'93 960 overdrive has started to cycle on/off randomly

Dec 21, 2005 2 Replies

Around 45 to 50 mph, under constant load, the transmission cannot seem to decide which gear to use. The overdrive randomly engages and disengages every couple of seconds. This happens with the transmission in both economy mode and sport mode. The car is a '93 960 with 175k miles. The fluid level is correct. Is anyone familiar with this problem?


As your 960 has covered 175,000 miles has it ever had the ATF changed? In UK my recommendation has been to flush/replace the fully synthetic ATF every

100,000 miles so that the insides can be refreshed and the filter cleaned out. There is no overdrive as such. The AW30-40 gearbox is four-speed with lock-up above 55-58 mph. This could be caused by the W-S-E switching and connections, or the gear position switch under the car on the gearbox linkage. Check all electrical connections to the box and the two switches at same time as carrying out a flush/replace & filter clean. Once that has been done allow a couple hundred miles for all bad symptoms to clear before heaving sigh of relief.

All the best, Peter.

700/900/90 Register Keeper, Volvo Owners Club (UK).

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