G/box: AWD: it's slipping...

[rich hr]

Originally Posted by Georgeandkira

Hello,
1) Volvo dealership or "hoighty-toighty used carriage exchange"?
'specialist rebuilt' - chap in London who guarantees for 12 months (didn't ask volvo- the local dealer wanted 1100euros for a timing belt change!)

2) Bevel gear or center driveshaft can cause vibrations throughout the car.
I will get the car on a ramp this week- this is what will decide the old girl's fate I think

3) Were all 4 wheels rebalanced? yes
Do check for a dented wheel. As they say, you can balance a square wheel but it won't roll well.
i will check this week also

4) Can you accurately itemize everything which has been done to this car? Is the history truthful?
no, just dealer stamps and a bill for an oil leak (core plug which neccesitated gearbox removal)

5) Did you pump 19 litres of transmission fluid through the unit all at the same time? yes: well, dropped 2.5 litres, replaced it; then flushed from the radiator return, replacing with the same volume each time.
One sump drain at a time lets the dirt dissolve uniformly. Filth in the torque converter needs time to go into solution.

6) Bubbles in the fluid after only 900ml is disheartening. I've read that bubbles in the transmission fluid require time to work out.
yes, i'm afraid that there seems to be some kind of restriction on a pump here, or huge wear...

7) Could the dealer have attempted to freshen the fluid when he got the car?. If so there's a huge chance a thoughtless monkey was thrown onto your car-to-be and incorrect fluid and incorrect procedures (pump the sump dry then refill) were employed.
anything's possible but given the colour of the fluid i'd seriously doubt it!
No uninformed grease monkey is going to care about correct fluid.
Any big dealership boss would laugh at "Volvo fluid only" caveats as well as the >$20 per litre price.

8) Come to think of it, did YOU use a correct fluid?erm, i used 3309 atf - not volvo branded though, thinking i may need to do a flush more than once.

9) These transmissions are strong but stomping on the go pedal sends lots of "turbo-oomphed diesel torque" through them.
Our cars start off at 4,000 pounds. Load 'em up and you're talking "inertia de Luxe".
at the mo there's not an awful lot of that torque making it to the wheels until the tc lock-up, and yes, it does feel like Newton had a considerable impact on the way these things proceed!

10) The price you quoted for a rebuilt unit equates to around $3,200 (assuming 17% VAT). That ain't bad if the rebuilder did a complete job.
At 160K unknown miles a rebuild unit mighn't be the worst idea.
i paid £1900 (GBP) for the car so all things are relative! it's a nice old barge though:-)

11) This is entirely secondary but from what I've read LubeGard (correct spelling) red works as a lube in the valve bodies. Nowhere was deglazing of friction material mentioned.
LubeGard reduced episodes of flaring in my transmission. That is to say any lag from 2nd to 3rd or from 3rd to 4th was greatly reduced.
Note: Flaring occurs between gears (when the transmission is out of gear) the engine will rev being there's no load. from what i've read about flaring, this box is simply slipping, not flaring- damn thing feels like it's got 8 gears (5 + the lock-up in 3rd, 4th and 5th)

Good luck with your decision making process. Kira

Many thanks for the input, Kira. I'll get her through her French Controle Technique, get it registered here and then consider my options (cars are worth/cost 2x more here than in Blighty so it may end up being worthwhile to get everything done and hang onto it)

I only wish I'd done more forum trawling before buying it - i'm becoming educated now in the weaknesses of these cars, now that I've become an owner of one!