joints? differential? tranny mount? fire away and I'll check it out.

2. When I get the car going 55-60, there is a high whirring/whining noise coming from what sounds like the front of the car. Seems to go away/get quieter when I go faster or slower. ??? (baffling to me)

3. A lot of noises on the road, I assume from the suspension being old and near dead, but I can live with that for a while.

4. Some hesitation at times. I think I'll wait to pursue this till a little later. The car wasn't driven over the winter and there was no gas cap on the car (probably got stolen along with some gas here in philly) So I hope I'm not driving on pure water. Anything that I should look for right away though with regards to hesitation? I checked the flame trap, the holder was empty. Do I need to get a new trap or just leave it as is?

Sorry, that's a lot of questions. Thanks for any help!

 

The whining noise you hear is most likely coming from the drive shaft center support bearing. To check this, when you hear the whining noise, slip it into neutral. If the noise persists, it's the bearing.

As far as the rumbling is concerned, check your motor and transmission mounts. If they are squashed then they probably need replacement. Also, I would check the u-joints on the driveshaft. There should be no play whatsoever laterally or rotationally. If you have to replace the bearing, that will give you a good opportunity to check the u-joints.

Good luck

 

there's a center bearing on the drive shaft, about halfway between the front and the rear end. that bearing is in a rubber donut thing bolted up to the underside of the car. both the bearing and the donut may need replacing (not always at the same time but its silly to do one and not the other). when this stuff is shot, you get some major shuddering under acceleration.

 

How many u-joints does the 240 have on the driveline?

 

3. The center one is just aft of the center bearing I mentioned above. Volvos have a pretty decent rear suspension for a live axle car. The U joints usually last a long long time, and the rear end itself is strong enough for light trucks, or for 250HP upgrades. The automatic trannies they use are quite rugged too, and are an Aisin Warner (AW) design that was used in a number of toyota RWD vehicles.

this is probably a little confusing, and its a 745 rather than a 240, but the design is virtually the same...



the upper/left end bolts up to the transmission, there's a U joint a half shaft, the center bearing, a spline, the center U-joint, the other half shaft, and the U joint bolted to the differential at the lower right end.

the center bearing is a large ball bearing sandwiched inside 2 rubber rings, held in a metal frame. when this thing gets sloppy, the drive axle rumbled against the floorpan of your car and makes all sorts of interesting noises.



edit: I've always been told the reason for the center joint was safety, so that if the car was in a serious accident, a long drive axle wouldn't get pogosticked into the passenger compartment. but it does seem evident that with the front halfshaft fixed by the center bearing, the mid U joint is just about at the same radius from the rear axle as the trailing and torque arms, hence there's very little 'sliding' on the spline during normal suspension travel. the front U joint flexes very little, and is almost straight.

 

I'm too lazy to go measure, anyone know what the sizes for those 3 u-joints are? FCP has one u-joint and ipd has 3 different sizes.

 

I'm not crawling under my 240 in the middle of the night, but, I can dig up the P/N's...

first, heres the 1988 244 diagrams...





numbers from the 2nd diagram...
#2 -1232736 (flange yolk)
#3 - 1209814 (qty 2)
#5 - NS
#6 - 678995 (dust cover)
#7 - 183265 (ball bearing, 45x75x16)
#8 - 3549771 (bellows)
#9 - 1340500 (fork shaft)
#10 - NS
#11 - 1209814 (hey, same as #3)
#13 - 1232736 (flange yolk)

#4,#12 - 24383 (qty 12, retaining rings)



**OOOH!** -- this is for an automatic only. a clutch doesn't have a U joint in the front position, it has a rubber 6-point thing.

 

I never understood why Volvo went with the 2 piece center bearing drive shaft. I would have thought it should have been a two piece with a spline slip joint.

 

my guess is....

1) those long drive shafts can polevault their way through the car in a high speed collision.

2) the middle joint is near the pivot point of the rear suspension so it reduces the amount of extension of the spline, which probably makes it last longer.


I believe that design is fairly common in RWD European cars. Benz, BMW at least.

 

Yeah it must be a european design . I have done several V8 conversions in Jaguars which also have 2 piece drive shafts. I have always replaced them with 1 piece aluminum drive shafts which were custom made. I had also a friend do a 245 conversion to a chev V8 and he used a 1 piece drive shaft. I don't think it would be a big deal to do this with any model Volvo.

 

Thanks pierce, I needed the diagram for auto trans so that's perfect! I plan on replacing that center driveshaft bearing and will check out the u-joints while I have it torn apart. Any good ways to check the integrity if the u-joints? Looks like the tranny uses 3 1209814 u-joints with 12 cooresponding retaining rings. Easy enough.

While driving the car the other day I noticed that the rumbling immediately disappeared when the engine was not under load. For example, it rumbled like crazy while going up a hill on the freeway bit gets VERY quiet after reaching the peak and coasting down the other side? Does this help at all with a diagnosis? I'm hoping its just the mounts.