ATF Change

[Finbo]

Following on from the various posts about changing the ATF at regular intervals (48k), I spoke to a Volvo main dealer yesterday.

They said it's not recommended by Volvo (I know this has been said many times before), but their dealership did recommend changing at around 100k for preventative measures or earlier if the car's regularly towing, or is a taxi, etc.

My ATF is brown in colour rather than red, but doesn't smell burnt and I was told this is normal and to bring the car in for it to be double checked if I was concerned.

The cost for a full flush was around £325 and I was told the Volvo ATF is now around £23 per litre!!

Plus, I was told that the Volvo ATF is fully synthetic. I thought it was mineral based??

The Service Manager also spoke to the Master Techician and he reiterated the above. But also said that if I was concerned about the ATF they could do a drain and top-up (approx 3 litres of new fluid) instead of a full flush for around £135 if that would give me peace of mind.

Also for info, the dealership said they've only had to replace 2 gearboxes in the past year or so and are not aware of any major concerns with the Aisin Warner box.

So, from what I've been told it seems I could wait awhile before changing the ATF as my D5 has only covered 50k.

I don't know if the above info helps or confuses the matter even more!

Cheers,

Finbo

[jtaw45]

I'm currently mulling over the same dillema finbo. I do a lot of towing and am currently on 83k miles,I've only had the car for the last 10k. Now i'm gonna get the timing belt done in the next month or so and am gonna ask my local independant about a transmission flush. I have done it on my 99 S80 auto and the difference was instantly recognisable. If the procedure is the same for the XC90 then i may do it myself, much depends on what the independant says really as to who changes it but it will definately be getting done.

From recomendation on here and other sites i intend to use amsoil ATF which IS fully synthetic and exceeds JWS3009 which is the volvo spec. The price is cheaper than the volvo stuff as well. I am a massive beleiver in preventative maintenance and need this car to last a long time.

[Finbo]

I think if I did a lot of towing then I would definately change it regularly at around the 48k intervals.

From my post above, I was told by Volvo that their ATF is also synthetic. But I thought from previous posts on here that it was semi-synthetic.

Hopefully, someone can give a definative answer to this one.

Finbo

[oilburner]

Use JWS3309 spec for these boxes (not the GM ones though), nothing else. Don't be so daft to risk Amsoil, just buy the 3309 stuff from Vauxhall/Saab or Toyota (Type IV there).

Find the cheapest out of that bunch and stick to it, the savings of a few quid with Amsoil (if you did save) really isn't worth the risk on these sensitive boxes.

IMHO.

[jtaw45]

I'd buy amsoil cos it exceeds the jws3309 spec,i'm not doing it to save a few quid.

[oilburner]

You don't need to exceed 3309 spec, it works perfectly well.

Beside which, it is extremely doubtful whether Amsoil contains the correct friction modifiers for these boxes, whether it exceeds the lubrication requirements or not.

Why take the risk?

Still it's your money...

[jtaw45]

Yes perhaps your right. I've just found out i can actually get comma JWS3309 for £5.14 a litre, last time i checked it was £10.70 and that was only a month ago.

[oilburner]

That sounds like a bargain to me. Mine won't need doing for a while yet, but I'll be keeping that Comma stuff in mind, thanks!

[jtaw45]

Did you flush your yourself Pete, If so which method did you use and how much oil did it take, the quantity's not a big concern because i can send back what i don't use. Is it the same procedure as a 1998 S80, i'm sure i read somewhere the flow was reversed in 2001???. On the S80 the old oil came out the top return pipe from the the cooler going back to the transmission and the new stuff went in down the dipstick tube (any tips on making that bit easier would be gratefully received as well). It was an easy but time consuming job, mainly getting the new stuff back in.
thanks
James

[oilburner]

Hi James,

Yes, I flushed it myself. Some of the S80s (6 pots) use a GM 4 speed unit, so it may be different there.

On the AW 5 speeder there may have been a direction change, but it isn't clear from what I've read. On mine, I took the flow out from the top pipe, on the transmission cooler side, same as you describe.

I followed the usual Gibbon's method as detailed here:

http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=89649

Except I used a piece of 3/4" tubing so it was slightly bigger than the line out. This squeezed on nice and tight over the outlet and seemed safer than trying to wedge in a smaller tube and trying to get that to seal.

I bought 12L of 3309 spec and used about 10.5L in the end, as each time I went round it seemed to spurt out around 2L (measured in an old jug), so I knew I wouldn't have enough to do the cycle one more time. I think when I dropped the pan the first time I got around 3.5L, slightly more than the 3.1L Gibbons describes.

I refilled mine from the dipstick using a long funnel bought from Halfords many years ago, I think they still sell them. I believe some newer cars no longer have a dipstick on the gearbox though.