Hello all! I am new to the community but was reading a few of the posts and they all seem very helpful.
We bought our son a 1992 Volvo 960. The transmission appears to shift fine, but when you are coming to a stop it shutters really bad and acts like it wants to die. We did the "test" to see if it was the PNP switch and it appears that it is working correctly. I don't think its the transmission. Does anyone have any ideas? Anything will help. The mechanics around here don't work on foreign cars and are writing it off as a lost cause. I don't believe that for a second. My father had a volvo wagon many years back and it was the best vehicle he ever owned.

You don't say how many miles you have, but I'm willing to bet your trans fluid is not so bright red any more.

My thought is the overdrive/lockup in not working smoothly in the transmission because of old fluid. Do an trans flush and replace with fresh fluid. After a few months, flush again and replace with full synthetic. These flushes will use about 11-13 quarts.

My unit would do this now and then, always upon checking the fluid it was brown not bright red. A fluild flush and drive a few miles every thing work out.

If you have fresh fluid in the trans, try placing the gear selector in 3rd gear that prevents overdrive and see if the symptoms vanish.

DanR '94 964 335,000 miles (101,000 on the new engine)

Thank you so much. I will definitely try all those things. It has 150,000 miles on it. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my post.

I would recommend just getting a single flush, as they are kind of expensive. Most places don't carry synthetic fluid, but some will let you buy it yourself and then just charge you a little bit to do the flush.

I went to Meineke recently to have a flush done. They charged me $45 for the flush, and I brought my own Mobil 1 Synthetic Transmission Fluid that I bought at Walmart. 15 qts at around $6 a quart.

Wherever you go make sure that they don't do a pressure flush. Make sure to ask them if they're using the transmission's own pump in order to flush the fluids through. The outside pumps use high pressure and can damage older transmissions. If you have a Meineke in your area I would recommend them, I know it works.

Good luck.

How's your engine running at idle? Normal?

If you want the transmission flushed,it's an easy DIY job. I've access to the dutch Volvo 700/900 club,so if you can't work it out here,maybe I can help.

regards.

A true transmission flush is not a DIY job. A fluid drain and replace is not the same thing as a flush. In a flush they use your transmission fluid pump to remove all of the fluid and then put in a blend of chemicals to clean out the rest and clean all the filters and such. Then they pump out the chemicals and refill it completely with new fluid.

A fluid drain isn't going to get most of the fluid. There will still be about 6 qts of fluid left, mostly in the torque converter. And you'll probably leave your filters dirtier than before you started from agitating all the gunk and then not cleaning it.

to kchinger, technically you are right and wrong at the same time. to get all the tranny fluid out, DIY, they have a hose that is mounted off the tranny cooler, engine on, and the fluid pours out, 11 qts, + or -. now a complete flush is like you posted, but on a tranny with over 100K it is supposed to be bad for it. like i said, supposed to be, because of dislodging any crap and gunk that might be stuck in there. the same with those hydralic flush that force out the fluid, or the vacuum ones. they are supposed to be bad because of the pressure to the seals. not sure, all i know is when i do mine, i got the kit from ipd and connect the length of tubing, run it, it comes out, and pour the new in. done. 11 qts.