I had recently driven my wife's 2001 V70 turbo. When accelerating swiftly the engines revs as if I were driving a stick shift and the the transmission catches and lurches forward burning rubber as if I was "popping the clutch". Sounds to me like a tranny problem. I'm wondering if we need a new trans. We just did a 100k service on the car. Hate to now have to put a tranny in. Comments welcome.

 

why were my comments deleted ? why dont you email me kurtswanson@juno.com

 

Just on takeoff, or in every gear? Sounds like a torque converter.

 

This happens on my 2001 V70 as well. Only on take off. It feels like it is clunking into gear. But when on the freeway or after I am already moving, it feels smooth. Also, when I am in manual mode, I never feel this.

I was thinking torque converter as well. Car has 128K on it.

 

Search the forums for "transmission". I came across the best possibility which was the need to "flush" your transmission. Seems to have worked for most everyone. A much cheaper alternative to replacing the torque converter right away. Total cost if you do it yourself is about $100.00.

 

Mine does it too, slips between 1st and 2nd - sometimes 2nd and 3rd. I think I have 100K on the original fluid though so I'm torn about whether or not to service it.

 

I have seen a lot of replies where the dealer states they need to buy a brand new transmission just because of a possible problem. What is up with that? Is that all they know how to do is swap a tranny? I am sure they can service them just like anything else. If they don't know how to do it, then who does? Aamco?

 

Ok, now it is surging all over the place. WHen coming to a stop and when taking off. Guess I should have stuck with the Sentra. Don't get me wrong, this is a nice car. But my 97 Sentra never had a tranny flush for 160K miles and never had any problems like this. Hey Volvo "K.I.S.S".

So I bought some Mobil ATF 3309 from a local shop for $65 for 12 quarts. Have some clear tubing and a 5 gallon bucket. Am gonna do the complete flush tomorrow.

One question, the fluid is definately brown, but we called the previous owners who gave us their mechanic's name. I called him and he said he did a flush at 123K. It now has 130K. Why would it be brown so soon? Is the Volvo fluid brown to begin with? The Mobil is very pink right out of the bottle. Thought all ATF was pink. I doubt he did a complete flush. Most likely drained and filled. After 7K?

 

So I got a little ambitious and created detailed instructions with images on how to flush the transmission. If the Admin wants to post this on the sticky in the S60 forum, it is fine by me.

Drove thre car around the block and a small stretch of highway. Feels much better now. But I want to give it a week or so to see if it really helped.

Well, never mind about the PDF. For some reason the limit is set to 19KB of file size, which isn't much at all. Don't have time to rewrite it. See attached images. I have it all on PDF if you want me to send it to you though. Only 109KB in size.

 

If your tranny fluid is brown coming out of the tranny, that means it's burnt.
The solenoids are most likely on the way out, causing the surge/slip. The T5 auto tranny is never the smoothest and when you nail the accelerator hard, you can definitely feel it shifting up with a satisfying cluck as if the clutch is dropped back into the driveline very smartly ala manual box. Anything more than that indicates a tranny that's less than healthy.

I had auto tranny problems too at 160k km. My dad brought the car to an old fren's garage and he changed the atf with some cheap HONDA mineral s**t. A few weeks later the tranny started slipping and the fluid turned brown. I'm on my second tranny bought used and there's Redline ATF plus Lubegard Red in it. I'm sure there're other good brands out there too but just be sure the ATF will take the heat, cos it's heat that kills the solenoids in our auto trannies.

Cheers

 

Perhaps cooling is the biggest problem with these. Is there anything you know of that will cool the fluid better than the stock parts?

 

Yea, there's a lot that's been said about cooling. Some add external atf coolers along the piping from the radiator to the gearbox. But what I understand is using a really good ATF is more important. Over here in Malaysia, the daytime ambient temperature averages around 34 degrees C, 350 days a year. If the car's design was not up to scratch to begin with, at least 50% of all similar trannies should be dead by now. But from what I know, the fatality rate is perhaps 1 in 50. And that's in a country where you're driving in high summer heat all year round. And only a handful of high output auto volvo's here have the atf cooler mod. So my bet is still regular AFT change/flush with a good ATF. Quite a number of owners over here still use the OE ATF by volvo ... it's very expensive but seems to do its work. Others have changed to Dextron after tranny replacements/rebuilds and they say it seems to work better. My own fill-up with Redline and Lubegard was recommended by a US auto specialist based here and the mix is still looking pink after 12k km. 'Touch wood'.


98 V70 T5
Mobil 1
Redline & Lubgard Red ATF
K&N AF
De-Cat

 

A transmission cooler never hurts, but make sure its set up so that its radiator (if separate) is in a location where ambient air will flow over it. If made part of the radiator, you want it in front of the engine coolant radiator (but protected from road debris). I've put coolers in several cars and never had a hint of trans trouble (I also change fluid about twice as often as the manual recommends or at about 50K miles if none is recommended ). Cheap insurance against very expensive transmission replacement or repair. I'll admit, most of my driving is shift-free highway driving which also helps. But an auxillary cooler is a good bet as long as the installer knows what he's doing.

 

1. Drain and inspect the trans fluid. If it is not contaminated with metal particles you could:

a. replace the fluid only and keep your fingers crossed or
b. replace the fluid AND the valve body.

NOTE: If upon inspection the trans fluid DOES have metal particles in it the Valve Body will need to be replaced.

Note: If the trans fluid (only) is replaced and the trans still lurches then most likely it IS the fault of the valve body. That means that you have just spent the fluid you replaced and would be best if you replace the fluid again with new, not using the the fluid you just replaced and spent money on. That's why I say in choice (a) to keep your fingers crossed.

 

Hello, ChrisAce, which connection did you use for your flush? It seems smart to exit the fluid low to the ground. The one thing people never refer to in these transmission posts is the high likelihood of a local mechanic or PO using the wrong fluid. A local big name lube joint near me never heard of 3309 and acted like I was some high school drooling over a brand of motor oil. Also, the bulk fluid dealer used by an old pal who has a transmission shop 30 years never heard of the stuff. I gave him a Toyota TYPE-IV and Mobil 3309 bottle for reference. He will R&R a 5 speed for ~$3,500. He's in No. New Jersey. Kira