Thanks for looking, anyways to the issue

My 850 GLT has been in storage for the past nine months and I decided to do some work to get it back to 100%. My dad suggested draining the transmission fluid and just replacing it (not flushing). We completed that. We also adde a can of seafoam(supposed to remove moisture in gas lines) to ~16 gallons of premium. We then replaced the spark plugs with Bosch brand plugs for the car. Now for the issue, when sitting in park it's fine, however once place in drive or reverse it shakes enough to make me worry. Also, when launching from a complete stop it shakes violently again. I ran it for less than two miles before turning it around. There is a metal hitting noise when rolling but not in neutral or park. The car ran fine, just a little underpowered before all the work.

 

***Tranny fluid is Volvo Synthetic that we replaced it with***

 

did any codes pop up? Check the plug wires to ensure connection.

 

We did not mess with any of that. We did some google searching and we are nearly certain they sold us the wrong tranny fluid.

 

They didn't happen to sell you the Volvo Synthetic for MANUAL transmissions, did they? The Synthetic fluid for stick shift is like 75w90 gear oil if I remember correctly, though it doesn't say that anywhere on the bottle, it just says something like Volvo Synthetic Transmission Oil.

If that is what is in fact in your car, I would flush the system immediately, put the right fluid in, and hope you don't have any damage.

Good luck!

1995Volvo850

 

We figured out the shudder, one of the spark plugs somehow had something on top of it not allowing it to spark.

THEY STILL GAVE US THE WRONG TRANSMISSION FLUID
It is supposed to be dexos(I think that's how it's spelled) not synthetic for automatics. She has 150k on her and still going strong. My dad bought her brand new in 96 and I bought her this past fall. I love this car.

 

 

I always use the cheap Walmart stuff.

 

"however once place in drive or reverse it shakes enough to make me worry"

Does it do this when the vehicle is not moving ??

If it's smooth in neutral and shakes in gear it's likely one or more of the engine mounts and or the transmission mount worn out or broken.

 

We figured out the shake/shudder, it was running on four cylinders. Something had gotten on top of one of the spark plugs we changed not allowing it to spark. Good thing we questioned all the work that was done though, due to the fact of the wrong transmission fluid being shipped to us. It's supposed to be dexos and not synthetic. I called a dealer in jersey (I'm from Michigan) early this morning since my dealer was closed. Only ran it a couple miles before the car began to run on 4 cylinders and I turned around.

Thank you rspi, but my dad knows this car in and out. It was his first brand new car ever and he has a special bond to it. He is the DIY type of guy, so we can do all the minor maintenance. Anything serious though, we will take it to a shop.

Anyways, I'm extremely excited to own this car. 150k miles, been in the family since it was new, nobody ever really beat on it. I grew up riding in this car and I am glad to be the one to own it. It is a great piece of memory that I now own.

 

The transmission fluid you are looking for is Dex/Merc.

 

Yeah I gotta go back Monday. I am going to make them cover the flush due to the fact they shipped the wrong fluid. Thanks for all the help!

 

When it comes to synthetic my personal opinion is it should be ok same as it's better for the engine it "should" be better for the trans. That is my logic stream.

But I've seen so much pro and con I can't really tell who knows what. I'm running something different in mine, Ford type F and I like the way it shifts but I'd be scared to be the one to recommend it to anyone else. I still have a case of Dex/Merc and that's for this falls change out and then next year I'll likely switch to Dex/Merc synthetic or .... wait for it .... go with John Deere hydraulic fluid. Sounds crazier than anything but I have a '95 Thunderbird Supercoupe wtih 66K miles that should run Mercon V that's running on it and it's wonderful stuff.

There are a lot of guys with the supercharged Tbirds and turbo'd mustangs running the Deere hydro fluid in their trans. Firmer shifts and the stuff handles heat better. Plus, unlike using synthetic in a Volvo no one seems to have anything bad to say about it.

BUT ... you need to make sure you're using the appropriate viscosity or you're screwed

 

I'm in that same boat with my 850!

 

Can you give me the back story on yours ?

 

My parents owned the car for as long as I can remember and then it became mine when I turned 16. It is in pretty good shape and is pretty clean too, but I have done my share of further cleaning it up and fixing a lot of the small issues and quirks that show up in 17 year old cars, as well as adding my own little improvements such as the AUX input and the cabin filter tray and filter, which it never had before. Now, it's my baby!

 

My parents bought mine brand new in October or November of 96. I bought it for $3000 this past fall and put about $400 to get it looking/driving great. The red paint had looked like it faded to pink, but I took it to a detailer and this car shines and looks brand new. It looks better than my bros 2013 Chevy.

I had a 93 Benz 300TE (black station wagon inline 6, fast car!) before this and it was in great shape. I think I will be buying mainly European cars in the future due to how great they have been.

The only real issue with it currently is the 6 disk cd changer in the back is jammed currently. I am keeping the original radio in mine and just using the cassette tape with the cable leading out for the aux. I am just pissed because I couldn't use it this weekend due to the transmission fluid being incorrect... Hopefully they take care of it for free since they sent the wrong fluid. Who knows...