2002 s80 trans slipping swap or rebuild?

bronco · Post by **bronco** » 31 May 2020, 19:31

My neighbor with a 2002 volvo s80 non turbo calls me and tells me her car won't move in drive only in reverse will I come over and see what is wrong?

I work on her car and her sisters cars a few times a year random things , and she knows I own and drive volvos .

I go look and sure enough drive and 3rd act like neutral car moves fine in reverse and moves sorta in 1 and 2. Fluid level is fine but its brown about 140k miles on it.

I'm guessing the band broke but I tell her I'll drop the pan and look and if I dont see anything scary , big chunks of anything maybe its the filter

tell her to cross her fingers .

So nothing in the pan , pull the filter and its totally clogged I get a delco filter and fluid no joy , if anything its worse , now it barely moves at all in 1 and 2.

So here is my question , I have a 2001 s80 non turbo parts car right in my yard and the tranny seemed fine, the car has 250k on it though and swapping in that tranny seems a little suspect. I mean it could be a rebuild in it for all I know but it could also blow up in a month, and it involves tearing both cars apart, if I just rebuild the tranny in the 2002 it feels like a better solution. Ive never done one of those but I'm not scared of the job , Ive done quite a few ford autos and 3 or 4 GM's , i think I could do it as long as it doesnt require a bunch of impossible to find tools .

I told her she could swap cars with me and drive my parts car but even if I just sign it over to her the RMV is closed and its basically impossible to register a new ride at the moment.

Is there a decent walk through for the trans on here that people have used to get the job done? I doubt she wants to spring for upgraded valve bodies or anything like that just clutches and bands basic stuff.

Post by **SuperHerman** » 31 May 2020, 22:49

The transmission, if your car is a 2.9, is a GM 4T65E. If you have done any GM transmission rebuilds you have most likely done this one or a related cousin. There is nothing in the tool department that is special for the rebuild.

The rebuild kit is cheap as it is also for the GM cars (an optional Volvo kit is available but if you leave the transmission in the car it is not really worth buying). The rebuild is fairly easy. The rebuild can be done by dropping the subframe and leaving the engine and transmission in the car. The instructional video most of have used is actually for a Chevy Impala - do a search.

Do a little digging and you will find a number of very extensive write ups on the S80 and XC90 forums here.

Once you have familiarized yourself circle back with specific questions.

bronco · Post by **bronco** » 01 Jun 2020, 18:29

SuperHerman wrote: ↑31 May 2020, 22:49 The transmission, if your car is a 2.9, is a GM 4T65E. If you have done any GM transmission rebuilds you have most likely done this one or a related cousin. There is nothing in the tool department that is special for the rebuild.

The rebuild kit is cheap as it is also for the GM cars (an optional Volvo kit is available but if you leave the transmission in the car it is not really worth buying). The rebuild is fairly easy. The rebuild can be done by dropping the subframe and leaving the engine and transmission in the car. The instructional video most of have used is actually for a Chevy Impala - do a search.

Do a little digging and you will find a number of very extensive write ups on the S80 and XC90 forums here.

Once you have familiarized yourself circle back with specific questions.

Good news, Thank you!

I'll run it by the owner and see what they want to do and if its a go I'll update the thread

aussieviking · Post by **aussieviking** » 01 Jun 2020, 20:40

I've done the rebuild on my S80 T6 and it's fairly straight forward. There are plenty of kits available but as that is just a 2.9 NA you could get away with a cheap kit form rockauto or something.

If it is actually switching from reverse to forward and back your bands may actually be fine and your issue probably is within the input/3rd clutch assembly where my issue was.

Search for the workshop manual online (4T65E workshop manual) as they are GM and readily available in terms of parts and info.

Let me know if you want to know anything specifically.

bronco · Post by **bronco** » 03 Jun 2020, 06:26

aussieviking wrote: ↑01 Jun 2020, 20:40 I've done the rebuild on my S80 T6 and it's fairly straight forward. There are plenty of kits available but as that is just a 2.9 NA you could get away with a cheap kit form rockauto or something.

If it is actually switching from reverse to forward and back your bands may actually be fine and your issue probably is within the input/3rd clutch assembly where my issue was.

Search for the workshop manual online (4T65E workshop manual) as they are GM and readily available in terms of parts and info.

Let me know if you want to know anything specifically.

she ordered the rockauto kit last night , it looks reasonably complete so it may show up in time to become a weekend project. In the meantime I'll start watching some videos

bronco · Post by **bronco** » 03 Jun 2020, 06:59

is there a go to thread for the dropping of the trans/motor ? I've been searching but I feel like I'm chasing my tail a bit

Post by **SuperHerman** » 03 Jun 2020, 16:19

Start with these. If you have a copy of VIDA you can use it, but use the instructions on how to change/remove the valve body cover unless you want to remove the transmission.

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=91486

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=63865&hilit=transm ... ild+in+car

Basically remove a bunch of suspension parts, mounts and axles then lower subframe on driver side until cover clears the frame rail. Then do an in car rebuild. You need to closely examine the separator plate for damage caused by a check valve and also the splines on one of the hard parts. I brace made of 2x4s and ratchet straps will help if you don't have an engine support bar.

There are other threads in the S80 forum as well as the XC90 forum.

bronco · Post by **bronco** » 06 Jun 2020, 16:28

I just got the kit delivered , I'll start in on it this weekend. I see a lot of folks rebuilding in the car, is it easier to do it that way than just pulling the trans and doing it on a bench?

Thinking of my aching back here, working under stuff tends to be harder than sitting in a nice comfy chair with plenty of light overhead.

I have both an engine hoist and a tranny jack it seems like a few extra steps to pull the trans all the way out either up with the boom and engine goes with it then I separate the trans and do it that way or engine first then trans ?

Post by **SuperHerman** » 07 Jun 2020, 00:01

It is always easier to build the transmission by dropping the packs down into the transmission.

It is not difficult to reinstall the packs with the transmission in the car. Watch the Impala video if you have not - it is just like how the video shows. You have mentioned you have rebuilt transmissions before so it will be even easier for you.

Note - rebuilding the packs is done on the bench for either scenario. The removal and installation of the packs is like Lego work.

I would not remove the engine. I would only remove the transmission. You are working on an old car and creating a potential mess that is not necessary.

Personally I would try rebuilding it in the car. If it does not work out how you like, put the valve cover back on and then pull the engine. Much of the work is duplicated so it is not like you are in for a huge up tick in time.

bronco · Post by **bronco** » 07 Jun 2020, 14:58

So I will go ahead and do the in car rebuild I watched the impala video seems pretty straightforward.

I dropped the pan yesterday and let as much oil out that way as I could (overnight) to avoid any future tranny fluid tidal waves.

I jacked up the front and for the time being put jackstands under the area where the rear subframe bolts are.

I took the calipers and rotors off , the tie rod ends off the knuckles(they need to be replaced both were bad)

The sway bar end links are junk the nuts are all rounded from someone with an air tool and a 12 point socket so I torched the links I'll need to get new ones

Un-did the big strut bolts rotated the knuckles out of the way and yanked the axle shafts out.

Then I stopped for the day and cleaned up a lot of mess.

So in looking at links and youtube videos it seems like everything jumps to the actual trans rebuild and kind of glosses over the subframe drop part of the process.

Im assuming the rack will stay with the frame but it needs to come off the steering shaft , and may bolt to the transaxle or engine somewhere? Shifter cable and wiring harnesses need to come off or are they ok?

We want to support the engine and trans from above at about the height it normally sits and lower mainly the drivers side of the subframe ?

Do all engine and trans mounts to the frame have to be unbolted? do the tranny cooler lines have to come off the radiator?

My jack stands obviously can't stay where they are or I won't be able to undo the subframe.

Is there a thread focusing on removing the subframe ( bushing replacement or something of that nature)