How to change manual TRANS Fluid

[E Showell]

The OEM fluid is supposed to be lifetime. I changed mine at around 229000 miles if memory serves and my mechanic said it was pristine and he would not have changed it if it had been his personal vehicle. Unless the case has been breached, or shifts have become problematic, I wouldn't't change it.

[Ozark Lee]

One tip that came from Jimmy57 - remove the fill plug first. If for some reason the fill plug is stuck at least then you haven't drained the transmission which leaves you with no way to fill it back up.

My guess is that tip came from some experience somewhere along the line.

At 235k, when I did my clutch, I changed mine and it didn't look awful but it did have a grayish tint to it.

...Lee

[theWIFES_S70]

Hey Lee, E,
Thanks for your replies. I don't like the way the gearbox feels on my wife's S70, I don't know how to describe it... it just feels kind of dry. And who knows what the previous owner did to that transmission! I hope when I take off the wheel and look towards the drain plugs, I don't see any leaks. (I didn't see any leaks when I did the brakes a couple of weeks ago, but I have to admit, I wasn't really looking...) I have to change tie rods, control arms, sway links, and a driver's side CV joint so I figured I would do and drain a fill and see if it feels better. I spent so much time researching and pricing all the GL-4 oils out there (I just uploaded a post that I hope some folk find helpful...) and frankly, for the price, I don't see the reason to go with anything other than the Volvo branded stuff. There was a LiquiMoly oil at $17 a liter (and who doesn't love LiquiMoly!), but the savings weren't enough, you know? And anyhow, the LiquiMly website has the M56s using some weird GL-3 oil that only comes in half liters and isn't available in the U.S!

- Marco

[Ozark Lee]

I think the problem with the GL-5 is that it is too slick - if that makes sense. It is so slick that the synchros don't work correctly. The synchros actually need a little drag to get them to spin. A GL-3 wouldn't have surprised me at all given the age of the cars but I think the Volvo stuff has GL-4 on the bottle.

As stupid as the price is it really isn't that much more than the high quality synthetics like Royal Purple, etc. and you will likely only do it once over the life of the car.

...Lee