reccomend me a tranny "fix-in-a-can"

[henrys_dad]

Wife has an '02 Volvo V70 (XC). Tranny is sluggish to engage when going from P to 1 or P to R.

She also says the car hesitates when accelerating from a full stop, but it feels fine at highway speeds.

No noticeable shudder, just sluggish.

Hoping to see if I can dump in a can of something to correct it before I explore more costly fixes.

I've heard good things about Seafoam Trans Tune, but thought I'd ask to see if there were any other recommendations.

Many thanks.

 

[eljefino]

When's the last time it saw a fluid change?

 

[DBMaster]

Trans X has a following.

 

[henrys_dad]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
When's the last time it saw a fluid change?


I had it changed when she bought it two years ago.

I should add that she doesn't put a lot of miles on it. We live in a city and she walks to work.

 

[147_Grain]

Consider several transmission drain and fills and/or filter and add LubeGard Red ATF additive, which is topnotch and likely the best additive out there.

 

[AandPDan]

How's the fluid level?

 

[3800Series]

I would change the fluid again. Unless you flushed it odds are you didn't get but around 50%. From past experience Volvo transmissions are solid. Had a 850 with 289k miles when I junked it. For years it had a jerk but never got worse at all. However YMMV

As 147_Grain said lubegard red is a good products. However unless the fluid is tired odds are the difference will not be light and day. Still tho for the cost its worth the time and effort if you do it yourself.

 

[Trav]

Are they selling rebuilt transmissions in cans these days? LOL
Seriously these Aisin Warner have a lot of reported issues.

 

[147_Grain]

A 14 year old vehicle with only one partial drain and fill is likely in need of a complete transfusion of clean ATF or a new tranny in a can.

 

[Ramblejam]

Originally Posted By: 3800Series
From past experience Volvo transmissions are solid.


Then you're not familiar with the AW55-50 in the V70 XC.

 

[artificialist]

Lucus ATF additive is great for this. I helped my grandmother get 10,000 more miles from her 2003 T&C van,

 

[tezzzas]

I used Lucas transmission stop slip, on my Honda with 200,000 miles. I am guessing the tRNAs fluid has never been changed. Helped with hard shifts, slipping, and jerking. I would recommend it to you.

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted By: artificialist
Lucus ATF additive is great for this. I helped my grandmother get 10,000 more miles from her 2003 T&C van,


I had good luck with Lucas on a 1990 Sable tranny while I saved up to buy a new car. Don't how it would work on a Volvo.

 

[joegreen]

I recommend seafoam trans tune but to me that is a last ditch attempt. Just do a couple drain and refills along with a new filter.

 

[Lyman]

Originally Posted By: 147_Grain
Consider several transmission drain and fills and/or filter and add LubeGard Red ATF additive, which is topnotch and likely the best additive out there.

THIS! And yes the LubeGard is one of the best if not the best.

 

[morepwr]

I had an old GM turbo 350 that was pretty lazy going from R to D and I used the Lucas stuff and I can say that it did the trick. It also had a slow leak that quit too so as much grief as the majority of Lucas stuff gets, the trans stuff seems to work.

 

[sicko]

When you put fresh fluid in two years ago, did you do a full flush or just a drain and fill?

If it was a full flush, I'd suggest verifying the transmission fluid level (if you haven't already).

If it was just a drain and fill, I would do another drain and fill and see if that has any improvement on it. If does make an improvement, I'd do a few more drain and fills a few months apart to get more fresh fluid in there.

Best case scenario, it fixes the issue.

Worse case scenario (outside of it breaking anything), is it does nothing but you've eliminated that as a potential problem before adding something other than ATF fluid to the transmission.

 

[toneydoc]

My Jeep is getting a little sluggish after a couple of days of sitting when it goes from P to D. Then it is ok. I figure the fluid and pressures are just building up in the right spots. Then it runs and moves out fine. I do not worry about it. Just takes a couple of seconds. Sure beats letting someone open it up and really mess it up. When she dies, a rebuilt tranny will be placed in her. Till then, it is what it is. No fix in a can.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Are they selling rebuilt transmissions in cans these days? LOL
Seriously these Aisin Warner have a lot of reported issues.

So true !
I had my 2006 V70 transmission rebuilt last year, the problem was the solenoids went bad after 150k miles. Parts and fluid was about $300 but labor was more than $600, the total cost was almost $1k.

 

[Oro_O]

I have used SeaFoam in a transmission and in a PS system before and it performed as advertised - smoothed things up quickly. I then changed fluid afterwards and things were excellent.

We have that same Aisin transmission in my mom's car (Equinox). It takes constant fluid changes to keep it running well. On the upside, DIY flushes are easy because it will have a cooler in the radiator and you can break the line and use the transmission to pump out all the fluid in a short period of time (refilling as you go - google this, there are lots of DIYs out there). Your fill port is different as well as other things, but this is the general idea, demonstrated on another Aisin:

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/104-5t...flush-pics.html

I would add some SeaFoam (Transtune is the same, just different labeling), drive it a few days, then do the flush. I would fill with a good quality synthetic with the same spec as the T-IV - Mag1 full synthetic ATF is one choice (I have used it with good success) and readily available from Amazon, I think Castrol synthetic and MaxLife are a little thinner but will work and are recommended as T-IV substitutes.

Do your PS system while you are at it, too.