Help!! Volvo 1989 340 GL automatic gear box.

I inherited my fathers 1989 340 gl auto with 31k on the clock. The auto gears seem to be stuck in 2nd. Does anyone know of a Volvo specialist who can either fix or replace the gear box.I live near Cranbrook in Kent. I know this may cost more than the cars worth but I would like to try and get the car into good shape. Many thanks.

are you sure the low gear hold switch hasn't been pressed in, and that the kickdown switch (beneth the accellerator pedal) works alright?

The low gear hold switch is ok. As to the kickdown switch - when I look beneth the the accellerator pedal there is a small metal part but it has a rectangular hole in the center. I don't know if this is where a switch should be and if it has fallen through. Also when the car is at rest on a small incline it starts to slip backwards. My experience of other automatics is that they find the biting point and stay still. This was one of the facts which made me think that the auto gear box was broken.

Anyway - really appreciate your suggestions

pete

Hi Pete

The first thing to remember is that the cvt box is not as other automatics.

It does not have fixed gears as such, rather the ratios vary constantly to suit road conditions. You will not feel it change up. Put your foot down and the revs go up fairly high and stay there until the car catches up. If you ease off when you reach the desired speed the revs should go down and the speed remain constant.

As long as the revs drop when you ease off, your gearbox is probably OK: If not the vacumm tubes have maybe come adrift. Let the forum know and someone will point you in the right direction to sort this

It feels a bit like a manual with a slipping clutch for want of a better description. It takes a while to get used to.

A simple check that the kickdown switch works is to put low hold on (light should come on) and floor the accelerator. The light should go out. This is all stationary, engine off, ignition on.

The car does not "creep" as do regular automatics as it has an actual clutch that disengages at low engine speeds (about 1100rpm IIRC). If it does, your idle speed is set way high! You`ll need to use the handbrake on inclines as with a manual and get used to feeding in the power gently until the clutch bites. Don`t floor it until the clutch is in and you`ll find it very smooth once you aquire the knack. DO NOT hold it "on the clutch" as you`ll wear it out in no time.

Try it out with this info in mind and let the forum know if you think it`s not going as it should...

Will Plummer

Many thanks Will - very very constructive. When I've been driving the car and the revs sound very high I have been easing off the accelerator and it responds exactley as you describe. The revs drop and the car maintains its speed. I have never pushed it faster when that happens as I didn't want anything to go bang. So I havn't been driving it since because my local garage said that they felt I needed to replace the gearbox.

I now think it could be a simple case of me being an idiot and not really knowing how to drive it. I will give it a good test over the weekend and let the forum know.

thanks once again

pete

well at least you know not to go back to that garage :)

pop along to www.volvo300mania.com/forum2 if you fancy a chat about yer car sometime :)

Too true 5lab, they passed me onto a another garage who specialise in automatic gearboxes and they were going to to charge me £1100 to replace it. Glad I had you guys around.

regards and thanks once again
pete.

Glad to be of help Pete, if it`s any consolation, I drove around for weeks on tenterhooks waiting for something to go bang on my first CVT.

There are a couple of other checks you can make to put your mind at rest re your gearbox.

On the drivers side of the engine compartment there is a control valve with 4 electrical conections and a load of pipes coming off it. This takes info from sensors on the engine and operates to force changes in ratio, using engine vacumm.

Check connections are firm & in good condition.

Check all pipes are connected and in good condition

Run the engine in neutral (NOT park)and raise the revs by pulling on the throttle cable - you should hear a distinct click as this valve operates at a certain point. (about 1800rpm IIRC)

The two pipes that go towards the bulkhead and down go to the gearbox - pull them off one at a time and blow hard down them. There should be some resistance - a bit like blowing up a balloon, but air should go in and blow back again when you stop. Some resistance and a poor blowback possibly shows a leaky diaphragm (dodgy!) No resistance at all means that it is likely that a pipe has fallen off. If you can`t get any air in, the diaphragm is stuck - (again a bit dodgy).

Under the car, undo the shields and take a look at the condition of the drive belts - check for cracking and signs of wear - often a first sign that the belts are on the way out will be little triangular bits of rubber about 1.5" long in the shields.

Check for oil leaks and check that the vacumm pipes are connected to the front unit if your earlier blowing test indicated a problem - it`s a bit difficult to see but if you feel around on the sides of the unit you`ll feel were they should go. 2 on each side - different diameters so impossible to put on wrong.

It`s worth changing the oil in the gearbox if you are not sure when it was last done. Should be done every 2 years and is fairly cheap only holding a few pints.

If you can, try and get hold of a Haynes manual for the car - it gives a good description of how the system works and is of obvious use if it doesn`t

Enjoy!

Will Plummer

You can also check the 4-way valve is passing air as the rubber bits iside have been known to perish.

Disconnect the vacuum pipe at the the left rear side of the valve. Run the engine in neutral and rev it over 1800 rpm using the throttle cable. The valve should click (as Will described) and a middling amount of air sucks in through the port you have just pulled the hose off. If you can't decide whether it is working, then it's not (mine did this).

Put that hose back on and pull off the vacuum pipe at the right rear side of the valve. Run the engine in neutral. No need to rev it this time just operate the low gear hold switch. Masses of air shoots into the valve at the exposed port. You may notice the engine either runs faster or misfires when you do this - no worries cos you don't drive it with the hose off! Put the hose back on.

I noticed when I bought mine the low gear hold switch didn't do a lot. Well it should so suspect the vacuum system if it doesn't.

Have you got a rev counter on yours?

Many thanks John.

Tell you what though - I can find the door, the seat and the place you put the ignition key and even how to start it. Now I know the theory of how to drive it correctly and also how to figure out if the kickdown is working. For that I am eternally grateful.

Rear right side of valves - vacuum pipes, air sucking, gushes of whatever, pumps, ports clicking and clonking etc. I feel as if I have just landed on the equivalant of the Volvo Starship Enterprise. You have to accept that in this world there are boffins like you lot and beings like me who roam the planet in total mechanical ignorance.

Having said that - I have taken your advice on board and will do my upmost to carry the instructions out. I have this horrible feeling that by next year I will know how to dismantle this car and rebuild it using a toothpick.

Take care
pete