When my yellow Volvo is cold it will not shift out of low gear. It will wind up to very high RPM's and still not shift. Once it warms and runs for a while or if the tempature is above 60 it shifts fine. I have checked the fluid and changed it a couple weeks ago. It did this some last year when the weather got colder, but it seems much worse this year.

 

"It did this some last year when the weather got colder, but it seems much worse this year."
It's a year older and that much more worn!
I'd try adding a quart of "Lucas Transmission Fix". It could be that the seals in the valve body or shift solenoid(s) are old and stiff and not sealing or holding pressure properly when cold. Lucas is one of the best "mechanic in a can" additives I've come across and usually if it doesn't fix a problem it's something that you need to go in and physically repair.
Do you have any idiot lights on?
When it's cold and not shifting right have you tried to manually shift it to see if it responds?

 

That would probably work, start off in 2nd or hit the winter button. That is by no means a fix, but it will bypass 1st.

 

Have you tried a seafoam trans tune flush?

 

I have tried shifting it into neutral, revving it a little and then back to drive and that either makes it shift or maybe it was just ready to shift by that time. I will try starting in 1st and manually shifting to see if that works. I don't like using chemical additives to fix problems, but might give it a try.

 

The transmission is having trouble because there is something gummed up or some blockage somewhere. I suggest the MattXXL suggestion to clean up or free whatever is sticking then flush your tranny and add new fluid.

 

What year is yours?
I read that you had already flushed out the fluid. Did you just pull the plug and drain out the three quarts or did you disconnect the hose at the radiator and actually run 8+ quarts through the system?

When you said flush I figured you did the 8+ quart flush and I can't see doing it again. You still have this problem and I suggested the Lucas because you already have fresh fluid and other than replacing a shift solenoid with the trans in the car pretty much anything else would have to be done transmission out of car. I don't know why you wouldn't want to use an additive as all it's doing is a better job of cleaning than the transmission fluid does. It also has some good anti wear additives and you can leave it in until the next time you chose to flush it. I'm not a big user of "mechanic in a can" either but I have used it and it has worked, worked well in a lot of cases. The Seafoam would also be a good choice it's just that I've used Lucas and I've liked the results.
Adding something to the fluid is the best first choice if you don't have a check engine light or something else to give you diagnostic info.
If it doesn't clear up your problem you might want to think about taking it to a transmission shop (or two) to get a free check and their advise.

 

On morning start-ups during very, very cold weather my '96 (89k) would not go into gear until I shifted into each position and paused for 5 seconds then back up to "park", again pausing, and all was fine. When I pulled the engine for a rms 2 years back, I pulled the tranny drain plug, then added "Lucas" and topped off the fluid. So far, no problems thru 2 northeast winters (117k).

 

I will pick up a bottle of Lucas Transmission Fix on the way home tonight and give it a try. As far as my fluid I do just a drain and fill every 20K to 30K. At about 140K I did it 3 times. My fluid looks just about the same coming out as it does going in the way I have been doing it.

 

Glad you decided to give it a try. I was beginning to think we were going to have to drop some off by your house. LOL

 

If it's coming out clean it's getting the job done. Mine was dirt black at 240K when I bought it and I dreaded doing it thinking it would cause it to slip but I couldn't stand it anymore. One sunny afternoon I scrounged up some left over water softener clear drain tube (was the perfect I.D.) and a 5qt container from the last LOF. The oil container is graduated. On my vehicle it's the upper hose on the drivers side. When I do it again I will get four "O" rings and replace both the engine oil and trans cooler rings at the radiator as my trans lines and oil are seeping.
If someone is having a problem and hasn't flushed their transmission I would recommend doing the total 9+ quart flush as it works better at pushing the old fluid and any crap out with the new fluid under some pressure.
But not in this case as you've said it's clean.
If you don't get some satisfaction from the Lucas in a couple days it wouldn't hurt to try the Seafoam in addition to the Lucas. You might want to pull that drain plug and let a little out so you don't get overfull. There isn't any problem with running both of them in there and the Seafoam is a bit thinner if I remember right.
Link to instructions to flush.
http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/new...-pictures.html

 

Man that is some thick stuff! Seemed to take forever to get it into the transmission. I drove it for about 10 miles then put it in and then drove for another 5-6 miles. When I drove it to work this morning it shifted fine, but it wasn't really very cold when I started it up so I don't know if it would have shifted fine had I done nothing. Hard to tell what tempature makes it not shift. When I get home tonight I will check the fluid and see if I need to take a little out.

 

Sorry about that. I usually recommend you let it soak in really hot water for five or ten minutes so it thins out. The other thing to do is snip off the end and just up end the bottle into the end of the trans fill tube and walk away without squeezing it. It takes a couple hours but it doesn't backup on you that way.
It's thick, really thick.

 

Ya if a good flush and bottle of lucas wont fix your problem then your tranny will more than likely need replaced. I swear by lucas and there products, very useful stuff.

 

It's been a few days. How is it acting?

 

Didn't work.

We had some warm days and it was fine, but i took it out yesterday morning and it would not shift. I tried pulling down into 2nd and it would shift then. Put it back in Drive and it would stay shifted. Came to a complete stop 2 or 3 times and each time it would not shift in Drive, but would as soon as I pulled it down to 2nd and then back to Drive.

Considering converting it to a Five Speed rather than fixing the Automatic. I have a son and a son in law who are very good at doing that kind of work, and I'm not bad myself, but getting too old to want to be under a car that much.

Anybody know where to find a Five Speed tranny for it?

 

You never did say if you have any codes for the transmission or a check engine light on? Anything ... nothing?

You can check on line or call around to salvage yards to try and find a good used one. There is also Google and this forums resources thread.
https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...s-thread-7325/

M56 5 spd manual front wheel drive
Transmission name: M56
Manufacturer: Koping Engineering, AB Volvo
Gear ratios: (1) 3.38:1 (2) 1.90:1 (3) 1.19:1 (4) 0.87:1 (5) 0.70:1
You can check on line or call local salvage yards to see who might have one. I take it you are looking for a used one and not a new?
Check on Craigslist to see if anyone wants your auto trans for rebuilding. I know in my area there is a guy who is willing to buy them.

Used Volvo 850 Transmission

 

Jim, if you don't mind, please fill us in on the details of your service of the tranny. I see you noted that you drain and fill every 20,000 to 30,000, how long have you been doing this? How many miles was on the car when you started doing this? How many times have you done this?

I was under the impression that these trannies could last 500k if serviced like you mentioned. I guess any can drop and as mentioned I just dropped a used tranny in my wagon.

 

I bought it at 140K and have no idea if anything was done to the tranny before then. I did three drains and fills when I first bought it and been doing the single drain and file every 20-30K since then. It has just over 200k on it now.

I'm really not going to do anything until it totally gives out. The fact that it doesn't shift for a minute or two and then is fine is something I can live with. It's a little worse this year than last, but not that much. Pulling the shifter down to 3 (or is it 2) when it won't shift just to get it to shift is fine with me for now.

I don't want to put money into it at this time since I just bought a BMW and a 4Runner and both are great to drive.

Still drive the Volvo more than 50% of the time though. I drive the 4Runner a good bit more than the BMW for some reason and so does my wife when I have the Volvo. BMW gets driven the least and it's probably the car most would think would be driven the most. I think it's an image thing. Lot of real jerks drive BMW's and their msg board shows many are proud of being jerks.

 

Thanks for the imput. I am planning to do the 3x drain and fill every 20k. Maybe that will help. When I got the car the tranny was already toast and the fluid was like muddy pond water.

As for the Bimmer, I'd think that it handles as good as the T-5R, but a smoother. Should have a good blend of spunk as well. I personally don't think the seats are as comfortable.