egads;c-158984 wroteDefinitely keen to hear what you think is the go as there isn’t enough info on these out there. Stuff ups from the Ford Volvo era or any era really won’t offend us I promise
Well looking at the design and the way the trans mainly sits behind a hot engine I would say its a two way combo between lots of torque and an average fluid being recommended and used. There seems to be an almost religious view on what fluid we are to put in our Volvos for fear of it going boom, all to have it go boom anyway. Everyone is told they either have to use the Volvo fluid or Mobil dex3 fluid which is what Volvo just rebrand. The issue with all mineral fluids is that they degrade easily over time so they lose their lubricating properties and also heat up too easily causing damage to internals. You would be surprised what a good synthetic engine or transmission oil can do for cooling the internals as it doesn't break down nearly as much as mineral fluids and also can stay within a closer heat operating range.
Now I'm all for using what is recommended by your service department on vehicles that are new or inside of a warranty period for legal reasons, it is required so you things can be covered but there are way better products out there that surpass what is recommended by the manufacturer. Also transmissions that are said to be non-serviceable or have a lifetime fluid, or even newer engines that have those extended service intervals is just more marketing bollocks. Once the engine or trans has survived the manufacturers warranty period they don't care if it gives up, they only care about marketing and selling cars under the guise that they hardly need to be serviced.
I have never had a new car and have always used aftermarket full synthetic oils and have never had an issue. We've put probably about 40k on our xc90 bringing it to 230,000kms and the transmission is great. I've also installed a bigger turbo so it hasn't had an easy life since I've had it.
ICEDVOVO;c-159012 wroteJob well done!
How many $ did the transmission rebuild cost in parts and your own time?
$700 AU and probably 2-3 full days of working on and off. Obviously I could do one way faster now I've learnt how it all goes together. And in fact I did need to tear the side cover and valve body back off after I found I had forgotten to put one of the lube guides back in when I had got it all back together.
This is by no means the cheapest option as I got plenty of extras. You could open it up and just do the frictions for a fraction of that but it may only last a few more years if something else wears out like the 4th clutch hub splines which looked like they were wearing out on mine.
