I recently had my tranny checked out by the local Cottman tranny shop and received bad news. They informed me that the tranny runs good but by the darkness of the fluid they believe there are problems with it and it will fail in the future. Furthermore they instructed me to not change the fluid due to their belief that this would accelerate the failure.
I'm not sure where to go from here. The thing is I have a warranty through Eagle Warranty Corp. for the next 2 months which covers transmission case failure caused by any internal lubricated part, all int. lubricated parts, torque converter, and flywheel. What I'm thinking is perhaps I should just replace the fluid and see what happens. At least then I could have the transmission replaced under warranty. What do you think? I surely can't afford a transmission rebuild($2000 per Cottman) and I don't want to just stand by and wait for eminent disaster.

[:'(]

 

I say Fooey. [sm=forgetit.gif]

The tranny is working good now? Then new fluid (actually a fluid flush & replace) could only help.

Reports are that flushing it a second time within a few months will make it work even better.

Remember that most tranny shops' bread and butter is doing the repairs...so they have a vested interest in talking you into the rebuild!


I say take the chance, you'll be OK.



BTW your Eagle warranty: I've never heard of a transmission CASE fail...

 

I would say flush the complete system!!

 

I'm not sure I understand the logic behind saying a change in fluid would hurt the transmission. Can anyone elaborate on this for me? I do not understand.

 

It is thinner and loosens up some dirt in the trans and could possibly burn it up.
But I have seen it help tons more than hurt it.

 

There are two different services we are talking about.

The first is a drain and fill. This doesn't get all the fluid out, you have to do this every 25-35,000 for it to do any good. But it DOES do good...the new(er) tranny fluid will not be "burned" (worn out, and believe me you can smell the difference on the dipstick). The fresh fluid keeps the little check valves in the transmission working properly without sticking. And when those check valves work well, the tranny shifts as designed.

The second is a complete flush (sometimes called a power flush). In this service, new fluid is poured in while the old fluid is drained. This will replace ALL the fliud. Some dealers have a pump that will circulate a cleaning fluid through the trans...the idea being to rid the valve body of gums and varnish. The danger is that this process could dislodge some dirt and make one of the valves stick completely open. But a competent shop should be able to do this safely with only a slim chance of a problem.

++++

Since your tranny is working OK I'd say a drain and fill would be good insurance against problems in the future. Do it twice about two months apart. You could do it yourself, it's just like changing engine oil.

TECH could comment about the advisability of removing the bottom of the transmission pan...some designs incorporate a filter there, but I'm not sure about the Volvo AW series?

HTH

 

I think there is a filter under there but not 100% sure.

 

thanks for the help, it's much appreciated.

 

Keep us posted on how you make out.

 

Just one other thing before I get busy with this new project. My owners manual calls for dexron II D atf but most fluids I'm coming across specify their use for dexron II and III. Is it ok to use these in my tranny? I've been looking at mobile 1 atf, perhaps synthetic.
According to my Chilton the tranny does have a filter within the pan. I've already ordered the filter and gasket from volvo parts direct (great prices/fast delivery). I'll let you all know how it goes. Thanks for the advice.

 

You should be fine using the fluid you have been finding.
If you want to know for sure call your local dealer and talk to the parts dept. and ask which fluid is the best.
They will ask which trans you have.But will be able to tell you which ones you can use.

 

Assuming you have an AW-70 or 71 tranny, then they do very well with the Mobil1 trans fluid. But as to dropping the pan, Volvo has a TSB out where they now consider it unneccesary ( on an AW 70 or 71), as it is just a strainer anyway, and some folks have ended up messing up the valve body to which it is attached. Plus if you have a 240 or 740, you will have to deal with the infamous filler tube nut that is always frozen in place, which means removing the whole stinking filler tube bracket ( or cutting it), and that is held by the two 18 or 19mm bolts that also secure the starter. Plus, if you have the 940 ,it also means dropping the rear crossmember and exhaust bracket to get to the last two (hidden)pan bolts. Just not worth it. Just change the fluid by pumping out of the trans cooler lines, top line at the radiator, 2 qts at a time. Or just drain the 2 1/2qts or so from the pan plug ,and then do it again in about 500 miles, then 1000, then 1500. That will get most of it changed out.

 

Just to update everyone of my supposedly failing transmission. Against the Cottman transmission guys advice I flushed my transmission at my local Volvo mechanics shop($130) ouch! It has since shifted better than before and showed no signs of possible failure. My mechanic said not to worry- the aw70 tranny is very solid. He even stated that I probably could have ran it for some time even with the nasty fluid. It turns out the fluid was in fact very dirty(brown). Thank everyone for their advice on this and hopefully my experience will help others. The moral of this story is don't trust transmission shops.