I am fairly new to the Volvo community. I bought a 01 V70 24(base) about 6 months ago needed a daily driver. Has 148k. Did timing belt, water pump, ext. struts, strut mounts, plugs, tranny flush, spark plugs, lowering kit and lots more. BUT, a few weeks ago I was at a red light and went to take off on green, the car hesitated when I took my foot off the brake, almost like it dropped out of drive. Took about a second after my foot was off the brake for it to go (after it jerked back into Drive). I thought it was the upper motor mount which is shot...Yesterday my tranny service required light came on. I took it into the volvo dealership today. They said that my coolant was a little low and that the tranny fluid was a bit dark and grainy. They said that the radiator failed and now there is coolant in the tranny and this is causing it to go into "limp mode" (neutral control).. They said I need a new radiator and tranny. quoted me at $6,200 for it... Is there any way to get around this by getting a new radiator, flushing tranny and coolant along with replacing the tranny filter?? PLEASE HELP!
Thanks in advance!

 

It is worth a try. If the coolant didn't destroy the tranny, you might get by but if the tranny is damaged, you'll need a new or used tranny.

 

The tranny shifts fine. No hard shifting or hard gear drops so far..

 

Ouch. Bad luck there! What I'd do...

1) Replace the radiator (a no-brainer, that one).
2) Drain as much tranny fluid as you can out of the tranny, and replace it with new 3309 fluid (I just got done ordering a case of 12 bottles of Mobil 1 3309 from Amazon for about $62 including shipping thanks to my wife's Amazon Prime account)
3) Drive a while (100-500 miles), repeat #2.
4) Do it again in another 100-500 miles.

Or, there's a kit from ipd that will let you more or less "flush" the tranny by running the fluid out of one of the hoses going to the radiator. I'm not a huge fan of the concept, but in your case it might be a good thing. You'll need those 12 quarts of 3309 fluid either way. Here's a link to the kit: Automatic Transmission Flush Hose Kit

Also, it might be possible to drain and separate out the tranny fluid and antifreeze, outside the car. I guess it'll be easy enough to tell if you drain the first time and see if you get any separation). If you do, you could probably skim off the antifreeze (don't know if it'll float to the top or sink to the bottom though). But if it sinks, you might get a good percentage of it every time you drain a few quarts out. Then do it again, and again (and re-use the tranny fluid, or maybe just keep replacing it).

At any rate, tranny fluid is a whole (!) lot cheaper than a new tranny, so you have little to lose, and might just save a lot of money - especially if it seems to be shifting OK right now. Good luck, and keep us posted!

Forgot to include replacing the tranny filter (you knew that already though). You might consider adding an external one, just to be extra safe (I have one that I'll be installing when I do my first drain / refill).

 

Thank you for your help! It is much needed. Where is the tranny filter located? I don't need to drop the pan to to get to it, do i?
I also have the codes the dealership pulled for me today.. Ecm-530D(Dtc in the Tcm). TCM-012A(neutral Control) They updated the TCM software. The check engine light is off along with the tranny service light.. No more neutral control mode at the moment. Do you know anything about these codes? And what could have caused this to happen?

 

Neutral control and limp home are two different things. Neutral control was a feature that early P2 cars had that puts the trans in neutral at stops. This started to lead to problems with harsh engagement on take off, so the feature was removed in a TCM update. That may be all you need.

 

There's no external filter on the V70 transmission, so not much you can do there. I've got an "add-on" external filter with a magnet (to trap any stray metal particles) that I'll be installing when I do my transmission flush. This thread got me thinking about the advantage of getting the tranny fluid as clean as it can be, and I ordered the ipd flush kit I mentioned above.

You can see why this would be a good time to install that external filter (since I'll be working with the line it goes into anyway) in this video:


It's kind of longer than it has to be, but is a really good resource for how to do a "home flush" of our transmissions. To be honest, I don't understand the concept of draining the fluid and topping it off BEFORE doing the flush (though I'm sure it can't hurt), and personally I wouldn't replace the belly pan until I was done with everything (since dropping a bolt or O-ring, or just spilling some ATF would require removing it again anyway).

My car's previous owner had the AT software updated, so I have no experience with the original "bad" software. I agree with ES6T that it might have fixed the symptom you experienced, though I'd STILL seriously recommend doing a tranny flush (or two) if you did end up with antifreeze in the transmission fluid.

 

They make a test kit to teat for coolant contamination in trans fluid. I would ask if they performed this teat or if they are just guessing.

And I didn't watch that video, but it looks like he is using the wrong fluid.

 

Good catch on the fluid - he didn't use 3309 fluid, but claimed that the fluid he used is compatible. I have no idea - it seems that tranny fluid theology is far too complicated for me to know what to believe, though I DID just order a case of 3309 Mobil 1, so I guess I've staked my future to that particular sect.

And heck yes, if there's a test for antifreeze in the tranny fluid, it's a no-brainer. I'd have to believe that a few flushes could expel any that was there (for a heck of a lot less than a replacement transmission).

 

The fluid isn't complicated. Volvo has a bulletin stating fluid that meets JWS 3309 is the only fluid that has been tested and is approved for use in those transmissions.

 

If the tranny works, I would do the fluid change the way iPd recommends and let the tranny pump out the old and suck in the new.

 

Just picked up my new radiator and tranny oil cooler today. Going to throw it in this weekend and flush the tranny. Hopefully this will fix it! Any idea where I can pick up O-rings that connect to the transmission lines? Maybe Autozone or Napa? Is there anything else I will need or anything else I should replace??

 

My last message isn't showing up for some reason..

 

One of the reasons I ordered the ipd flush kit is that it comes with the O-rings and a new green clip, which would have cost more by themselves from the dealership.

 

I did some research and I have herd multiple times that the Mobil 1 3309 is not compatible. The manufacture meant to put Mobil atf 3309 is compatible. Mobile website - "change to Mobil ATF 3309. The Mobil 1 ATF was not formally approved"

 

Read the bottle. If it says it meets JWS 3309 specification, it works for that trans. If it doesn't, don't use it.

 

Strangely, the Mobil ATF 3309 bottle doesn't mention the JWS 3309 spec anywhere, though I'm sure it's the right stuff (since it does list the Toyota T-IV spec).

 

Hmm, interesting. Not sure why it doesn't put the Volvo spec on there and I'm not sure why they would call it 3309 then.

I use the Volvo stuff, since I work at a dealer, so I've never run into this.

 

I guess the really good news is that it works great in my tranny (after flushing 10 quarts through it, and topping it off). I did get curious enough just now to go to the Mobil 1 website where it says "Mobil™ ATF 3309 is recommended for use in transmissions requiring fluids of JWS 3309 or GM 9986195 quality levels. It is also recommended for service fill applications where Toyota T-IV or T4, T-III or T3 are called for. Please refer to the owners’ manual for proper fluid requirements." So yes, it IS curious that they don't at least mention the JWS 3309 spec somewhere on the bottle specifically.

ATF | Mobil™ ATF 3309

 

Block91, I hope the Auto Gods were good to you,
So did it work out? Did you have coolant in the transmission fluid? And is the car out of limp mode and running okay? I ask because I also just purchased V70 XC 1998 with similar symptoms.
You got such great support I was hoping draw a little from your pool?
QUESTIONS: Is there anyway to know if the software has been updated? I didn't get the neutral code.
Why would the transmissions work so well one minute then not all then fine again? could that be a good sign?
If you're coolant is just low and not getting in transmissions could that be the problem? It only slips when it's warmed up but the arrow light is always flashing
MY CODES; P500 [4/4] Speed Sensor A
P0734 [3/4] Gear 4 incorrect Ratio
P0740 [2/4] Torque converter clutch solenoid circuit
P0103 [1/4] Mass or volume air flow circuit high input.
I really like this car but not worth 6200.00
Any advice or any success stories are much needed.
Thanks in advance. and good look to everyone with there Volvo's