Transmission fluid change

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

I had an issue with my alarm going off randomly, so I brought it to a local interdependent Volvo specialist who diagnosed the issue to be the driver's side rear passenger door lock. I thought it makes sense to get the gearbox oil changed whilst it was in the garage, so they done that for me too. They done the gearbox oil change, reset the transmission counter, adaptions & reset something to do with the alignment sensor.

Its made a remarkable difference. Very impressed!

Yep - that vast majority of members that get their fluid changed are very pleased with the results and noticeable improvements.

There are a few who aren't - in many (but not all) of those cases the box was damaged to start with.

[Bashy]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

There are a few who aren't - in many (but not all) of those cases the box was damaged to start with.

That makes little to no sense to me...

Many wont think about a fluid change unless there is something wrong.
Also, for someone to see an improvement, there had to be something wrong, no?

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Bashy

That makes little to no sense to me...

Many wont think about a fluid change unless there is something wrong.
Also, for someone to see an improvement, there had to be something wrong, no?

Volvo owners reading thes pages often ask about oil changes to the gearbox as they are not part of the mandatory service schedules unless you specifically ask for it. We do see people having gearbox problems north of 100k, not many but a noticeable number. You'd still change your engine oil, even if the engine was running fine, would you not?

The improvements you would expect to see like the chap above if you change the oil thats say 70k-100k old is quieter, smoother more precise shifts, smoother ride, and in some cases less jolting and less flaring. 95%+ of people doing it say it's worth it - even if they paid a dealer £300 to do it.

[Kev0607]

Its worth noting that the garage said its a drain & fill that they done on my car, not a flush. Supposedly, a flush can cause more harm than good... They're the professionals, so I left it to them.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Bashy

Hi, what alignment sensor please?
Glad you're happy with the results

The garage calibrated the gear position sensor. Its a VIDA print-out that shows this was done, so there must be a setting somewhere.

[Bashy]

Thanks Kev, it turns out that that can cause harsh changes so i would assume that no amount of fluid changing will resolve it if it is that sensor thats causing my issues, ive also just read that the MAF sensor could also be a cause, could be so many things by the looks of it

After a bit of digging, i found reference to the calibration

Calibrate the gear position sensor, see Vehicle Communication.

That was in relation to fitting a new TCM as thats the only way to replace that sensor.

I will have to have a look to see what i can find when i next hook up Dice, thanks again

[green van man]

Lad I know rebuilt an engine for a chap who did not pay him.
Down the pub he aproached one of the local scallys and asked him if he could steal a car, course I can was the reply. OK, can you steal a car and put it back where it came from, yeh I suposed so. Right how much. A price was agreed, the car stolen and the engine biulders drained half the oil out of the sump and replaced it with diesel. Car was returned to origin parking place.
3 months later the engine siezed, it's owner went storming to the biulders asking what he was going to do about it. If you had paid me I would of sorted it out said the biulders, as you didn't F...k off.

I knew the engine biulder and I treat any diesel in the oil seriously. One reason the volvo is not used for stop start local trips and a reason I would never run an engine 18k between oil changes.
On my milage it's oil every 8k as that equates to once a year.
My new works Iveco van has 30,000 mile service intervals, just glad I'm not picking up the bills.

Paul.

[Stu B]

Hi Kev, I completed a third drain/fill on my 2009 V70 auto a week or two ago. I'll add a bit more info to my thread in the showroom bit (link below) in case you fancy having a go DIY style once you've done some mileage on the current ATF?

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=302878

I used a 10L drum of Mannol from eBay for £31 (I've used it on previous Volvos requiring 3309 fluid no problem) and it was enough for 3x drain/fill as you only get ~3L out each time. Started at around 90k miles, just beyond 91k now so spaced the fluid changes over the course of 1000 miles.

On the third go, I reset the fluid counter in the TCM via Vida. I've kept a bit of fluid from each change in a jam jar for comparison when I can be bothered. It started off a brown colour, more red/brown now, I'll probably get some more fluid and just do a drain/fill every engine oil change for good measure in future as a preventative measure.

Cheers
Stu

[Kev0607]

Just had a read of your thread Stu... Great work you've done so far.

I let the local Volvo specialist change my fluid, as I had to bring the car in because the alarm kept going off randomly & that was rather annoying. I thought it made sense to let him replace the transmission fluid at the same time. However, its not exactly the cheapest job in the world!

When I picked the car up, I was told that they put a some kind of flush solution into the transmission & then brought the car for a drive to warm the fluid up fully before draining & re-filling the fluid again (I was told that they don't do a transmission flush via the transmission cooler line, just a drain & fill). Oh, the mechanic also said he added an additive to the transmission fluid too to keep everything running properly. I've got print-outs of the transmission counter reset, as well as the adaptions & the calibration of the gear position sensor. I'm very happy with it, as the gear changes are noticeably smoother & I had no record of this ever being done by the previous owner, so considered it to be good maintenance.

I presume the garage only do a single drain & fill though? On the Invoice, it says 3.5 litres of transmission fluid was used. Is there a necessity to do multiple drain & fills? How often should the ATF be changed? I don't do any towing, just toddling about around town mainly.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Bashy

Thanks Kev, it turns out that that can cause harsh changes so i would assume that no amount of fluid changing will resolve it if it is that sensor thats causing my issues, ive also just read that the MAF sensor could also be a cause, could be so many things by the looks of it

After a bit of digging, i found reference to the calibration

Calibrate the gear position sensor, see Vehicle Communication.

That was in relation to fitting a new TCM as thats the only way to replace that sensor.

I will have to have a look to see what i can find when i next hook up Dice, thanks again

Hi Bashy,

My gear position sensor wasn't replaced, it was just calibrated in VIDA. Maybe you could give that a try too see if it makes a difference? Presumably, you've replaced the transmission fluid.

Its also worth noting that I replaced the lower torque rod prior to the transmission fluid change, which is near the oil sump on my car (I also replaced the upper torque rod in the engine bay too). The old lower torque rod underneath the car had way too much play because the rubber had perished. I found this out by going underneath the car when it was safely supported & got my Dad to engage the gears whilst I was watching underneath. I could see there was far too much movement, which would explain the jolt I was getting when putting the car in gear.

Since replacing these parts & getting the transmission fluid changed, I've noticed a big difference in terms of harsh shifting & clunking into gear.

I used genuine Volvo parts, but these are pictures of the ones I'm talking about. Your car may be different to mine though. If you see similar parts on your car, I imagine they'll do the same thing (Albeit a different design possibly):

Lower torque rod (This is what Volvo call it, but its referred to as being an engine mount on this website):

https://www.ipdusa.com/products/1008...volvo-31277314

Upper torque rod:

https://www.ipdusa.com/products/1007...71138-31670126