2001 Volvo S80 2.9 Transmission Fluid Choices

[charmer37]

Hello guy's,

I have a 1st generation 2001 Volvo S-80 2.9 and i wanted to know what type of transmission fluid do i need to buy to perform a transmission fluid change? I'm not sure but i think that year and model have a Gm transmission and a replaceable filter? I'll be doing a drain and fill, Thank You.

 

[Kira]

It's a 4 speed or a 5 speed? Important that you answer. Kira

 

[sleddriver]

What does the owners manual recommend?

 

[slacktide_bitog]

It's either Dexron-III or T-IV

Maxlife ATF will work great in your transmission regardless of which of the two specs your Volvo calls for

 

[montero1]

Dexron VI.

 

[3800Series]

I would also go with Maxlife. I believe this car falls in the time zone after Ford bought out Volvo for a short period of time so safe bet you'd be anything that meets Ford's specifications.

 

[charmer37]

its a 4 speed transmission.

 

[charmer37]

I was thinking about using Maxlife Dex/Merc Atf or maybe castrol Dex/Merc?

 

[Kira]

The "flat sided" V and S series have the 4 speed auto. Any Dex/Merc will work just fine. I always used the house brand Dex/Merc from AutoZone or wherever. It's the cheapest option for the 4 speed.

If it's the "muscular shouldered", curvy sided Volvos with the 5 speed the Toyota T-IV or Valvoline MaxLife LV (red jug) or "original" Mobil 3309 (the specced fluid) is what you need.

Yes, the MaxLife LV (red jug) will work in either so just use that if it's available. People on the Volvo boards get all bent out of shape over this and it's not necessary.

There is no serviceable filter in these units.

In the case of the 4 speed the upper cooling line is the one coming OUT FROM the transmission. You can depress the green catch on the line and pull it out of the radiator.
Have a 3 foot length of 5/8" tubing ready, set one end in boiling water to soften it and stretch it over the end of the cooling line.
Now you can do a pump out 2 quarts at a time. It's easy to do.
If you're enterprising you can do a drain and fill first and start the process with clean fluid.
It's really cool to see the black, wretched fluid turn red in the tubing.
Have ready the 2 "O" rings which are at the end of the cooling line.
Remove the old, hard ones with a plastic or wooden pick.
Kira

 

[THX1138]

In our '03 V70 we use Toyota T-IV or its equivalent Mobil 1 3309. Both are available from Amazon at good prices. Check the various Volvo online boards for the best ATF for your car. You can do drain and fills or a simple flush using the ATF cooler line to the radiator. There are Youtube videos for both methods. We flushed the incredibly nasty old fluid from our V70 last December and added a dose of Lubegard ATF Protectant.

 

[Kira]

Oh heavens yes, the LubeGard (red bottle) is good stuff and has a A+ record in my 5 speed transmissions.

Get the fluid in your 4 speed clean before you add anything to it. How many miles on your Volvo?

If there are, say, 130K there's a high likelihood your fluid has never been refreshed. Volvo maintained that their fluid was "lifelong". This was an evil and destructive thing to say.
There is no such thing as lifelong fluid of any type.

FYI: You can take your VIN number to a Volvo dealer and ask them if there are any software updates available for your car.
They may assert that they need the car to plug it into their reader to determine if any updates have been done.
There is one update which adjusts for wear on the vulnerable part (mylar film) of the ETM.

It is worth doing. I paid $60 for mine years ago and the improvement was immediately noticeable.
The fluid refreshment also helped.
The addition of LubeGard to my 2002's transmission was also noticeable.

How's your timing belt? Kira

 

[charmer37]

Thanks kira, You definitely know your way around Volvos, I really appreciate the valuable information.

 

[charmer37]

Timing belt was done at 105,000 miles as well as belts and hoses, The transmission fluid was changed at 100,000 miles. The car shifts great and i currently have 171,000 miles, I might try maxlife atf. How many quarts of fluid do i need? I didn't know lubegard was safe for volvo's transmissions?

 

[Kira]

OK, 71,000 miles since your last service. Likely there's a bit of dirt in it by now.

You could start by doing a simple drain & fill. Make a judgement based on color. Raising the cars left side a bit higher than the right will yield closer to 4 quarts of fluid than raising it equally on both sides. Use jack-stands.

If it's still pretty red do successive d&f's at 2 week intervals until you're happy. If it's filthy go ahead with a pump-out.
I like preceding a pump-out with a d&f because it starts the process with clean fluid.

So, after a d&f, which uses 4 quarts, I'd pump out 4 sessions of 2 quarts each. That'd equal 12 quarts.
If the 4th pump-out still looked black I wouldn't continue doing more. I'd let the new stuff churn about and clean the torque converter for 2 weeks or a month.
This isn't likely to be your scenario because your fluid was serviced.
Some people have pumped 16 quarts through their transmissions only to see it blacken within a month.

All the instructions I've ever seen recommend pumping out 2 quarts at a time to avoid getting bubbles into the system. Just gather together old gallon milk or windshield washer jugs and graduate them.
HINT: Get the same type jug so you can transfer your graduations.
REMEMBER: 3309/MaxLife LV/ Toyota T-IV/ Wolf's Head SUSTF (Super Universal Synthetic Transmission Fluid) don't have the pepperminty small of some older Dex/Mercs so don't confuse the machiney smell with burnt. Burnt smalls burnt.
VALUE TIP: The Amalie store sells the SUSTF and a slew of other stuff with FREE SHIPPING.
One case of fluid meets the minimum for free shipping. It is a great value.
Go to (the)amaliestore.com and see for yourself. I've used all of the above products in the 4 and 5 speed units without problems of any kind.

 

[Astro14]

You've got a 4T65 GM transmission in this, despite Ford ownership at the time.

Any DEX III or compatible fluid will be fine, and the Maxlife is a good choice. Your call on the D&F vs. cooler line flush.

If you go the cooler line flush method, you'll need new clips and o-rings for the cooler line fitting in the radiator. The dealer wants an outrageous price, I would go with this kit: http://www.ipdusa.com/products/4808/107945-automatic-transmission-flush-hose-kit

That page also has downloadable instructions on how to do the cooler line flush. You'll find that Kira has described it accurately.