S80 T6 - transmission service urgent - restoration

captain_anchovy;c-141024 wroteAre you an endangered species ?

Does red hair classify me as endangered? I think yes.

Had a bit of spare time to take some more bits off, came apart pretty easy.

Sorry for the delay... if anyone is even watching this space

Much has happened, I've had so many projects on the go lately this has kind of taken a back seat as to when I can get time to work on it.

Front brake lines needed replacing as they were cracked and fading away so decided to give the calipers a clean up and lick of paint.

Engine out without an issue apart from some fiddly connectors for all the o2 sensors, front fuel line that runs under the drivers mount, turbo exhaust dumps were a bit fiddly too.

Engine so dirty due to caked on oil.

Engine bay cleaning went well.

Sorry for the long delay, there wasn't too much interest in this so I didn't update along the way. As the project was completed a while ago the car has been driving great.

Here are some pics from the project.


What you get for 700 odd dollars




Old and dirty


On the operating table

The following as where the issue was, input/third clutch frictions were blown out. The material was not worn down, it was blown off of the plates. I have a theory why this has happened as I've seen something similar before but I don't think the volvo purists would like to hear it :)



The old frictions were so blown out they weren't even flat discs anymore, they were concave from the maximum line pressure trying to get them to bite.


Old/new


New ones in



2nd clutch frictions, weren't too bad, a couple of burn spots.

4th / OD frictions were fine, but I replaced them anyway. As well as a heat treated 4th hub and a new pressure control solenoid (slightly updated design)

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.

Some polishing of the pipes







Getting it all back in

I ended up with left overs from 3 x 4l bottles of Penrite FS Full Synth. At $45/pop also not the cheapest thing out there but it far exceeds the factory required specs on these model cars as well as matching that of newer Dex 6 applications. It will outlast and outperform any mineral fluid, even the ones recommended and sworn by.

It also hasn't taken me long to move on to other things..