'77 Vario - Drive not engaging

B14, B172, B19/200, D16 engine, ignition, cooling, fuel & exhaust system, gearbox, variomatic, final drive... | Tuning: engine swaps, welded diff, clutch upgrades...
NO parts requests here, please use our V3M BUY & SELL corner
Post Reply
User avatar
S10NPH
Posts: 461
Joined: 23 Sep 2008 09:52 pm
Location: Cambridge

'77 Vario - Drive not engaging

Post by S10NPH » 05 Oct 2014 10:32 am

Hi

My '77 has just developed a problem whereby drive refuses to engage. When I move the shifter to Drive, the car is still in neutral. The shifter doesn't quite click into place like it ought to. I've only managed to get it to engage drive twice in the last 20 minutes of trying - I think engaging reverse and actually moving the car a few times backwards allowed me to select Drive, but then next time it just won't do it.

Before I go taking my centre console apart - does anyone have any ideas? The '77 shifter feels very different from the later type fitted to my '85, much less notchy.

Thanks

Sion
1977 Volvo 343 DL 1.4 Vario TUJ 247R
1980 Volvo 345 DL 1.4 PGH 590V
1981 Volvo 345 DL 1.4 ECR 312W
1985 Volvo 340 DL 1.4 Vario B168 DTU
1982 Volvo 245 GLT 2.3 Auto VKN 137X
1997 Saab 900 Convertible P290 DDF and 2018 VW Tiguan S10 NPH

User avatar
volvodspec
Posts: 1921
Joined: 06 Dec 2008 09:35 pm
Location: Netherlands.
Contact:

Re: '77 Vario - Drive not engaging

Post by volvodspec » 05 Oct 2014 12:01 pm

try going from P to D and see if it engages then, if so the bush on the selector rod is gone like this one on my 343

Image

you have to take the selector rod out from under the car to inspect the bush as it is located at the primary transmission, new ones are available through BBB

User avatar
S10NPH
Posts: 461
Joined: 23 Sep 2008 09:52 pm
Location: Cambridge

Re: '77 Vario - Drive not engaging

Post by S10NPH » 05 Oct 2014 02:27 pm

Hmm, you are right - when I go straight from P to D then it seems to engage with no trouble.
1977 Volvo 343 DL 1.4 Vario TUJ 247R
1980 Volvo 345 DL 1.4 PGH 590V
1981 Volvo 345 DL 1.4 ECR 312W
1985 Volvo 340 DL 1.4 Vario B168 DTU
1982 Volvo 245 GLT 2.3 Auto VKN 137X
1997 Saab 900 Convertible P290 DDF and 2018 VW Tiguan S10 NPH

User avatar
S10NPH
Posts: 461
Joined: 23 Sep 2008 09:52 pm
Location: Cambridge

Re: '77 Vario - Drive not engaging

Post by S10NPH » 26 Oct 2014 04:34 pm

Right, so thanks to volvodspec's diagnosis I decided to tackle this job this weekend. I contacted RJ at BBB who confirmed that Volvo do in fact still stock the bushes - he was right!
Image

The first step was to get the car onto a pair of ramps I recently purchased from a car boot sale for £10 - bargain. Having never done it before, I was a bit apprehensive, but a bit of internet research suggested that the best thing to do was to have some way of preventing them from sliding back as the car drives onto them, so I rested the backs against some border slabs in my driveway. Reversing onto them was a bit hairy, but ultimately fine.
Image

On getting underneath, the inner and outer vario plastic covers had to come off - that was the easy bit. I started with the rear of the selector rod at the primary pulleys, and got the clip off the pin and the pin out no problem. At that point it became clear that volvodspec's diagnosos was indeed completely correct, as this was the only section of bush remaining:
Image

Trying to get the new bush on was impossible with the rod still on the car, so I moved to the front section to detach it from the selector. Upon looking there, it was clear that there was in fact no rubber bush surviving there at all! The clip and pin had rusted somewhat, and access was extremely difficult and painful due to the propshaft. I should really have taken it off, but I was being brave enough as I was, and didn't fancy trying that. Anyway, eventually it yielded.

The next job was to get the new bushes on to the bottom of the selector, and the rear of the rod. Much easier said than done when the hole is smaller than the very solid rubber bush. Hours of swearing and screwdrivers and pliers resulted in this...
Image
...which was far too distorted to fit between the clamps in the primary unit. Applying some ingenuity, I cut about a 2mm slice from each bush, which gave enough leverage to get them on. Here is the one on the bottom of the selector:
Image

Getting the rod back onto the car was also another painful and impossible job with very limited access. Once in place, the pins wouldn't quite go through the new stiff bushes, and I didn't have enough clearance to hammer them home such that the clip could grip the groove. Losing patience, I decided to 'improve' upon Volvo Netherlands' design and use a bolt and nut instead, which was far far easier. Okay, it is not supposed to be, but I can't see that it will make much difference the amount I drive the car, and anyway, it's better than no bushes at all.

Finally, after putting everything all together again, I am delighted to report that the gears shift much more solidly, and no problems engaging. Problem fixed :D

...although obviously new problems have emerged - there's some rust on the passenger sill at the front jacking point, and the belts need replacing. The secondary pulleys are also a bit rusty - how big a problem is it?
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
1977 Volvo 343 DL 1.4 Vario TUJ 247R
1980 Volvo 345 DL 1.4 PGH 590V
1981 Volvo 345 DL 1.4 ECR 312W
1985 Volvo 340 DL 1.4 Vario B168 DTU
1982 Volvo 245 GLT 2.3 Auto VKN 137X
1997 Saab 900 Convertible P290 DDF and 2018 VW Tiguan S10 NPH

Post Reply