newbee...just bought a volvo 98 s70....was going tobe just a temp. ownership...wife likes ...soooooo maybe will keep it, question is on tranny flush or change.....and should i go to a dealer or fast change lube and oil, or just drain it myself? thanks for your input, hope i maybe of some help to just one soon. jack

 

welcome to the forum brother. first of all l will avoid dealers at all cost if l was you.LOL. it will be a good idea to do it yourself if you have the necessary tools needed. how many miles do you have on your newbie? how does the tranny shift? it is pretty simple to drain and fill from the drain plug and connecting a hose to the line that connects to the radiator to drain the rest of the old fluid out.pretty easy. l will look up online and see if l can find any DIY on that and post it up for you.

 

Hi Jack, welcome to VolvoForums.

We love our S70 even though I have to tinker on it all the time. I would simply drain and fill the thing 3 times. That would net you about a 87% fluid change and NOT shock the thing. Auto tranny's can kick back.

Also, the S70 is a remake of the 850, so do visit the 850 thread and do some reading there. There is a good New 850 Owner's thread there.

 

ya...thanks for the comeback and advice.....the old girl has 145,000 on it ....not sure about the timing belt last change if any.....if i keep it i suppose i will research that one a bit...and dive in to it....thanks again.

 

what do you mean by auto trannys can kick back? its not a good idea to change all fluid at one shot?you will have to drain and fill for three times?will that mess up the tranny if not done like that?

 

I have read about more transmission failures after flushing than any other time. "Everything was fine, no problems at all, then I had the transmission flushed and 100 miles later, all the sudden it doesn't want to shift and I'm being told that I need a new transmission". That doesn't sound familiar to you?

When you pull the drain plug you only get about 1/2 of the fluid out, something just shy of 4 quarts. Do that every, 50 to 100 miles, 3 times and you get most of the fluid.

As for that timing bet change, you really should look into that today. I did read that your wife likes the car correct? If that belt goes, that car that you like will need a new motor. There should be a sticker under the hood somewhere that has, the last change date. The schedule calls for one every 70k so one should be just past due.

 

l have never heard of that on volvos.so you mean that draining it through the line that goes to the radiator is bad?my friend with a 04 maxima told me about this yesterday and that was my first time. he was telling me about the tranny getting used to the new fluid.l changed my fluid with the IPD hose and drained from the drain plug and my transmission shifts very smooth after more than 15k miles of fluid change.no problems.

or are you trying to say that all the fluid has to come out by draining and filling three times to get all the fluid out to prevent transmission failures?

 

I believe the best method of changing the fluid is the method that iPd gives. You get all of the fluid out and all fresh fluid in. However, if your tranny is on it's last leg, doing a full fluid change may shock it, which will be the staw that breaks the camels back. It can / does happen to any tranny, Volvo, Buick, Toyoto's, etc.

A safer way to to drain and fill it. Very few people have ever had problems with this method.

The worse method is to have a quick lube place hook the thing up to one of their machines and power flush it. Their special $250 tranny flush system that they usually do not do (Praise the Lord) even though they charge for it.

 

very unfortunate for me, l went over to firestone to get a tranny flush when l first got my 850 because the fluid looked black. after a few miles after the flush my seal broke and all fluid came out. lucky for me l had a personal mechanic who charged me reasonable price to replace the seals. from that moment l have avoided all these shops.l changed the fluid to synthetic and my tranny have been shifting very good.l sometimes dont even feel it when it shifts into second gear.very smooth

 

I want to change mine to synthetic, what brand did you use? I do feel mine shift under hard acceleration.

It's funny you mention how smooth the car shifts. When I had my 740 GLE my mother was in the car and cound not feel it shift. After a few minutes of driving she looked at me and said that I needed to get my transmission checked out because it was not shifting. I showed her the tack and as it sifted 3 times and she couldn't feel it, she said wow, that's the smoothest shifting car she had ever been in.

 

LOL. l used mobil 1 synthetic. just to let you know, that fluid smells really bad, try not to get it on your cloths.lol. l do feel mine shift to first and second gear under hard acceleration, but with normal driving l only feel first gear. after 6 to 7 months of using that fluid it still looks new as ever.l always try to compare the color with new fluid making sure its not burnt.

 

I use synthetic and can feel every shift. My S80 shifts almost imperceptivlely however. I think it is just the way the transmissions are designed to sift personally.

By the way, Acura MDXs have the crappiest trannys ever built. Old fluid kills them before you ever see 100k. Flushing has been implicated in early death as well! What I was told to do wash simply drain and fill when doing oil changes. Since I stopped changing my own fluids a while back I have been having it done every other time We'll see if I make it to 100,000 or not.

 

l was also given a 2012 ford focus as rental and the way it shifts was sooo annoying.when l came to a stop light, before it moves l could feel a little bit jerk before the car moved.it felt like the transmission shut off.l felt every shift. it shifts hard making me move back and fourth in my seat.it was terrible.l couldnt wait to get my 850 fixed.it felt so different when l got back driving my volvo

 

Can someone please tell me where the trans filter or screen is located \on my 1998 S70?

 

still not serviceable