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Engine/Transmission Weirdness

Help, Advice and DIY Tutorials on Volvo's P80 platform cars -- Volvo's 1990s "bread and butter" cars -- powered by the ubiquitous and durable Volvo inline 5-cylinder engine.

1992 - 1997 850, including 850 R, 850 T-5R, 850 T-5, 850 GLT
1997 - 2000 S70, S70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70, V70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70-XC
1997 - 2004 C70

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Messerschmitt101
Posts: 40
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Year and Model: 1996 850
Location: Denver
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Engine/Transmission Weirdness

Post by Messerschmitt101 »

Hi all,

My '96 850 has been acting a little strange.
Whenever I've been on the highway for a good amount of time and slow at a red light when I get off, the engine feels like it's being kicked. It almost feels like a rev, but the RPM needle doesn't move, and the whole car shakes when it happens.

Furthermore, when I press the accelerator, the transmission hesitates to engage, and feels stuck in third for half a second before shifting rapidly down to 2nd and first.

I've seen that a transmission fluid flush can help this, but I want to check to see if there is anything more serious going on based on my description.

Also, I took the car to an AAMCO about two months ago and there was nothing wrong with my transmission, from what they saw (no metal bits in the oil, no engine oil, etc).

Any and all suggestions, short of selling the car, are welcome.
Thanks!

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Clemens
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Year and Model: 96 855 R + 94 855 T5
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Post by Clemens »

If you haven´t drained and refilled the tranny recently (or ever before) this is a good idea. Drain and refill as documented here a million times, but DO NOT POWER FLUSH with a machine! Darin, refill, drive a few hundred miles, repeat. Then maybe again. And then drain and refill once a year. This will improve the shift quality dramatically.
Summer: 1996 855 R
Winter: 1994 855 T5M
Donor: 1995 854 10V

crlande
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Post by crlande »

What did Aamco do?

Messerschmitt101
Posts: 40
Joined: 5 July 2016
Year and Model: 1996 850
Location: Denver
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Post by Messerschmitt101 »

crlande wrote: 08 Jul 2019, 15:05 What did Aamco do?
Their standard, free transmission check. As I understood it, they drained the fluid to look for metal bits and put it back in. They offered a flush (which I am glad I didn't do), and didn't find any metal.

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