Originally Posted By: Astro14
The crummy little dipstick on that transmission has caused many people, including me, no end of frustration... There is a clip that retains it, and the fluid check is pretty standard: transmission warm (20+ minutes of driving), engine idling in park, pull, clean and reinsert to check level. There is a hot range, and a cold range on the dipstick, but the hot range is more accurate...
I recommend long sleeves.
You'll likely only get about 2 - 3 QTs out with a mityvac, and the transmission hold 8, so I don't recommend that approach. The drain plug is easy to find, and uses the same size aluminum crush washer as the oil drain plug, so a drain and fill would be a better option....and you'll drain about 3.5 QTs out if you go that route, but again, you've got to check the level when you're done...
For more on your car, I recommend reading through Howard's Volvo site, he's documented a lot of this stuff.
http://www.freewebs.com/howardsvolvos/
I belong to a Volvo XC forum, which is relevant (though focused on the AWD version of the car) to your car.
There is the car forum here:
http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/ - look for the 2001-2007 XC
And a resources section here:
http://www.volvoxc.com/resources/how-to/
which includes several guides on various maintenance procedures on the XC, most of which are applicable to your V70.
The 2006 has a good transmission, the early versions of the AW55-50/51 had issues; a valve body that wore prematurely, and a neutral-shift software program that caused excessive wear, and they tended to fail early. I'm running updated valve bodies and software in both cars, and have had zero issues with the transmissions after the updates.
Thanks Astro for the links to Volvo forums. Seems like you know your Volvo much more than me, I know nothing about it.
How much do you think 12 liters of Volvo OEM ATF part# 1161540 cost, shipping included ? Is $70-75 shipped reasonable ? May be I should call local Volvo dealer(s) to see how much per quart (or liter).
I think flushing with the return line disconnected is not so bad after reading the IDP's instruction several times and looking at the connector at the radiator. Either buy the flush kit from them or go to local hardware store buy 4 feet clear hose and some clamps.
So far, the MPG is about 21-22 MPG for city driving with average MPH of around 22-23 MPH, after 30 miles driving the last few days.
My daughter like the wagon, she can have her bicycle in the cargo area to go places.