Help!!! 960 1997 stopped moving while driving down the road...

you might want to check the tranny lingkage.....

Hold onto you wallet. It could be a transmission failure. With luck it will be something simple like the linkage, but probably it is something worse.

Sorry! John

Hi John,

It is possible that it is the torque converter, not too expensive, but lotsa labor. It is also possible that it could be a massive seal failure. My 740 shot a seal once and this is exacly the symptomology. This of course is accompanied by massive fluid loss. Pretty cheap fix though. I sure hope that it is something simple.

Good luck,

-E-

So... what do either (or both), of you suggest? What a nightmare this is. I just spent 1300 on a new set of fuel injectors and, three months earlier, $1200 on a new timing belt.

As I mentioned... My car will start and idle fine, just wont move. I try all of the gears; nothing.

Where should I go from here? Do you have "a next step" suggestion? Thanks__ K.

First off, it is obscene and beyond the pale that you paid $2500 for new fuel injectors and a timing belt.

Boy, did you get ripped off!

Do NOT take this car back to the pirates who did the other work for you.

Try to find an independent volvo repair shop, one that specializes in Volvos, and give them a call and tell them what you notice.

Were you capable of doing so, I would suggest that you first jack up the car and look underneath at the movement of the transmission linkage, to verify whether the linkage into the transmission is moving freely, of if there is a break outside the transmission (hope for the latter).

One viable option is to find a mobile mechanic who can come to you: buy a used transmission at a wrecking yard, and have him replace it, add new fluids and test it.

Cost should NOT be more than $300 for the transmission, and at most $450 or so for the labor: IF you don't take it to a shop.

Given your track record of getting hosed by repair shops, they'll just kill you on a transmission repair.

Seriously, why not spend some time and money learning to understand and repair your car?

You'll save a bundle, and have fun in the process.

Holy crap!!!! Are they gold plated with a lifetime warranty?! Wherever you went to have that done, never go there again. Even at a Volvo dealer it should not have cost half that much.

Automatic transmissions don't usually fail suddenly like that. Normally they start slipping and gradually get worse. I would suspect something simple personally. First thing to check is the fluid level, if it started leaking badly it could have drained out the fluid in a hurry. No fluid in the torque converter means no movement.

The only good next step is to have it towed to a mechanic who is familiar with Volvos. Another idea would be to have a good transmission shop that does a lot of work on Toyotas have a look at it. The Aisin Warner transmissions are very similar to Toyota/Lexus units.

John

Sounds like typical Volvo dealer repair prices. Volvo's parts pricing is through the roof these days and many dealers are charging OVER MSRP for Volvo parts. The dealer which were purchased by large chains like Autonation seem to be especially into jacking up parts prices. Then they charge $100-$150 per "book hour", and it rarely takes an experienced mechanic all the time the book allows to do common jobs like a timing belt.

John