Hello! I have a 2001 v70 t5 with an automatic transmission (geartronic, Aisin 5-speed?).
According to the repair history the transmission fluid was changed a couple of times, the last time being around 160 000km ago (10 years), the car has 330 000km now.
The transmission shifts ok and the fluid is red and on level, no slippage. When I put it in drive with the brake pedal depressed it wobbles/shakes once, that's really the only negative.
Would a drain & fill cause any harm? Or is it ok to change the fluid? Doing preventive maintenance/stage-0 for the car.
Thanks.

 

no harm to doing a drain fill, short of using the wrong type of fluid. If you do a white paper towel test and the fluid is still reddish-brown its in good shape. There's different opinions on how often to change fluids - some say 100K miles, others 50K while others never change it. Just make sure to check the owners manual for fluid type (ie JWS3309 etc) and then follow the procedure for setting the fluid level (you need to check cold then warm using a driving cycle to get the fluid to temp).

 

Ok thanks.
Is Mobil 1 JWS 3309 ATF good for the job? How many liters should I expect to drain out of the transmission?

 

Thats the stuff, thats the only type of fluid for these transmissions. You can expect to get out about 2.5L per drain and fill. Its a process to do a complete refill of fluid. What I ended up doing was getting a fluid pump from the parts store for like $10, got a case of mobil 3309 from amazon for about $65-70 (Best price around) for 12L. and ended up using the pump to suck the fluid up out of the dipstick.You still get the 2.5L out this way. After you suck out the 2.5L, put the same amount back in and drive it around the block to mix it in. Rinse and repeat, I would do about 3-4 drain and fills at a time before the car got too hot since the dipstick is near some radiator hoses. Does it with the fluid pump also saves from having to lift the car to get under and drain it. Make sure you can measure how much you take out and put in the same amount afterwards. If you have vida, you can use the info on there to fill to the correct line on the dipstick depending on temp of the tranny

 

most seem to suggest buying a 12L case which should cover 3-4 drain fills.

 

Is 1 drain & fill useless or harmful? Would I have to do the 3-4 drains?

 

Not harmful at all, my fluid was terrible that's why I went with the 12L(twice). Its all a cost perspective as the Liter bottles can be expensive because only mobil and volvo make it I am pretty sure. There may be one other brand.

 

the reason for the repeat drain fills is that a simple drain only gets about 40% of the fluid - the rest stays in the transmission. When you see a shop offering a "flush" they should be using a different procedure which typically involves opening the lines to the transmission cooler and uses the transmission to pump out the old fluid into a bucket and sucks in the fluid or you pump out a couple quarts, add a couple fresh back in, then repeat until the "out" turns red like the new fluid. By doing repeats on the drain fill, you can approach this quality.

Assuming each drain gets 40% of the 7.5L/8qt capacity (ie you get 3L drained into your bucket), with the first drain fill you'd now be at 40% new / 60% old fluid. Second drain fill you're around 65/35 new/old, third time your approaching 78-80% new, fourth you'd be in the 85-88% new range. The thing to do with your first drain fill is to run the drained fluid through filter paper to check for debris. If you find junk in there like bits of clutch discs or worse bits of metal, the damage is already done and new fluid won't really help fix that.

 

Don't be paralyzed over transmission fluid acquisition. Toyota T-IV (Type-IV) works as does Valvoline brand MAxLife Dex/Merc LV.
Note that the LV has to be on the label of the big red jug. It is a full synthetic. I've used gallons of the stuff in the family's AW55-50 series transmissions.
It is not old fashioned Dex/Merc. DO NOT use anything labeled just "Dex/Merc".
Repeat: The Dex/Merc LV is OK to use. LV stands for Low Viscosity.
The old fashioned stuff, always the cheapest jug in any parts store, will hurt your unit.

I unscrew the drain plug and have always gotten 3.5 to 3.75 quarts to drain on level ground or on even ramps.
Also, I raise the driver's side wheel a bit higher than level and get closer to 4 qts. to drain.
All the thin tube suck-out methods I've seen have been unacceptably slow.

How filthy your old fluid is will clearly suggest how many drain & fills to do. Drive the car ~250 miles between D&Fs.
24mm wrench. 18mm aluminum gasket/washer. Common funnel with 8" of tubing to reach the dipstick tube to fill. DO NOT unscrew any large boltheads atop the transmission to fill.

 

I know it has been some time since this thread was active, but just wanted to chime in since I did the dump and fill on my '03 T5 because the fluid was obviously old and brown. The shifts were immediately more positive / firm. As far as fluid I used Hot Shot's Secret (I know it sounds corny, but their majority market revolves around semi-trucks and diesel powered vehicles so) Blue Diamond +4/D3/M5 fluid which covers JWS 3309. I use this fluid because it is a true Category IV PAO synthetic, which you will not find in any local parts houses like O'Reilly or even Napa. Even companies like Amsoil, Redline, Mobil and Royal Purple will always dance around what category their fluid is, adhering simply to "full symthetic", which is ambiguous. Historically, Full Synthetic meant you were Category III, but the requirement has been changed and now many manufacturers run around claiming Full Synthetic, but it could be a Category II with cat III additives. Even Amsoil, who does have a page mentioning Categories of synthetic oil, never actually states what category their oil / fluid is--I've read each datasheet and scoured their site. All those manufacturers make good products, but they are akin to the Monster Cable of the oil world. And the local parts houses mark up the cost so much that you pay nearly the same amount for
This is why I stick with HSS and Torco as all their info is layed out on the table--Cat IV and Cat V. i did buy some Redline GL-4 off the shelf for the wife's Getrag manual in her Mitsubishi, but I was in a hurry. 😂