Hi all, my first post.
I have just purchased an 06 v50 t5 and I've been looking through the forum and all the information on DIY transmission fluid and the importance of changing the fluid has me a little scared so I have decided I should also change the fluid.
I popped the hood and tried to find the yellow dipstick and the hose with the green connector without any luck. Being a Turbo engine, will I have to remove stuff?
Thanks in advance.
We really love this little wagon, it has all the bells and whistles and besides, it goes like stink.

 

the dipstick is buried down low below the air filter inlet tube - very hard to see - I would remove this for better access. The hose with the green connector would be your transmission cooler lines where they connect to the radiator. Not sure why you would want to disturb these? I would just to a drain and refill. Make sure you use the correct fluid - NOT DEXTRON III

 

Thanks for the reply,
from forum information and youtube videos, the recommended method is to remove the drain plug and empty, then replace the plug and pour the equivalent of new fluid down the dipstick entrance. The pipe with the green connector is then removed and replaced with a tube with a bottle on the end. The engine is started to pump fluid int the bottle which is measured and replaced with fresh fluid of the same amount via the dipstick hole. This is repeated until the fluid runs clean. Does that sound right?
I'm thinking a pump used via the the dipstick tube to remove the old fluid, it might save some work?

 

I would just do a drain & refill - drive it for a while and check the color of the fluid. Bright red - leave it alone, brownish red- do another drain & refill.
In fact - I would do a drain & refill every 15k miles if it was my car. I change the trans fluid every oil change on my 960 - trans feels like its new at 210k miles and counting. (dextron III is cheap)

 

Thanks, the above is on the lines I was thinking.
I will not get underneath and remove the plug or remove the hose, I'll just pump out and pump in via the dipstick tube. i'll get the fluid up to temperature and then pump out a couple of liters and replace with fresh and drive for a week and repeat as necessary. I have 2 x 5 liter jugs, I'm hoping they should be enough.

 

Well, not that easy, I slid up the back plastic box section to reveal the dipstick but my beer drinker's arm will not fit, I guess I need to go the return pipe, when I find it.
Regards

 

OK, I have found the hose, it has GREEN quick release connectors, one from the cooler and the other into the transmission, and is easy to get to.
What if I removed the the lower connector and pumped out the old fluid (suction pump) and replaced it with the exact amount of new fluid? I do not fancy getting under the vehicle and removing the drain plug or trying to pull the dipstick.
Thanks

 

It's just as easy pulling the tranny drain plug as it is the oil drain plug - it's really not that big of a deal. P

 

Is it possible that transmission fluid can be changed too often?
Below is part of a directive from VADIS mentioning that diagnostic trouble codes are presented if problems occur.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d7...nnyfluid22.jpg

 

there's a line of thinking that says if your fluid is already cooked (ie black with a burnt smell), your clutches are already on their way out and you may have bits of debris floating around that fresh fluid can dislodge. First thing to do is a paper towel test - pull the transmission dipstick, wipe on a white paper towel. If the towel shows a reddish tint, your fluid is in good shape and you can flush without worries. If the tint is more brown, then you have some contamination so you may want to do a drain and fill - which gets about 60% of the fluid, drive for a few hundred, then do a additional drain and fills paying attention to the feel as you test drive. If your fluid is black, you probably already have worn clutches and you should consider dropping the pan to inspect and clean out any debris but its likely the damage is already done. If your car has under 100K miles you should be good to go. I did a full flush on my 850T at 100K miles and could feel the shifts tighten up. Car now has 200K+ and the transmission still feels strong.

 

The transmission fluid in your car is synthetic and, according to Volvo, is a lifetime fluid and should never need to be changed. However, I have found that the car starts shifting a little strange, not bad but enough to make you think something is up, after about 60K miles. In my experience with my '02 S40, '04 Sienna and '05 V50 is that a tranny fluid change helps. All 3 of these cars use synthetic tranny fluid (purple-ish and not red like Dextron or Mercron).

You did use the synthetic fluid, right?

 

I spoke with the Volvo dealer I purchased the vehicle from and asked about transmission oil change frequency and they quoted every 100,000 km. My v50 has 166k but the dealer never checked the fluid but would do the job for $250.
I will probably pump some fluid out via the cooler hose to check for colour and smell and change it myself if necessary.

 

You can check it with the yellow dipstick. It is under the airbox and easiest to get to from underneath the car.

 

I had read all the heated arguments on just what transmission fluid to use and decided to take a chance with Valvoline MAXLIFE from Walmart and I purchased 2 five litre jugs.
This morning I was in Canadian Tire and thought I might check out the transmission fluid shelves, I knew they stocked Mobil 3309 but it was quite expensive compared to Maxlife. Lucky I looked, there was a clearance on the 3309, instead of $9.49L it was $6.43L so I purchased 12 bottles.
When I got home I checked the Canadian Tire website and discovered it was only that particular store that had the deal and that I had purchased all the stock.
So, I'm off to Walmart to return the Maxlife, lucky I put the receipt in a safe place!

 

A point of interest, Volvo is not on the recommended list on the Mobil 3309 bottle, or on their website.
Could this cause panic on Volvo forums?

 

The way I see it, certain things aren't worth cheaping out on. The Volvo tranny fluid is expensive at $30 / liter but you may only need to change it once or twice in the cars life and you sleep better knowing that you used the right stuff.

That vs the risk of replacing a transmission because of wrong fluid or a mix of fluids which may not be compatible with each other.

 

JWS3309 is a fluid specification. If the fluid meets that specification, it will be fine.

 

Volvo does not manufacture it's own transmissions, so I feel sure it does not refine it's own lubricants, but, I could be wrong?

 

Tranny is manufactured by Aisin-Warner. You can use Aisin JWS-3309 or equivalent.

 

I managed to purchase 12x1ltr bottles of Mobil 3309, for what was a good price here in Canada.
Volvo is not the only automaker using the Aisin AF33 transmission, so the need to buy expensive Volvo brand fluid is probably not necessary.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisin_AF33_transmission