M56H Transmission fluid change.

Post by **ThinAir** » 14 Aug 2013, 21:45

When I got my car it was advised that I change all the fluids. "Simple enough" I thought. It turns out that being blessed with a manual transmission is also a bit of a curse because there is very little info out there on these guys as compared to automatics. So just getting back from a spin after changing my tranny fluid in my S70 T5M, here is my write up on how to do this!

NOTE: It was brought to my attention that it makes sense to take off the fill plug first, because if you cannot get it off and you drain the fluid you will have an undriveable vehicle.

NOTE 2: I am not sure what the size the crush washers are, I got mine from a local dealership.

What you are going to need:

1. 2 liters of Volvo Transmission fluid #31280771
(I'm not going to argue about OEM vs Brand X. I did my research and if this is what my mechanic uses (fanatical Volvohead) for his M56H tranny, then THIS is what I use.)
2. A 24mm Socket
3. A 24mm Wrench
4. 2 new crush washers
5. A socket extension at least 10 inches long
6. A funnel and tubing or a pump of some kind
7. A large oil change container.
8. A lot of rags.
9. Jack.
10. Jack stands.

Ok. First things first. Loosen the lug nuts on the left driver's side wheel. Jack your car up, place the jack stands and chock the rear wheels. Next, finish taking the wheel off and place it out of the way. Now slide under the left side of the car with your head in front of the axel. Looking up you will see this:

: The Drain plug is the the bolt to the far right. I took this pic after I had already removed it.

Next grab your 24mm wrench and loosen her up:

: Once again I took this photo after the fact, hence the mess.

Next place your oil change container under the drain. If you are not interested in making a mess like I did I would advise placing a funnel under the hole because the fluid is going to hit the frame, spread across it and cascade off of it. So pull the plug out and let the fluid drain. While it is draining I took out the fill plug. Mount up your 24mm socket to your extension and go at it straight through the wheel well.

: Yes, my arms are very hairy.

I found that a 10 inch extension and a smaller ratchet was about perfect. no rubbing against the wheel well and enough distance to get out of the way of the suspension and lines.

So now the fluid is drained.Now place the drain plug back in and tighten it but not too much! Remember, the tranny housing is aluminum and the bolt is steel-do not strip the drain or fill hole threads....With the new crush washer on, tighten it until you feel it give then crank just a bit more. Next grab your tranny fluid.

: The capacity for this transmission is 2 liters. I bought three and wound up using one and two thirds of another. So two should be enough.

If you are using a funnel and hose make sure you have enough to make it past the wheel well and elevate it above the fill hole. Pour your lovely new transmission fluid in and hear your car sigh with pleasure. You will know it is full when it starts to run out of the fill hole. Using a flashlight look into the transmission and you will see the fluid is flush with the base of the hole with surface tension holding there. Put the fill plug in and you are almost done! Before placing the wheel back on wipe up as much fluid as you can to help you confirm the integrity of the seal on the drain plug. Put the wheel back on, jack up, take the stands out, lower and tighten the wheel. All done son. Put your stuff away, clean up and take a spin! Did I notice a difference in the action of the tramsmission? Not really. Do I feel better after changing the fluid in my tranny after 107,000K? Yep.

Ps. I have no idea why the "fluid" is "uid" in the title.

Post by **jimmy57** » 15 Aug 2013, 06:31

I have one comment I learned the hard way years back: remove fill plug first. IF you can't get the fill plug out then you will not want to drain it.

Post by **ThinAir** » 15 Aug 2013, 07:35

Very good point! I will edit that.

mar601 · Post by **mar601** » 15 Aug 2013, 11:08

so when I simply drained mine out of the drain and replenished it through the dipstick hole, that's a no no? they say to do a drain and fill on these cars, never drain and flush, correct?

Post by **ThinAir** » 15 Aug 2013, 11:17

This posting was for a manual transmission. These do not have dipsticks. Is your's an automatic?

Post by **mikealder** » 15 Aug 2013, 11:18

mar601 wrote:so when I simply drained mine out of the drain and replenished it through the dipstick hole, that's a no no? they say to do a drain and fill on these cars, never drain and flush, correct?

That is fine for an auto box but this write up is for the M56 manual (stick shift) gearbox - Mike

Post by **matthew1** » 15 Aug 2013, 11:55

Yes, my arms are very hairy.

Well now those arms belong to a person who is an MVS Contributor. Great writeup. Going in the Repair Database.

Ps. I have no idea why the "fluid" is "uid" in the title.

That's a Firefox and IE bug. It's triggered by my use of a custom font. I'm waiting for a fix/bug fix in those browsers.

Post by **ThinAir** » 15 Aug 2013, 12:02

Yippie!

fn42 · Post by **fn42** » 05 Sep 2013, 08:34

Thanks for the writeup. +1 on using OEM fluid (or fuchs 80w-90, they are the same thing)

jadnhm · Post by **jadnhm** » 05 Sep 2013, 13:52

Just a quick point:
The volvo transmission fluid containers say right on the side that they are 75W API GL-4. This should be plenty of info to help us pick a suitable replacement that's not from the dealer.

Good gear oil is actually pretty cheap and any 75W-90 that says it's a GL-4 should be fine. Maybe ask the folks on BobIsTheOilGuy.com for advice beyond that.

One last thing on the oil: if the original Volvo oil is a GL-4 I would be damn sure /NOT/ to use a GL-5. I have not experienced this first-hand but I have read that GL-5 oil in a GL-4 box can cause bad problems, specifically relating to adverse chemical reactions between the oil and the metals.