A car I've seen for sale possible gearbox issues(?)

[Larry T]

Alright folks, Long time no post

I originally joined around 3 years back because I was seriously considering a volvo Saloon, however my ford cougar (read "tarted up late 90's mondeo"), the only car I've ever owned, was prooving too reliable a car, cut forward to now, and my current car's got 2 months MOT left, however it needs too much work done on it in order to pass the next one, I'll have to retire it, so I'm back to going after the big swedes, again Ideally a 700 or 900 series manual saloon. (gotta love the rear wheel drives!!)

I spotted this bad boy a short while back and I went to test drive it yesterday. it looks a great example, no rust anywhere, there was nothing major in the service history, belts were replaced when needed etc.

there was one issue when I took it for a test drive. Now I don't know what the driving habits of everyone else here are, but when I slow down to stop IE approaching a junction, I sometimes clutch in first, then slip to 1st gear for the final few meters to give an extra bit of engine braking. When I did that in this car (clutch fully down) I felt the typical "gearbox grinding" noise that's usually made when someone makes mistakes with gears. With that car, it is only possible to engage 1st when completely stopped, Now I have since spoken with my dad about this, and he said he remembers reading an article saying that many cars from from that era did not have "syncromesh" in the first gear. He gave me a brief description of it and from what I understood it's a mechanism that allows modern manual gearboxes to work these days. I have dug and searched around And I can't seem to find whether or not this is indeed the case for this specific model of volvo.

Aside from that, compared with my cougar and other cars I've driven that were made in the last decade (I often get to drive hire cars abroad for work) the gear change felt really loose by comparison. Are both these things indicating towards a dodgy gearbox/change mechanism, or is this how it is and it's nothing to worry about?

Much appreciated and thanks in advance

Edit: order word & speelung

[monkeh]

Either synchro is gone in 1st... or the clutch is on its last legs, If its the 1st... Walk away if its the 2nd, knock 100 off...
/Edit:
I would walk away... Ive buggered syncs up in a few Vans, Its normally the slow downward spiral to gearbox buggeredness.

[treehorndogsbody]

I think I would take monkeh's advice. I would think the syncro hub on first is passed its best. Just think ......Where have all those tiny bits of gear tooth gone and hidden themselves? But three cheers for the word 'Buggeredness' monkeh, sums it up wonderfully.The 960 manual is quite a rare beast, so a good used box may be difficult to find and the clutch will not be cheap.

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

A change of gearbox oil can make all the difference too that car, I have a 740 was the same, turned out some one befor eme had changed the oil for EP80, I refilled with ATF and it worked a treat.

If its a 4sp O/D box, i have a good one here.

[boxman]

Not sure if these have the dreaded dual mass flywheel? My 940 1996 m90 box ( same as the box in the car you looked at) does have the dual mass and I am currently in the process of sorting mine out -

I personally would walk away -

John

[cumbrianmale]

The M90 is a robust box so I might work on the assumption there may be a problem but wouldn't let it put me off. A full fluid change may well solve it, but whiteblock M90's are not that common and it will have a dual mass flywheel. It is also only a saloon and I have seen it advertised before on ebay I think same pictures anyway. I would start with an offer of £500 with a top end of £600-650 with the assumption it may need a replacement box.

[karlos_uk]

replacement boxes are hard to find. james has one here for £300

if you get it and the box is knackered id have it off you so i can try rebuilding the synchro on 1st if its gone.

[Steve940estate]

There is a chance that it is just the clutch release arm . They can wear and cause problems. The point at which the clutch bites might give some indication of this. If it's very low it could well be the arm.

If you can fix it yourself then it might be worth getting if the price is reduced accordingly, otherwise it might be better to carry on looking. If it did turn out to be the gearbox they are different to the 940 ones and the manual 6 cylinder ones are quite rare.

[Larry T]

Thanks guys , Whatever it is, i know now it's something that's clearly wrong with it, I don't live in an environment where I can work on it (rented first floor flat in central edinburgh) so I'll have to turn it down. If I had my own out of town land expans with a garige that comes with a Pit &/or ramp, then maybe.

But like I said aside from that gearbox, it's a fine example of a car