Hey everyone,

My aunt has as one of her cars a 1993 Volvo 850 GLT. The car has 107,272 miles on it. You cannot go into reverse; it lets you select the gear, but when you apply throttle, you just dont go back. I didnt drive it around much, since I didnt want to stall it and then not be able to back up, but it does drive forward. My aunt says that she had trouble driving it forward though.

She wants to completely get rid of it. It starts fine, and everything works but the transmission. Does anyone know other Volvos that have these symptoms, or is it just in need of a whole new transmission?

I'd hate to see an otherwise perfect Volvo go to waste, but my aunt wont allow anyone to come to her house to take a look (shes very paranoid in that regard).

So basically, is there any way I can fix this myself, or is this an expensive transmission problem? This car is a non turbo I believe.

Thanks a lot in advance!

 

Anyone? I've been reading up as much as I can, and perhaps I need to check the speed sensor or transmission fluid? Would that help a bit? Thanks.

 

Oh, and before I forget, I noticed a red arrow pointing upwards that was blinking.

 

Go to this site to learn how to pull codes. http://www.troublecodes.net/Volvo/
It only lists engine codes but post the codes here and we can help.

Is it low on fluid?
What color is the fluid?

To me it sounds like the Trans is going out.

The bad part is the Transmission is only 1993 for those cars. So you need one out of a 1993 Only or a New one.

 

I didnt check the engine codes. The car is in NJ while I am in NY, so I will not be able to see it again until next week. Likewise, I didnt check the fluid, as I only had a brief time to view and inspect the car today. I will post again when I see it.

I've been reading up a lot on 850 transmissions; do you think this could be a PNP sensor or switch not working correctly? I've read that if you shift from P to L when the car is off rapidly around 15 times, it might clean the copper contacts of the PNP switch. I've also read that the PNP switch needing to be replaced is usually precipitated by the red arrow flashing upwards (which it is on this car).

Thanks for the link and the info, I will use it when I see the car again!

 

The PNP might be bad but that shouldn't cause the car to not go into Reverse.

Where in NJ is it? Just curious. I used to live there.

When you can Post all codes Engine and Trans.

 

Its very close to NYC in the Northern part of NJ. I'll do my best to check out all codes when I see it next. Also, do I need certain cables to check the codes, or are those in the engine compartment already?

I was hoping it would be something small thats causing the transmission to act strangely, not the transmission itself. The car doesnt even have that many miles. Do you know of any other 850s that experienced this problem?

Once again, thanks!

 

Everything in the engine Compartment to read the codes.

1993,1994 and early 1995 had transmission problems similiar to that.
Also watch if the car gets to normal operating temp. it might stop going Foward as well.

I used to Live in Sussex county. Also In the Franklin Lakes Area,Also in the Ringwood area.
My brother lives in Chattam.

 

I didnt drive it long to get it to go to operating temp, but my aunt who was driving it before said she could barely get up her driveway. So is there are a fix for these transmission problems short of replacing the whole transmission?

Thanks a lot again!

 

Not really see if it would be cheaper to get it rebuilt.

 

Before you spend big $$$ This goes for most automatic transmissions - not just Volvo.

For the symptoms you describe:
It sounds as if the transmission fluid pressure is low. If the transmission hasn't been serviced several times since it was new, you do NOT want to change the fluid, but you do want to change the filter. New fluid has too many detergents, to use on a transmission that hasn't been serviced regularly. Use a clean pan, drain the old fluid, change filter (or clean the old one), and reuse old fluid. If that doesn't work - and I wouldn't bet that it would, use "Lucas" fluid for transmissions. It can be bought just about anywhere. Then if it still doesn't operate properly, spend big $$$.

 

Where is the filter located, and how do I take it out? So youre saying I should completely drain the fluid and then put the fluid back in? Also, I believe I need a flush machine to take the fluid out, right?

Thanks a lot!

Edit: I was reseraching more on this, and it appears I'll have to get jacks to lift the car for all this. Do I need to get another pan gasket for the car, or can I use the old one?

 

The 850 Transmission doesn't have a Filter that can be changed.
It also doesn't have a Pan it has a Drain plug.

 

Woops so I guess that idea is down the drain. I'll stick to reading the codes and trying to fix the PNP.

 

ok, mine is a 5 speed. I did not know about the filter - but as I said - my advice isn't just for Volvo's. I stick by what I said about using lucas before you spend a lot of money, and about the fluid pressures being low.
Also, if you want to change the fluid, drain the old fluid, and reuse it - all but two quarts, Then use one quart of lucas, and one quart of fresh transmission fluid. This method doesn't put so much detergent back into the transmissin as to cause problems.
I actually use a clear tube, stuck down through the dipstick tube to siphon oil out of a transmission.
Cranky

 

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm going to look at the car again on Monday and get all the engine codes. I'll post them as soon as I get them.