S40: gearbox oil change

[Clan]

Hello Rob ,
whats a FL/FE ?
Syntrax is an Extreme Pressure Hypoid gear oil , Transaxles which have a Hypoid final drive ( in line engines which drive the wheels at the engine end ) and the oil is also used for the Gears have a special bronze syncro ring to work with this very slippery oil , the oil has additives which attack standard syncro rings . A "normal" transverse engine front wheel drive Transaxle gearbox with the usual helical final drive uses a different less extreme oil and has appropriate "standard" syncro rings ..
The best oil to use in these Renault derived gearboxes is volvos own fully synthetic , it too can work wonders with a baulky gearchange if the oil has been contaminated ..

This isnt new information it has always been advised never to use a hypoid oil in a non hypoid transaxle .. of any make

[desolation]

Well that's exactly why I did not buy Syntrax

Anyone I talked to did recommend me the TAF-X though, it may be expensive but it should be a very very good oil. I don't know what the volvo's fully synthetic specs are, but I expect it to just be a rebadged Shell/BP/Castrol/etc ...

[RCSH]

Volvo FL/FE trucks. Your right about the oil though, I've done a change on mine using syntranx and the gear change doesn't feel as good now. Going to change back to volvo's own again. just strange that the truck boxes like it.

[desolation]

Anyone know what diameter of copper washer I need for the drain plug ?

[desolation]

didn't even need a crush washer, just had to wrap some teflon tape around the plug.

manual did say 3.4 litres for the box, but I only managed to got in 2.8 or something before it started overflowing. and I did clean it out with a oil system cleaner, so it was completely empty

[oko1200]

Recently I purchased volvoS40 diesel 2010
the Car has 258K that the vehicle is a taxi.
Vehicle has difficulty Car leaps forward and stammered and shaky early drive mostly steep ON D DROVE AND ALSO ON 1 GEAR MANUAL
after 2-5 sec it goes normal and can hear trasmission changing smooth.
problem replacing only the opening of the primary driveven when temp. is normal
I was looking where to add transmission fluid and found I realized that there was no oil gauge shows the oil level and condition and whether I change oil Are there chances of drenching less slip? If possible at ll to do it myself? What oil to buy what model?
any tips any trick to avoid gear replacment

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by desolation

Since my M5D box on my 1.9TD is due for an oil change, i have a few questions

Does anyone have experience with running a cleaning product in it before the change? Since the previous owner already should have changed the oil 20-30k ago it shows it's time, and I thought I'd put in a flushing product so the box is really clean before I put in new oil

Does anyone have experience with oil additives? It's an old box, and I want it to last as long as possible. I saw cheap additives from Wynn's that cost about 15EUR, but I also saw expensive ceramic ones that cost like 40-45EUR. Is this worth the cash?


And as last question : what oil should I best put in?

Gearbox oil is not like engine oil as it will not form sludge or varnish, so there is no need to try cleaning traces of old oil out (In a real bad case, like serious water ingress, I would do a double oil change with a few hundered miles between changes to clean any emulsified crud). There is no approved cleaner and I would be seriously concerned that using one meant for an engine or auto box might damage the oil seals.

The two box oils I have used and think are real good is the Volvo GL4 75W80 box oil and the Liqui Moly GL4+ 75W90 box oil. The Volvo oil will give a slightly better shift quality in the cold (If you use a viscosity curve calculator like Widemans with the actual viscosity figures for each oil and it will show the difference). Never use a GL5 oil in a box that is listed for
GL4, as it is not reverse compatible.

I use the LM oil because of heavy horse box towing in the summer and also use a half dose of Moly box additive:
http://www.liqui-moly.de/liquimoly/m...Protect_EN.pdf

(Lubriguard or BG might have a similar product, but if you do feel obliged to use an oil additive, it is best to use one made by a real engine or gearbox oil company).

Never put oil additives designed for an engine in a gearbox, it could cause the synchros to fail or long term corrosion.

Castrol Syntrax has a bad reputation for causing corrosion when used in old boxes that have some parts made of "Yellow metals".

For some strange reason the oil finders are not correct about the box oil capacity, as it only seems to be about 2 liters.

[Richardkimber]

Can anybody direct me to a procedure for changing the oil please.

Specifically I am looking for filling, ie is it just up to the fill hole or, up to the fill hole then remove X ml ?

Just done the bevel and differential box oil changes on my XC70 and both require to fill up to the fill hole, but then remove different amounts.

[pierremcalpine]

Originally Posted by desolation

Anyone know what diameter of copper washer I need for the drain plug ?

It's the same size as the engine oil plug washer.

[v40alex]

Guide for the M56 gearbox is here http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=210809

Fill it till it comes out the hole, no need to remove any oil. It's supposed to take 2.1 litres but I only got just under 2 back into mine.