Replaced the PNP switch after reading enough posts to say that was my problem.

So if my car drives forward in reverse and shifts funny what else could it be?

The PNP did not set up as was written up on MathewsVolvo:
"If you're doing the alignment alone, put a mirror behind the car such that you can see the reverse lights go on and off from where you're working. Put the car in reverse (car on, engine not running) and turn the large metal part of the PNP switch forward and backward until you can get the reverse lights to go on and off in both directions. Mark the location with a pencil where it goes on, then rotate more until the reverse lights go out, mark with a pencil. Now move the sensor so that it is between your two marks (reverse lights should be on) and tighten down. The adjustment is done. Turn the key off, put the gear selector back in PARK and button it up. "
I had a friend help but even so turning the PNP did not make the reverse lights go out in either direction. I used the Shift lever to find the on/off point of the lights and then found the medium point.
I bought the car a year ago and it had only 115miles so I'm a bit surprised.

Any input will help.

 

I really don't know what you are asking help with. Was the car acting up so you replaces the PNP and now can not get it adjusted properly? Or do you have a bad transmission and replaced the PNP in an attempt to fix it?

 

The car was shifting strange, up and down for no reason. This did not develop over time but just happened. The car was bought a year ago and all the fluids were changed out and all the filters.
So when my girlfriend called and said it started to do this, I drove over. She had just backed out of her driveway and drove 4 blocks down the road. She stopped and I met her. The first thing I looked at was the trans fluid which was full and looked new (nice clean red color) and I then drove the car. Shifting up and down for no real reason and when I pulled into the ally beside the house she was going to I put it in reverse. Not only did it not go it actually went forward. Though you could feel that it was not really wanting to. I put it in drive and took her home and then limped it to my home, another 10 blocks.
a block from my place (it was raining) going slightly down hill it chirped the tires twice, very quickly. I did not have my foot on the gas so thought it may have tried to shift into reverse.
I got it home and read as many posts as I could with these issues. My big mistake was to not recheck the fluid. My Girl friend felt the problem and stopped right away. In that respect she is smarter than me. The fluid had no chance to even get dirty.
Considering she needs a car, I thought the posts showed the PNP was at fault and I could fix it in about a day, I went for it.
Since it did not work I looked at the fluid again today, brownish with some black stuff and even metal looking dust. So I think I now have definitive answer and anyone reading this can make sure they check everything twice before doing the work.

The worst of it is I have a good car, except the tranny. I did so much work on this thing to have it running well and it did. Only 112k miles. Darn.

I would like to know what years of automatic trans would fit the 94?

 

Dont know if you have seen this list?
Maybe of some assistance to you.

http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/vol...missions-guide

 

Come on Robert, he's asking for help. Just tell him the answer

After all the topic is "well that didn't work" and if we don't know what "that" is you might as well guess at what will

 

The '94 & '95 are drop in's. When my tranny was bad it would go forward in reverse. It actually tried to go back, for about 1 second, then a forward gear would kick in and over power the reverse. I just replaced it.

Since you have a '94, you can pull codes and see if it points to some fixable problem. Mine was drivable so I drove it until I was able to get it replaced. Doesn't sound like hers is.

 

No I have not seen that list, thanks. So a 93-97 is all the same, good to know.

I called around and the fix at a shop here in Vancouver Canada is $1800-2200. These cars are going for $2500 tops, $1500 is more like it.

So I called around some more and found a wrecker with a 95 trans that he says has 95k km on it. Ok if that is right then the $400 may be worth it.

I looked over some of the sites and found one straight answer about the re and re of a trans. 2 solid days plus, you need an engine hoist to hold it up and it is (as the guy put it) 5 out of 5 wrenches in difficulty.

I guess I have to decide if I am up for that BS.

BTW what do you mean exactly by "The '94 & '95 are drop in's."? Is this in reference to how the motor/trans go in?

Opinions about any of this are welcome.

 

Found this helpful info here.
VCBC - Technical Session 2008 - Volvo Club of BC

"1993-1997 Volvo 850 and 1998 S70, V70, C70

These are equipped with the AW50-42 which is electronically controlled. They came with a Sport/Economy/Winter switch. Sport mode would delay the shift point to utilize the high end power of the engine and Economy mode would shorten the shift point to have the engine run at lower RPM to save fuel. Winter mode starts the transmission in 3rd gear to reduce torque to prevent the wheels from spinning in snow conditions.

Early 850s had problems with their AW50-42 transmissions. Remember this was Volvos first foray into front wheel drive. In 1995 they made a lot of internal improvements which reduced failures."
Looks like a 95 or later would be best.

 

Drop in means just that, all connections fit and everything works as it should. Volvo engineers make changes to thing a few times per year, the transmissions post '95 have minor differences that may cause minor swap issues. An example of this is the '95 tranny has some kind of sensor that is removed and plugged on the '96 tranny. Not sure what it is for, but it's not there for looks.

 

Around here you can get a tranny from a salvage yard for $100.

 

[QUOTE=Catimann;386101]No I have not seen that list, thanks. So a 93-97 is all the same, good to know.

I called around and the fix at a shop here in Vancouver Canada is $1800-2200. These cars are going for $2500 tops, $1500 is more like it.

So I called around some more and found a wrecker with a 95 trans that he says has 95k km on it. Ok if that is right then the $400 may be worth it.

I looked over some of the sites and found one straight answer about the re and re of a trans. 2 solid days plus, you need an engine hoist to hold it up and it is (as the guy put it) 5 out of 5 wrenches in difficulty.

I guess I have to decide if I am up for that BS.

BTW what do you mean exactly by "The '94 & '95 are drop in's."? Is this in reference to how the motor/trans go in?

Opinions about any of this are welcome.[/QUOTE B&R has them for $350 with abot 120.000 k

 

time to start a new thread. gets very confusing as to what questions you may have. Robert did explain "drop in" means the 94 and 95 are identical - not even a minor diffference.

If you are thinking of replacing the transmission on your own, here's a couple good resources:

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/fo...ic.php?t=53437 and volvotips.com

Curious what is going on that you think you need to replace the transmission vs new solenoids etc.