Correct Gearbox oil (tf-80sc) jws3309 vs 3324

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by jsuln11

Hello, thanks for this elaborate response.

I agree with what you have written.. Regarding the machine change - there are lots of different opinions written on volvo groups and forums. Some say that if the car hadnt had regular oil changes (like mine, which was a full volvo history vehicle - volvo regular maintenance does not do gearbox oil changes) then supposedly by machine changes you risk worse operation due to flushing of all the residue in the internals.. Dont quote me on that, i am not a mechanic or a specialist, but there is a heated debate all around..same is with mechanics. Some.recommend the machine change, some dont. In the end its up to the user to decide i guess.

As for the oil - a full manual flush will leave quite a lot of old oil inside. My plan was doing this in several rounds to really clear up the old.oil (with some.driving in between). I think that using more liters of it will result in better quality oil left inside (compared to if i only use 7 liters of volvo oil)?

I did decide to do that only 20k after the machine change since the oil was already completely black after 5k after the change and i believe oil should be red(ish) in the end.

I might consider a compromise and try to source Aisin atf oil, which is probably what Volvo oil is + the markup because of the brand. I saw some.options at around 15 per liter. But difference between volvo and ravenoil/mannol is 8-10 vs 30 euros per liter which is a lot..

Although im also curious of these alternate brands like Mannol or Ravenol can afford to make bad fluids? I dont think so, i guess maybe just the formula and technical specs are a tad different. I saw some Russian test /comparison here on this forum in one topic and the oils vary only slightly (target temp viscosity vs volvo). But as i said, differences in numbers were quite minor as far as i can remember.


Thanks for all of your input!

Jaka

It's a common view that power-flushing a really dirty box can cause blockages but I don't think in 8 years of using this forum I've ever seen anyone report that happened to them. There are also YouTube videos telling the same story, I am sure it has happened but often when people change the fluid it's because the gearbox has issues anyway, and on an old knackered box draining thick custard out and replacing it with thinner fluid can make it worse... The oil pressure in the gearbox during operation is quite high, it's used to operate the clutches and changes as well as lubricate so i am skeptical whether an external machine would provide substantially more pressure and flow?

The box holds 7 litres and if you remove the drain plug with the front of the car raised you generally get 3.5 litres out.

So the first change will leave you with 3.5/7 = 50% mix of new and old.

The next change will give you 75% new, 25% old.

The 3rd change will give you 87.5% new, 12.5% old - I think this is then the point of dimishing returns, if the fluid is a nice red colour I would stop there. But if you did a 4th drop you would get to circa 94% new fluid.

When you change the engine oil it's probably a 90% change and thats good enough.

With regard to what fluid.... again you get what you paid for. There is another thread on here where Volvo oil has been analysed and found to have very stable viscosity at all temperatures - but then again I've never heard anyone complaining about Mannol. A few years ago me and another member (can't remember the name now) experimented with different makes of JWS3309 (we both had XC90 163 E3's) and found that using either Volvo or Amsoil fluid we got noticeably less "geartronic delay" - or so we thought. (Amsoil don't make a 3324/AW-1 ATF fluid though).

[jsuln11]

Thanks again.

I spotted some cheaper Volvo oil for 14 per liter, which is a price im willing to pay to be on the safe side, but its a bit confusing.

AW1 is not written or stated anywhere on the box / description of this oil.. i found it by the volvo number VOLVO 31256774, which is what skandix gave me according to my VIN. I saw there are also 31256775 and 31256776 numbers but ive no idea what is the difference. This listing i found on ebay has all three of these codes written, which is strange.

https://www.ebay.de/itm/184262343002...mis&media=COPY

All these different oils / different specs etc are stressing me out Can someone confirm these three volvo numbers are indeed AW1 oil?

Cheers!

[jsuln11]

Huh.. did further checking, this listing states compatibility with 31256774, 5 and 6 (in the meanwhile i found out these are the same, just different quantities).

However, the item number listed in the listing is VOLVO 1 161 640, which after googling turns out is for the 1st gen tf-80sc according to skandix, which means the numbers listed in the compatibility are false since it looks like 1161640 and 31256774 are different oils (one for 1st gen, one for 2nd gen gearbox). One is aw1, the other ive no idea.

Can someone elaborate on this? Infos on these volvo oils are pretty scarce, some dont even state aw1 in the name.. Horrible.

[zapcity1]

Hi Jaka,

Lots of people in the UK using Mannol ATF.

I've been using JWS3309 in my C70 & XC70 D5's for many years without issue, so no complaints from me.

MY XC60 uses AW-1 so I use Smith/Allan ATF (£4/litre), but probably not available in Slovenia.

[jsuln11]

Thanks! Looks like the volvo listing is a dead end (incorrect oil type - wrong specifications listed) and the local volvo dealer wanted 34 per liter... so ill have to go with mannol or ravenol then, but i gotta find the proper one as well since its chaotic on this front as well.

Everybody online was using the Ravenoil T-WS lifetime as an aw1 replacement, but now they listed another (new?) oil for 31256774, which is the nowhere to be found RAVENOL Multi ATF LVS Fluid and they removed the aw1 compatibilty from the WS-T oil.

Mannol looks like only has the WS and the type iv fluid it seems so the choice should be easier there.

Yeah no, everything im looking is online - mostly Germany, no choices here in Slovenia or prices too high.

Thanks!

[bananarama]

How about this >>> https://www.westwayoils.co.uk/collec...31657646063756

[Bonefishblues]

Try Toyota dealers too. Many of them have the TF box and the fluid may be less premium priced

[jsuln11]

Originally Posted by bananarama

How about this >>> https://www.westwayoils.co.uk/collec...31657646063756

Thanks! Never heard of it, but its nicely priced. Sadly this is UK based and shipping + customs would be too much hassle. Will check for this on some EU oil sites.

As for toyota oil - checked that too a while ago, but its also heavily priced here. Online its around 20 i think. Not sure if the toyota ws was supposed to be the aw1 equivalent, at least it didnt come up when googling the volvo oem number. As i said, mostly just ravenol, mannol and some other lesser known brands / repacks come up.

[bananarama]

Originally Posted by jsuln11

Thanks! Never heard of it, but its nicely priced. Sadly this is UK based and shipping + customs would be too much hassle. Will check for this on some EU oil sites.

Slovenia! I totally missed that. Good luck, it's unfortunate Volvo ATF is very $$$

[stevebg]

Can anyone advise on which oil my geartronic should take ? 2009 v70 d5, tks