So I have a 2003 Volvo S60 2.4t with 212000 miles. Recently it had developed a whining noise from the transmission area (if the cars in then the noise it going). Used the car for a while after this until I was driving and the transmission slipped and I was basically stuck in neutral. I stopped and let the car cool down. The car would run fine in 1st gear but once I would hit the shift point (around 20 mph) the transmission would just go into what feels like neutral and stay there until it cools down again.

I checked the fluids and they are always above the hot marks no matter the temp the car is at. It also smells burnt if that helps. Don’t think this car has ever had a fluids changed since I got it when it had about 211k from a cousin who abused it pretty bad.

any ideas?

 

start by doing a drain/fill and get the levels correct to the cold mark then check again after a 15 minute drive (should go to the hot mark but not above). filter the drained fluid to inspect for debris. If its burnt smelling, has debris in the fluid, then your due for a rebuild as its likely the clutch packs are toast.

 

Will do as soon as I get some fluid. Thanks for the suggestion.

Any idea what the whining noise could be though?

 

does it whine only in motion or when idling or when in gear but brake on etc? does the ptich change with road speed and or gear selection?

 

The noise is on whenever the engine is on. Gets quieter on park and neutral but is still there. Gets Higher pitched when accelerating

 

So I finally turned on the car again and have a pretty good explanation of what happens now:

After turning on, the transmission will make a whining noise that kind of sound like a table saw. The noise comes from around the bottom of the engine on the right side area.

That will continue until enough time passes usually after revving to about 3-4k (noise gets louder when revving, kind of goes away when shifting through the gears but comes back once settled)

After this the noise will stop and the car will no longer engage in any gear (the dash’s till shows the selected gear though). It won’t move at all. While the noise was occurring the car would at least inch in drive or reverse

When cold the fluid is about 1-2 inches above the hot marks and when hot it is slightly about the hot marks about 1/4-1/2 inch

Different from how I remember it but this is exactly what happens when turning it on now

Any ideas are much appreciated thank you.