I have a 92 Volvo 240 230,000 well matained pampered miles. I am the second owner of this car and know the original owner well. Anyway. Started having transmission problems today. It just stopped shifting. Transmission fluid level is where it should be, it's red in color and there's no leaks. it just simply stopped shifting. Is there a relay or something electrical causing this. Or is a it machanical problem? Thanks for any information!

 

the transmission is entirely hydraulic/mechanical except for the overdrive (4th gear). it would shift 1-2-3 without any electrics at all. there *is* a control pressure cable connected to the throttle, but even if that was jammed while pulled all the way out (one of mine failed that way), it would still shift 1-2, and with some finessing you could get it in 3rd, albeit at high RPM (I managed to get home that way about 50 miles).

the good news is, the AW70 is not a real expensive transmission to get overhauled, and you can use any transmission out of a 1989-1995 240/740/940 non-16V, but just having a shop pull and install a replacement could set you back $1500 or something, plus the cost of the replacement (or a junkyard donor). you can also use an earlier 240/740 AW70/AW71 by cutting a notch in the bell housing for the 1989+ LH2.4 crank position sensor (compare your old one out of the car with the earlier version replacement. The AW71 is a heavier duty version of the same transmission used mainly on turbo 740/940 which has the same gear ratios so is a direct replacement.

 

Make sure your kickdown cable is operating normally - they will rust and get stuck pulled out - and prevent the transmission from shifting or will shift very late. There is nothing electrical that can prevent the trans from shifting into 2nd or 3rd, there is a solenoid that allows the transmission to shift into 4th.

 

Thank you very much for your tips. I will definitely look into the cables. I got the car donated to me from my father in law. It sat in a garage for many years before I started driving it. So far I had a lot of very simple bugs to work out of it. Mainly things getting stiff and dry from sitting. When I first get into the car to drive it. The gas pedal is extremely hard to depress at first. I literally have to stomp on it before it will move. I can see the cables being at fault like mentioned. Thanks again!!

 

Sounds like a seized kickdown cable - you can disconnect it from the throttle roll to be able to drive the car - it will shift very early and seem to lack power, but you will be able to drive the car to evaluate what else might be needed. Just shift manually if you want it to stay in gear longer.

 

usuaully when they jam or are stiff, the transmission cable sticks in the pulled all the way out position.

there's a spool or drum under the hood above the throttle and intake manifold. this is driven by the bowden cable that comes from the throttle pedal, and has a rod that opens the thorttle, it also has another bowden cable that heads back, crosses over the back of the engine near the firewall going down towards the transmission, thats the transmission throttle control cable... if you have cruise control, there's also a cruise control vacuum bellows with a short cable to a separate section of the same spool/drum.

on that transmission cable, there's an adjustment sleeve right near the throttle drum, this cable should have a little metal bead clamped to it just a millimeter or so from the end of the adjustment sleeve if everything is adjusted correctly. the other end of the transmission throttle control cable disappears into the right side of the transmission...


ok, found this picture online...



top adjustment thing is the actual throttle cable from the pedal.

bottom smaller adjustment thing is the transmission throttle cable. note its pulled out and slack, thats the normal failure mode, and when its like this the transmission *will* shift into 2nd but only at very high RPMs because it thinks the throttle is floored. i found I could get mine into third by revving it way up in 2nd, then using the shift lever to go D-2-D.

you can see the bead I mentioned abovfe, its a few inches from the red cap, just above and left of the larger vacuum elbow going into the actual throttle body under all this.

anyways, if your gas pedal is that stiff, you should plan on replacing BOTH cables, and also lubricating the throttle itself, and the drum/spool with a few drops of light oil or ATF.

I don't remember if these bowden cables are plastic lined or not. if they ARE, you NEVER oil the cables themselves, or the plastic inside will swell up and kill them permanently in short order. bare metal ones can be oiled (I often use Triflow for this sort of application, like on my bicycle brake and shifter cables).

 

Thank you for the picture! That's what mine looks like. So I can assume it's the kick down cable? Would that be a difficult fix for a amateur? Or a expensive fix? I am relieved either way. It's cheaper than a new transmission.

 

I would undo the cable, point it straight up, pull the red rubber cap back and use the lubricant of your choice (wd40,etc.) trying to get some between the inner and outer cables, to hopefully free it up for free!

To replace the cable requires removal of the trans oil pan - The dipstick tube is removed first but by this point is usually seized onto the oil pan - so you take the starter bolts out and take the tube and pan off together. It's a messy job, and can't imagine doing it laying on a creeper because the trans oil dips the entire time - I used to charge 2 1/2 hours time for the job.