1996 850T how do you buy the right transmission?

[850TurboTurtle]

I may (well, almost certainly do) need to replace the tranny on my 96 850 turbo with a salvage yard unit. As a noob I have a few questions:

What years will work for a 96 Turbo wagon?

Will a non-turbo tranny work with my engine?

Is there anything in particular to watch out for? Avoid?

Is every other stock 96 tranny out there liable to die a year after I do all this work?

If you were on a strict budget (ie, worst possible time to replace a major car part) where would you be looking for a replacement tranny?

Finally, is there a link to a good tutorial on doing a tranny swap, like there is to the head gasket job?

Thanks, Rick

[jblackburn]

94-98 T5 or 97-98 GLT will work. 94/95 have a speed sensor that your car will ignore.

Non-turbo - no. It will throw a "incorrect ratio" code.

Look for black or burnt fluid in the transmission. Walk away from those.

These transmissions DO NOT die frequently - most that do are from a failed solenoid or were very poorly taken care of. There are many out there that have upwards of 250K on the original AW50-42 (my own car is approaching that). Once you replace it, change the fluid religiously every couple years at no more than 35-40K miles, especially in a turbocharged Volvo. They are hard on fluid and create a lot of heat.

Tutorial:
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... hp?t=28973

[850TurboTurtle]

Thank you JB! Great info and deeply appreciated.

[850TurboTurtle]

Does a 50-42LE work? Not sure what the LE stands for.
(Lasts forEver, maybe?)

[jblackburn]

Yes, they are all 50-42LE's. My apologies for not including that above.

[jimmy57]

Wait a minute. 94-95 will not have the hole for the speed sensor the 96 and later TCM needs. 94-95 have the speed sensor for inst. cluster on final drive housing and inst cluster sends speed info to TCM. 96 uses ABS speed info for the rest of the car and trans had the relocated sensor for TCM.
99-2000 from LPT or HPT engine will work if you take out the digital speed sensors and use the analog ones in your current gear box.

[850TurboTurtle]

So how much would you guys expect to pay for a used tranny with under 200k on it?

[jblackburn]

^What Jimmy said...oops.

I typically see them go for $200-250, but you may be able to get it for less if you pull it yourself.

[db130]

I know someone that recently paid $400 for a transmission with 84k on it, this was for a '98 s70 t5