98 v70r - Transmission kaplunk

Post by **chexny** » 22 Jan 2016, 10:42

I am done with the car. Something in the transmission went this morning. This past summer I felt like it might be going. Had a backyard mechanic drive it back then and he said he thought it was fine and couldn't feel anything. So I didn't bring it an indie Volvo expert. Or just sell it like I was thinking to do. And now this morning at a red light - light turns green I hit the gas and just a series of clunks and no power. I thought the entire transmission fell out of the car from the shake. Very quickly- maybe within 2 seconds it engaged. I pull over - no fluid leaks, nothing obvious. It kept going far enough to make it the volvo mechanic. Not limping just slipping when starting from a stop sometimes and sometimes a normal start (I was very gentle with the throttle though). It drove fine with power on the highway for a couple of miles. Insert here a brief glimmer of hope that it is not the transmission...

Mechanic jumps in, puts it into reverse - nothing. Tries a couple more times and it engaged finally. Short drive around the block and it is slipping pretty bad. I am pissed with myself, this car and pretty much everything at the moment. In part I have been dumping money into it for sentimental family reasons and in part b/c i dont have +10k for a new-er car forget a new car. Mechanic cannot give it a full look over until Monday but he said the angle gear would go all at once and doesnt think it is the VC. Said his guess would be the transmission. Probably see this listed pretty soon - with thousands of $$ in new parts and one big headache. And this may be the end of volvo for me.

Post by **tryingbe** » 22 Jan 2016, 10:47

I never paid more than $3300 for a new to me car.

Look for mechanically sound car, forget the looks, forget the paint and you'll find a good runner for cheap.

Post by **chexny** » 22 Jan 2016, 11:30

Yeah - I was hoping I had one in this car.

Sommerfeldt · Post by **Sommerfeldt** » 22 Jan 2016, 11:43

Such a shame to lose a V70R like that.

Sure you can't source a used tranny somewhere?

- S

Post by **mecheng** » 22 Jan 2016, 13:42

Trans are not expensive, if you put a lot of money into and its in good mech shape, swap out the trans.

Post by **chexny** » 22 Jan 2016, 14:14

Yeah - I am not a swap the transmission in my driveway guy. I am a pay $100/hr for labor guy and I am not sure it is going to be worth it. Part of my frustration is when we had our third child I decided to keep the 98 v70 vs our 2004 S60 because I felt the on a relative basis the 98 was in better shape - ie the extra money by turning in the newer car with 50k miles would be more than the costs of repairing the older one with 140-145k at the time. And I had just put some money in the 98 (Struts, TB, Tracs, Drive shaft) so I was hoping a lot of the bigger stuff was behind me. Well let me tell you the last 6 years/50k miles with this car proved me wrong. It was a risk and I am just pissed I was wrong.

We will see on what the cost estimate is but my gut is not feeling good on this one. What is a reasonable cost for a car with 189k miles on it to repair a transmission vs moving on. No more emotional stuff - I can't afford it. I cannot see this bill being under $2k and probably a lot higher. At that cost I cannot see the value. Just sucks b/c I was hoping to get ahead and this stuff just is such a set back.

Post by **E Showell** » 22 Jan 2016, 14:29

$2K sounds about right. I don't know book labor on a trans swap, but I'd bet it is at least a 10 hour job. In my area, that's $950 in labor without tax. A used tranny with a guarantee from someplace reputable is probably in the $500-$600 range, but a guarantee isn't going to cover your labor cost if the used unit goes belly up. If you were a swap the tranny in the driveway kind of guy, it could be done for a lot less if you value your time at zero (as many swap the tranny in the driveway types do). You might pick up a non-guaranteed unit for south of $200 (for example, Harry's U Pull It in Pa. has tranny's at $100 with a $25 core charge), but you might have to pull it yourself, which adds to the fun/time.

Post by **scot850** » 22 Jan 2016, 14:53

Are you 100% sure it is the tranny and not the angle gear that failed? I would guess it is the trans only because of not getting reverse. But not sure how the AWD responds if the angle gear/collar strips.

Neil.

Post by **chexny** » 22 Jan 2016, 15:10

Mechanic said he would have more time monday to diagnose and said he wanted to speak with a friend at the dealer about the issues. His gut was the transmission though b/c he said if the angle gear goes it is catastrophic and you know.

Post by **JRL** » 22 Jan 2016, 16:50

scot850 wrote:Are you 100% sure it is the tranny and not the angle gear that failed? I would guess it is the trans only because of not getting reverse. But not sure how the AWD responds if the angle gear/collar strips.

So what, it would still drive and shift just fine but in FWD only