1984 240 Problems

I’ve had my 1984 240 automatic for 18 months now with relatively few
major problems other than replacing the main fuel pump a few months
back. It’s been driving kind of sluggish lately, though, as well as
having issues with staying in gear. Both of these problems are much
more noticeable when the engine is cold.

The staying in gear issue has been going on longer...it takes a few
seconds when I put it into reverse for it to kick in, and then again
when I shift into drive; then when I stop at a light or sign, it’ll
drop out of drive and will take a few more seconds and me gently
gassing it to kick back in again. Once the engine gets warmed up,
though, it almost never does this.

Same for the sluggishness...mostly in the morning, but otherwise
pretty inconsistent. Step on the gas and it’s like there’s an
obstruction...eventually it goes and will get up to speed, but it’s a
struggle. After a few minutes of 30+MPH driving, though, it isn’t a
problem at all.

I’m not sure if I’m looking at two different problems or if they’re
connected, and what really the deal is...I had the transmission fluid
checked at my last oil change, but it was fine. I’m not up to fixing
most of the stuff that goes wrong with this car and have a pretty good
shop I use, but I am on an extremely tight budget and need to know if
this is going to be another $300+ repair job. I also would like to
have some idea of what it is that’s going on under the hood and this
is my first Volvo, so I’m pretty much a novice...any advice/help would
be appreciated.

 

Oh, and I’ve got a good 200K miles on the car.

 

Is that staying in low gears too long when accelerating? Mine was doing
that, and a bit of a bang decelerating as it tried to change back down too
soon. It was the kickdown cable too tight (even though it was already looser
than the spec.). It might still have some prob or throttle linkages might
just be very worn but the gearbox does run smoothly now. Maybe all old
auto's have that lag/lurch into gear, my last BW in a Ford did that too (and
lost drive altogether if you went round a corner too fast cold).

 

The shifting problem sure sounds like low fluid, particularly that it does
it when cold (the fluid expands when warm.)

Check the tranny fluid yourself - I'm 90% certain you will find it way low.
Drive until the engine is warm, find a level spot, put the transmission in
park and leave the engine running. Check the transmission dipstick and add
fluid to bring it up to the warm range (probably a pint to a quart). Quick
lube places are notorious for failing to check fluids properly, and a lazy
or distracted mechanic may say he checked when he didn't.

Mike

 

See, that’s what I thought it was initially too...so I was confused
when the JL guy said it was fine...

Guess I need to figure out where the heck the tranny dipstick is
myself

 

No, it just drops into neutral...the RPMS will rev up when I hit the
gas, but there’s a several second delay before it kicks into drive.
It’s always when coming out of a full stop, slowing down, or going at
very low speeds...and only until the engine gets fully warmed up.

Hopefully it -is- just the transmission fluid.

 

It will be near the firewall under the hood, a yellow handle on the left
side of the engine, with a catch you have to release with one finger when
you remove the dipstick. I forgot to mention that it takes a funnel to add
fluid (it goes in the dipstick hole). The funnel is usually for sale the
same place they sell the transmission fluid. Pour slowly to avoid a big
mess. I believe your transmission takes Dexron - my '85 does - but verify
that with your owner's manual, or with the gurus here who know in case you
have no manual.

I'd bet JL didn't check the fluid level and gave you the "sure, sure, it's
fine" response when you asked. It's a very common story.

Mike

 

The book on my '83 has Type F "unless the transmission has been rebuilt."
Mine has a leaky rear seal and I get the same symptoms that you do when it's
low.
First speed bump as I leave my drive in the morning, tranny drops into
neutral. Same thing first stop.
Usually a pint, never more than a quart and it's back up to full and no longer
slipping.
Car must be level when checking. Don't try to estimate the angle of the
driveway and guess which side of full it is.
A crowned road will even give you a bad reading.
ymmv...

 

ok we are discussing a vehicle that is 21 years old ..or there about.... the
problem you are describing is what we call in transmission industry as
morning sickness.. trans does not want to operate correctly when cold but
when warmed up it operates fine...normally the lipseals<o-rings>in the drums
are getting hard and leak fluid by until they get warm and expand.a pint of
tranny fluid is not nearly enough to make trans slip only when cold.. you
are looking at a more serious problem internally.. not trying to hurt
anyones feelings just stating the facts

http://www.autoforumz.com/eform.php?p=530694

 

I dunno - my '85 765T also has an AW tranny. It has a leak (front seal -
aargh!), and if I ignore it too long it produces exactly those symptoms. I
usually find it a pint and a half low. Topping it up fixes it every time (so
far).

The symptoms I experience don't match the "morning sickness" I'm used to
with power steering. With that, the loss of hydraulics are severe until a
certain degree of warm-up is reached, then the symptoms go away suddenly -
but as the condition gets worse the transition becomes progressively more
minutes of good-bad-good-bad. The transmission symptoms I experience are
that it mostly works even when cold, but will disengage when making turns or
when stopped on a slope, then a moment later it will catch and work until
the next time I stop or make a sharp turn before it warms up. My tranny has
been doing that when low for a very long time and isn't getting any worse.

Mike

 

At 25 years the power steering & trans still work fine on mine, OTOH the
last car ('87) with a Borg Warner gb slipped like that cold for the 4-5
years I had it, and was no worse when we buried the car.