Ex850R
Don't drain and fill.
Do get to the hoses that come from the gearbox to the cooler in the radiator, take off the return line, put into a measuring receptacle, start vehicle and run till it pumps out a litre or so, add that amount of new fluid, repeat till clean fluid comes out.
The fluid used by tech guys is Penrite, Valvoline, Castrol or genuine volvo, if you buy it from USA it's probably motul or Liqui Moly it's all synthetic.
FCP is part #KIT-AW55TF80SC at 76 usd for 4lt but may require up to 12 possibly to clean it out. It's worth getting from FCP as you can get the oil replaced FREE, dunno about sending used oil back though, better talk to them about it..
My man used Valvoline on my 150k v60t6, it made it heaps better and he declared it a good gearbox, he services many cars that use this type of box. Berry's in Mitcham use it too iirc. We had the s80d5 box done by them, no issues
kwahodi
Thanks @Ex850R - can you remember which Valvoline fluid he used and is it JWS3309 rated?
ToomanyVolvos
Mobil ATF3309 = Volvo genuine and also the same "Toyota" spec that suits the Aisin Warner tranny's, I believe. These transmissions were in many cars and are not Volvo or Toyota.....but they do need JWS3309
Other fluids claim the same spec, perhaps rightly so.... But best I could research a few years ago the Volvo fluid "is" Mobil ATF 3309.
timbo
Sorry but don't waste your money or time the gearbox will be toast if its dropping out of gear on deceleration whilst turning
kwahodi
I don't think its toast
@timbo. Its very intermittent. As I said, only happens about once or twice a week and the car is used daily for various tasks...shopping, school dropoffs, weekend trip to Melbourne - all these times, the gearbox has been quite smooth. I'm leaning more towards changing the fluid at this stage then reviewing :)
ToomanyVolvos
Do a few drain and fills with JWS3309 and it'll be valuable knowledge to others if your able to get a few more decades out of the tranny that is "supposed" to have lifetime / warranty period fluid.
timbo
Sent enough of these boxes to be rebuilt/cars to scrap to know flushing and software are not gonna fix your issues. If it's intermittent enough then sell it while it still drives would be my advice. Don't mean to sound overly negative just realistic. Ive tried everything thing you're about to do with numerous customer cars but it only delays the inevitable at best, or makes it worse
ToomanyVolvos
@timbo you seem to suggest these transmissions have a serious and fundamental durability issue...... The T6 GM tranny's are known to be a serious issue, but are these Aisin Warner tranny's in the same basket?
Ex850R
ToomanyVolvos;c-142341 wrote@timbo you seem to suggest these transmissions have a serious and fundamental durability issue...... The T6 GM tranny's are known to be a serious issue, but are these Aisin Warner tranny's in the same basket?
At least the GM gearboxes can be rebuilt with a kit from USA to be bulletproof.
In reality you should have gone for a T6 with the GM box, rebuilt it and converted to single turbo, it is what I really want to do with an xc90 at some point.
If moving it on isn't good atm then maybe live with it? Leave it alone? Or if you must, just use any synthetic atf to change, my guy was doing lots of cars with the same transmission, internally at least, uses valvoline suited to the box, Wether rated jws or not.
timbo
ToomanyVolvos;142341 wrote@timbo you seem to suggest these transmissions have a serious and fundamental durability issue...... The T6 GM tranny's are known to be a serious issue, but are these Aisin Warner tranny's in the same basket?
Did you miss the numerous gearbox failures of the early 2000's models? Our local dealer was sending one a week up to the transmission rebuilder. Most were lasting 60-80,000kms.
Whilst the later model (post05) aw55 will last longer than the earlier models they are fundamentally the same box and if they're never serviced they will fail around these KMS especially in the AWD models.
It sounds like, in this case, the internal filter in the valve body is starting to block up
ToomanyVolvos
I was aware of the early boxes from 2000/01 failing regularly but thought they were failing up around 150+ and no maintenance?
We did have an 01 S60 2.5T (which I understand is essentially the same box) which did 140K until an accident and the box was perfect.
I have read of very high mileage 2.5T cars from later years with owners vouching for the the cars trouble free drivetrain. Always thought with drain and fills on a regular basis (for me that means at least every 30-40K) I'd expect the 3-400K that the AW70/71 and AW50-42 transmissions easily achieved.
Anyone out there been able to achieve high Mileage on the 2.5T tranny with maintenance?
Also, if the internal filter on the valve body was clogging up then surely several drain and fills over a few thousand KLMS would possibly resolve the issue given all the cleaning agents in the new fluid breaking up the crap?
bigal
@kwahodi I think the 2.5T is a good bus. They are a bit of an enthusiast car (a bit of diy to keep the cost down). I wouldn't have the 6 due to fuel economy alone.. the 2.5T is only just acceptable - my personal view.
Plenty of high km 2.5T's about with original trans as examples of what they are capable of. Trans not perfect but a hell of a lot better than the pre 03 xc70's which had the neutral stop-start feature which was a big contributer to their early death.
I suggest just keeping it simple, a gentle introduction of new atf like I did, cross fingers it helps and budget in a refurbished trans one day. Keep us posted on your diy adventures ?
kwahodi
Will perform a a drain and fill as soon as I get the fluid and closely monitor. Im really not in a position to offload the car ATM. I'm pretty sure that a drain and fill has not been done on it and at 175k, I would say that its performing quite well and has had a good run. Will keep you posted on my adventures. Appreciating all the input. As for the Bevel gear noise, you can view the video here -
Any thoughts appreciated. Cheers!
kwahodi
Just a quick one on engine oil level. Is the ideal level between the XX reading? i.e. is below the XX's low level and above them too much?
bigal
I usually aim at the high end of the xx area.
bigal
But not over
bigal
If you've just poured it in then tick er over for a min, park it on level ground, turn off and let everything settle for 5 min and check. My procedure anyway.
Air cooled 911's have a fun procedure - Check when at normal engine temp (which is warm!), flat ground, then check the reading whilst running, reading must be half way.
kwahodi
Cheers! Doing my first service on the weekend and I suspect she may be consuming a little bit more than expected. Bought her just after a service and 12K later has a warm engine reading of just above the lower XX's.
ToomanyVolvos
12K without a service I'd expect the oil level to be down a little. These white blocks (to my knowledge and experience do use a little oil, especially if turbo) unlike the redblocks of yesteryear which seemed to not use a drop between a service.
Wouldn't worry about it in the least. Do an oil change and if your not needing to top up between oil changes of about 5K everything is good.
I personally don't worry about the dipstick so much.... Drain the oil and add the correct capacity as per the handbook. Have a quick look at the dipstick just for reassurance bit it'll be where it's supposed to be.
kwahodi
@ToomanyVolvos - sounds good! Cheers!
