Autobox fluid flush and change.

**willi** · Friday 4th September 2009, 16:10

Put my saffy v70r in for an autobox fluid flush and change yesturday. The transmission company is a very small independent set up with a good reputation.
The car has done 108k miles and the autobox is extremly good,except its a bit slow on change up when cold. Plus the fluid was nearly black. The company obviously stated that autoboxes should be serviced more regularly as preventative maintenance.
I think most of us realise this point but its one thing that seems to get over looked.
The gear changing is a lot better now whilst still cold,so i will have the v70tdi box done as soon as i possibly can as this is just coming up to 190k miles.
The filters cannot be done as the box has to be removed from the engine at a massive cost. This is something i have never done before so i hope this will prove its worth.

**jez.w** · Friday 4th September 2009, 18:07

I changed my 850 ATF last year, i dont think it had ever been done and my car had covered 100k. Flushed it out with cheap stuff and then filled it with the genuine Volvo stuff. It takes about 6 litres if i remember correctly, so you will need two bottles of Volvo ATF which costs £100. You get 2 litres of fluid left over but you can keep that for another time. It does make a difference as mine was a little slow to take up drive from reverse to drive, and was holding on to the gears a little too long when changing up from cold. After the flush its been fine and these slight problems have gone.
I dont see why many people are so against T5 autos, i have had both auto and manual T5 850's and the auto is a nicer drive and i swear from my experience that the auto is no slower from 0-100. There are very few occasions where the manual would benefit me driving on the road.

**willi** · Friday 4th September 2009, 20:16

I totally agree with you. In the past i have had manual T-5s which definitely have not driven as well as autos..In my opinion auto boxes are a must for large fast cars.(i'm completely converted)

**dicky b t5** · Friday 4th September 2009, 20:23

I love my Auto box on me V70R...it makes it such a nice place to be...Effortless and a godsend in heavy traffic.

Dicky.

**cookie** · Friday 4th September 2009, 23:55

Full flush is about 12 litres (inc cooler etc) I did it with about 11 1/2 litres.

With 2 people, a couple of 2 litre Jugs, and a small funnel, it's dead easy to do, and takes less than 20 mins

(drain from bottom of gearbox, refit plug/top up with whats removed, then flush through top cooler hose)

**willi** · Saturday 5th September 2009, 14:56

Would you use volvo atf or a good equivalent??? Because i can only assume that the company i used didnt use volvo atf. Does it really make a difference??

**cookie** · Saturday 5th September 2009, 15:49

Originally Posted by willi

Would you use volvo atf or a good equivalent??? Because i can only assume that the company i used didnt use volvo atf. Does it really make a difference??

I used genuine Volvo, apparently others are Hit and Miss, and apparently IIRC Comma can seriously shorten the life of you gearbox.

**MisterC1501** · Saturday 5th September 2009, 17:55

Originally Posted by willi

Put my saffy v70r in for an autobox fluid flush and change yesturday. The transmission company is a very small independent set up with a good reputation.

This is my next job on my V70R. Had a quote from Stratstones for £700 for this job

How much did you pay for this, and which company did you use.

**cookie** · Saturday 5th September 2009, 18:07

Originally Posted by MisterC1501

This is my next job on my V70R. Had a quote from Stratstones for £700 for this job

How much did you pay for this, and which company did you use.

Do it yourself

Its about 120 quid delivered for 12 litres of fluid and the clip you need to replace on the top cooler hose (could probably be reused, but for risk of it breaking after refitting IMHO aint worth it), 2 2ltr Jugs (75p from wilkinsons, and funnel set (99p from wilkinsons)

there's several write ups on how to do it

**willi** · Saturday 5th September 2009, 19:40

I had a quote from fawcetts volvo, they said a fluid flush and change would be £271 (no filter change because the cost of splitting the box from the engine would be horrific). The company i used was B K Transmissions of Basingstoke. They charged me £80 + vat, infact i used them 10 years ago and it was £75 + vat then.
Unfortunately i'm not that confident enough to do it myself,i do most other things but never had a go with an Autobox.

I know the company are very thorough with the work they do,but i'm still not convinced about a non volvo fluid.
I will see how she runs over the next week....