HI...i'm the owner of a 1993 Volvo 850GLT with about 127,000 miles. I purchased it w/ 52,000 miles, and at 91,000 miles, i had to replace the automatic transmission (no reverse gear). Now, at 127,000 miles, i've noticed that the tranny fluid has changed from red to dark red/brownish color, and smells burnt. I have the haynes maunal which says that i should change it once it is in that condition, but then I am reminded of my previous experience with changing tranny fluid. Wiht my last tranny, i was told that i should not have changed the fluid like i did, because the new fluid literally eats thru some parts of the tranny. Needless to say, i dont want to go thru that again. Should i leave the fluid as is, or should i change it? I've called the volvo dealership who installed the new tranny, they say to leave it. as it normally turns brown, and even called me "slightly neurotic" for worrying. I've called several other volvo dealerships in my area, and they have told me different. They told me that once the fluid turns brown. change it, though they do not recommend changing it on older cars. However, my tranny is only 40,000 miles old, so changing it should not be a prob, as per the service tech. He also said to check w/ the dealship to see what type of fluid used, as that might help me in deciding whether or not i should change fluid. Please let me know what i should do. Thank you for putting up with this LOOONG posting!</P>


P.s. Anyone know where i can find aftermarket rims for my volvo? The 1993 850 Rims are a unique 4 lug, and it has been VERY difficult to find any. Thanx. CJean.</P>

 

try tirerack.com for the wheels

Yes change your transmission fluid! I sell amsoil ATF to 850 guys and no one, including myself, has had problems since switching. The only thing different is now it works WONDERFULLY <img border="0" src=smileys/smiley4.gif border="0">

 

Just to make sure... Does this also hold true for the 1995 glt?

 

... as far as the oil type?

 

Amsoil ATF is synthetic. Would any synthetic ATF be as good?

 

Synthetic would be better than the original.

 

I know that the book says to change the trans fluid on an automatic 850 GLT says to drain the pan, put plug back in, take off the cooler hose, and run engine until air is mixed with the trans fluid, and then fill, and do until trans fluid is clear. I was wondering, if I want to change to synthetic, what do I have to do, or what's different than the procedure stated above. I guess what I'm afraid of is that there will be some leftover trans fluid, and it will screw things up, and I don't want to change it twice since that could be expensive. Anyway, e.g. do I have to drain the torque converter, etc, and if so, how? Thanks in advance everybody.

 

You can do the running thing to completely flush the fluid.It wont hurt anything to do it with synthetic trans fluid.Either way you wouldn't be able to get all the old fluid out.That way will also flush the converter.

 

How many quarts of tranny fluid do I need to buy for a fluid change in a 1997 850 (non-turbo)?

Also, can you tell me what kind of coolant I need to buy. I am going to flush and change the coolant as well.

thanks

 

If you just drain and refill it holds about 3 liters.
Some will only buy Volvo.Some will use pretty much anything.Volvo is better but not a must in my opinion.

 

thanks Tech. how about if I drain the fluid at the tranny cooler, any idea of how many liters I'll get out? I'm also assuming that it's okay to run the engine until I have the tranny fluid pumped out. If not, then I guess I would just change it at the pan, but I wanted to get as much out as I can. any recommendations? (the car has +/- 110K miles; not sure since the odometer quit at 67K). I don't think the tranny fluid has ever been changed. Thanks again!

I'll probably go get some of that Dex-cool antifreeze, on that other note...

 

I wouldn't run it till it is empty.If you want to do it that way disconnect one of the cooler line the return from the trans and dump in 2 quarts and then when you see bubbles shut the car off.Then add 2 more quarts and do the same.That way you will need about 15 quarts.

 

isnt there a tranny filter that should be replaced when your draining the tranny oil... and of course hence tranny pan gasket as well...????? im just curious for my 1996 non turbo 850

 

Not on your model and year.
They are setup similiar to a manual trans.

 

Tech, yesterday I stopped at a transmission shop and they told me I should NOT flush the tranny fluid out because there is so much gunk in there that it will clog the internals and cause the tranny to stop working. Is there any truth to this on a 150k+ car?

 

I changed the fluid on our 850 at 170K and again at 180K. No problems so far. I think the fluid when I changed it at 170K had been in there for at least 100K from the previous owner.

 

I wish I could get alot more responses like this. I've been doing more research and would like to figure out what to do within the next two weeks...I got the cash for the tuneup, AC work (if necessary), odometer gears, lights, and the flush.

 

Don't flush it their way with the machine that pressurizes the fluid. That is what knocks most of the stuff loose in there.

If you do it like the way it has been posted many time by disconnecting the cooler hose it just flows out and you dump new in.

 

OK, i'll do that. I did a search for "tranny" and only got one page of results. Guess I should have searched for "transmission" instead...I'll find the thread you are talking about and get it knocked out as well. Thanks!!!

 

All ido with mine is drain and refill until the fluid looks the same coming out as going in. I have the car up on jack stands, drain as much fluid as I can, refill it wil as much as I took out, then start the car and take it throuhg all the gears for a couple minutes in each gear. Make sure the emergency brake is on. I usually just do this about three times if it hasn't been done for a while. After doing that I just drain and refill every 20K and that seems to be working just fine.