Gearbox oil question

[AndyV7o]

Originally Posted by griston64

Volvo oil I collected from main dealer today was £14.40 per litre so slightly cheaper

Thats not bad eh!

[loki_the_glt]

I'm now going to bite the bullet on the Valdez: new clutch and propshaft centre bearing to be ordered, probably from fleabay; book the car into the garage and have them swap out the clutch and replace the gearbox oil.

Apart from the two plates and the release bearing, do I need any other parts for the clutch itself?

Should I have the crankshaft oil seal replaced at the same time, even though it's not leaking?

As always, sensible answers appreciated.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by loki_the_glt

I'm now going to bite the bullet on the Valdez: new clutch and propshaft centre bearing to be ordered, probably from fleabay; book the car into the garage and have them swap out the clutch and replace the gearbox oil.

Apart from the two plates and the release bearing, do I need any other parts for the clutch itself?

Should I have the crankshaft oil seal replaced at the same time, even though it's not leaking?

As always, sensible answers appreciated.

With the centre bearing, get the complete assembly as not only is it usually cheaper than buying the component parts but everything is pressed together in the factory and it reduces labour costs when fitting too. They're usually the same as Transit and/or Sherpa and some Frontera models so are relatively cheap and plentiful on fleabay. Check your prop diameter though to make sure you get the right one, i think most are 45mm from memory.

It would be a good idea to have the crank rear seal renewed at the same time, however make sure the garage knows the flywheel is fitted in a timed position and will need new patch bolts to secure it to the crank shaft.

The clutch kit should come as a 3-piece kit, pressure and friction plates and the release/thrust bearing. If the present clutch has been slipping for a while you may find it would be beneficial to have the flywheel skimmed while it's off to do the crank seal. Yes, it's an extra cost but no sense prematurely wearing a new clutch on a worn flywheel.

Gearbox oil - Luke is more familiar with the correct aftermarket oil than i am, i believe it's a Redline 75W90 oil but could be wrong. The allegedly correct Volvo oil has been found to have been changed for a lubricant more suited to chain drive applications and isn't up to the job of lubing the gearbox. Hopefully he'll be along soon and confirm which Redline oil it is.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Mattty

The last oil I got for my M90 from Volvo was part number 31280771 as well, that was in September 2018. Best bet is to call the Volvo dealer and just ask about this specific part number.

1 litre 31280771
4 llitre 31280772

This oil is fully synthetic transmission oil for manual gearboxes
with excellent shifting and synchronising properties at all
temperatures, especially at low temperatures. Being a low
friction oil, the temperature in the transmission is reduced.
Viscosity is low, which means reduced fuel consumption which
in turn means less environmental impact.
The oil is recommended for all model years of type M65
(5-speed with 6-cyl. engine), M66, MTX75 and MMT6 and of
the type M56, M58 and M59 from and including model year
1996.
Technical data
Quality: API GL-4
Ford specification
WSS-M2C200-D2
Viscosity: SAE 75W
Color: Brown
Density: 852 kg/m³
Base: Synthetic base oil
Lowest flow point -54°C
Viscosity at +40°C: 32 mm² /s
Viscosity at +100°C: 6.4 mm² /s

[Clan]

Originally Posted by loki_the_glt

I'm now going to bite the bullet on the Valdez: new clutch and propshaft centre bearing to be ordered, probably from fleabay; book the car into the garage and have them swap out the clutch and replace the gearbox oil.

Apart from the two plates and the release bearing, do I need any other parts for the clutch itself?

Should I have the crankshaft oil seal replaced at the same time, even though it's not leaking?

As always, sensible answers appreciated.

No , I would always leave it as it is bone dry , a new seal is not likely to be the same quality nowadays and just the fact of changing it gives it a chance of leaking just after you get it back on the road .

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Clan

No , I would always leave it as it is bone dry , a new seal is not likely to be the same quality nowadays and just the fact of changing it gives it a chance of leaking just after you get it back on the road .

If you're charging for the work, that is very good advice - customer goes away with an old seal and a brand new clutch, 6 months later that geriatric seal gives way spewing engine oil over the nice new clutch and - oh dear, the car has to revisit your garage again to have a new crank rear seal and another new clutch due to oil contamination and (rubs hands with glee) it's all chargeable to the victim - errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......................... customer!

Changing it while the flywheel is off (or very nearly off, could be depending on condition) is very little extra work and the garage has to guarantee their work and materials.

That means if the oil seal is done while the rest of the clutch is being done and the new one springs a leak within the warranty period, the garage has to renew it again - free to the customer as it is under guarantee.

Best advice to the customer IMHO is have it done at the same time as everything else, especially if you're not the one doing the job!

Also worth considering is that the rear crank seal may already be weeping and has already contributed to the demise of the original clutch.

[360beast]

Originally Posted by Clan

1 litre 31280771
4 llitre 31280772

This oil is fully synthetic transmission oil for manual gearboxes
with excellent shifting and synchronising properties at all
temperatures, especially at low temperatures. Being a low
friction oil, the temperature in the transmission is reduced.
Viscosity is low, which means reduced fuel consumption which
in turn means less environmental impact.
The oil is recommended for all model years of type M65
(5-speed with 6-cyl. engine), M66, MTX75 and MMT6 and of
the type M56, M58 and M59 from and including model year
1996.
Technical data
Quality: API GL-4
Ford specification
WSS-M2C200-D2
Viscosity: SAE 75W
Color: Brown
Density: 852 kg/m³
Base: Synthetic base oil
Lowest flow point -54°C
Viscosity at +40°C: 32 mm² /s
Viscosity at +100°C: 6.4 mm² /s

The new oil Volvo supply for the M90 is absolute Sh1te and like water, it is horrendous stuff for the gearbox. Mine sounded like it had a bag of nails in the gearbox on overrun in 2nd with a dogdish flywheel, it also had a serious whine in 1st and the changes were so stiff I could barely get 1st! Now I've drained it and put in redline MTL 75W80 synthetic and it has transformed the gearbox. Andy on here also changed his 200k mile gearbox oil for the new volvo stuff but his car is totally original and the changes went very stiff and he also got a pronounced whine in 1st. The new stuff is labeled as suitable for the T6 XC90 chain drive so absolutely not the right stuff for an M90 gearbox.

Alf do yourself a favour and supply the redline oil to the garage, you will need 2 litres and it takes around 1.65 litres. So they should give you some back too.

I got mine from Opie oils as did Andy.

[360beast]

Yes you should get the rear crank seal and the housing gasket changed while they are in there, just tell them to make sure they put the flywheel back in the right position or the car won't start.

I would only ever use genuine volvo gaskets and seals for this job.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

If you're charging for the work, that is very good advice - customer goes away with an old seal and a brand new clutch, 6 months later that geriatric seal gives way spewing engine oil over the nice new clutch and - oh dear, the car has to revisit your garage again to have a new crank rear seal and another new clutch due to oil contamination and (rubs hands with glee) it's all chargeable to the victim - errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......................... customer!

Changing it while the flywheel is off (or very nearly off, could be depending on condition) is very little extra work and the garage has to guarantee their work and materials.

That means if the oil seal is done while the rest of the clutch is being done and the new one springs a leak within the warranty period, the garage has to renew it again - free to the customer as it is under guarantee.

Best advice to the customer IMHO is have it done at the same time as everything else, especially if you're not the one doing the job!

Also worth considering is that the rear crank seal may already be weeping and has already contributed to the demise of the original clutch.

Yes without a doubt on any other car , and on a volvo if there is any sign of damp , but with 46 years experience on volvos if its dry ( and they usually are ) it will remain dry far into the future and a new one has been known to leak on two occasions that I know of just after a new seal has been fitted during a clutch replacement . .. that's the benefit of experience . The new seals they are using now are very different they are very thin and seem to be hard plastic rather than rubber and part of the front cover..

[loki_the_glt]

As I've only driven one M90-box car I don't know whether it's a good, poor or indifferent changing box, only that I'd rather have an M47 hung off the back of the engine. And, yes, I do know that the M90 is the "better" box.

How does one drain and refill the box - are there separate drain and filler plugs/sockets and where do they hide?

The patch bolts appear to be part 9454743; how many of them do I need and are they available over-the-counter or special order from Gothenburg?

I might just get the seal and have the garage fit it IF the existing one looks to be dying.