850 Wagon Transmission Failure?

Volvolian · Post by **Volvolian** » 05 Dec 2016, 09:49

I drive a 1996 850 GLT Wagon and I was parking on a hill when I felt a pop in reverse gear... then no reverse gear. On a level ground I can hear the car engage reverse but it has very little or no torque at all, just ever so slightly inches back as if in neutral. I checked the fluid and it has a good level but a brown color. I have a bad feeling this is a transmission failure and the only option is to rebuild or replace the tranny wholesale, but I really hope someone has a second opinion.. I'm all ears! The forward gears work fine, no problems up-shifting, down-shifting etc. just no reverse.

Post by **theWIFES_S70** » 05 Dec 2016, 10:36

There are reports of P80s being driven without a reverse gear for thousands of miles... You could try a couple of drain and fills and see if that helps any. (Certainly can't hurt.) But by and large, from what I've read on here, the loss of reverse means it's time to start saving for that transmission job. Sorry about that.

Volvolian · Post by **Volvolian** » 05 Dec 2016, 12:01

theWIFES_S70 wrote:There are reports of P80s being driven without a reverse gear for thousands of miles... You could try a couple of drain and fills and see if that helps any. (Certainly can't hurt.) But by and large, from what I've read on here, the loss of reverse means it's time to start saving for that transmission job. Sorry about that.

Yeah me too, thanks for the input. I should add that there is a tiny bit of traction in reverse, almost unnoticeable but it does catch enough to move the car backward on level ground. Curious whether that means anything about the extent of the problem. I will definitely give changing the fluid a shot. From what I understand, I'll slowly introduce the fluid and flush the system every... 100 miles?

Post by **abscate** » 05 Dec 2016, 12:27

You just drop N quarts and replace in kind, 2-3x, depending on how dirty it looks. Run it a week or so in between cycles, if it is a daily driver.

Post by **tryingbe** » 05 Dec 2016, 18:45

Your transmission had a hardware failure, changing the fluid is literally draining your money away.

Post by **cn90** » 05 Dec 2016, 19:35

If you can find the Reverse Solenoid, then rebuild it.

If not, ebay has a whole bunch of Trans for sales. Make sure you buy an AT with less than 150K.
Take this opportunity to replace the RMS (use Volvo OEM RMS only).

Post by **JimBee** » 05 Dec 2016, 21:02

+ 1 cn90. Precopster's post and related discussion included pictures of how to change solenoids, not the easiest job but doable with intermediate skills.

Recently I visited an automatic transmission shop in Minneapolis and while I was waiting to talk with the tech, museum quality cut-aways of automatic transmissions, clutches, etc. caught my eye. I'm amazed that clutches that look a lot like a dry clutch can work at all immersed in a slippery fluid, but that's how they work.
The valve body is an intricate part that I don't completely understand, but clutch engagement probably depends mostly on the relevant solenoid doing its job as long as fluid moves without obstructions through the valve body.

In this situation I would go ahead and do the drain and fills, then strain the fluid through a paint strainer to see if there are any fabric or metal particles in it. If none, and the fluid becomes clean, you might have a transmission whose reverse clutch might be in tact but just isn't getting forced to engage, then it might well be worth replacing the solenoids.

You might want to look up the precopster post and pm him to brainstorm it.

Post by **abscate** » 06 Dec 2016, 12:15

It's a 20 year old car designed to be driven for 10 years. To get the second and third half of its life, it needs regulsr maintenance and occasionally a big component like a transmission.

Volvolian · Post by **Volvolian** » 06 Dec 2016, 23:21

Thank you all for the various inputs.. I'm gathering from this that in all likeliness I am looking at a transmission replacement and a couple other improvements as I'm doing it... but also possible that a culmination of old trans fluid, a quasi-functional solenoid may mean that the trans itself is intact but just not getting a good connection. Obviously if the latter is true that's the cheapest possibility of all. If it is indeed the transmission that need be replaced, what are your thoughts on getting into a newer vehicle like a late 2000s V70 or XC70? I see these online all the time for 6, 7k and am thinking might be a better investment since my car is about to turn 21. Thoughts?

Post by **abscate** » 07 Dec 2016, 05:06

use Nada to get price guidance on P2 models. If it's significantly under wholesale, there is a reason for it. If you aren't doing work yourself, maintenance can run 15-20 cpm on these cars. Budget $2000 to get any new car up to daily driver condition and add it to sales price.