I'm looking at buying a '99 V70 R AWD. Car is in good shape, but when it warms up the car won't move. Sound to me like it needs a new transmission, and I was wondering if the transmissions from the V70 XC 1998-2000 would also fit?

Or could it possibly not need a whole new transmission? Any thoughts on what else could cause it to run fine cold but not move when hot?

I formerly owned a '99 V70, '96 850, '92 740, '82 242...and I currently drive an '85 245, so I've got some experience working on Volvos. I haven't done anything as big as a tranny swap, but if I could acquire a transmission relatively cheaply it's something I'd consider attempting.

 

First thing, check the battery. My '96 850R was acting like the transmission was dead (in gear, would not move, actually made a lot of bad noises from trans, etc). Turn out the battery had a bad cell so there wasn't enough voltage to completely disengage park and engage drive/reverse. INstalled a new battery, everything is perfect in my world again.

A bad battery will create havok in an electrical system.