2001 S80 Maintenance

oldironsights · Post by **oldironsights** » 27 Oct 2015, 18:39

Greetings from the Glorious Gulf Coast!
I recently purchased a S80 to assist my 2015 VW Passat in commuting duty.
The S80 2.9 has no engine or airbag codes, drives & handles very well.
At 122k miles, the timing belt looked original, so I purchased a Continental "Kit" that included timing belt, tensioner, idler & water pump with gasket & bolts.
Installation while not difficult, was not fun. No space for air tools or large hands.
Engine runs great, just like before, but there is more whining & whirring noises from the belt area.
I thought new bearings were supposed to be quiet.
Engine oil & transmission oil looked good, but I needed to establish a new baseline for maintenance.
I replaced engine & transmission oil with new filters.
Now the transmission seems to be whining much louder than before.
What did I do wrong?
I continue to check fluids & belt tension & all is OK.
I have driven four hundred miles since this service.
Car drives like a dream.
Why the noise? Any clues?

jbkeene · Post by **jbkeene** » 28 Oct 2015, 05:49

what materials have you used?

oldironsights · Post by **oldironsights** » 28 Oct 2015, 12:26

jbkeene wrote:what materials have you used?

Contitech timing belt kit with OEM idler & tensioner.
GMB water pump
Mann engine oil filter
Castrol 10w-30 synthetic engine oil.
NAPA brand transmission filter & fluid.

difflock54 · Post by **difflock54** » 28 Oct 2015, 19:40

Is your transmission a 4 speed AW50-42LE or is it the 5 speed AW55-50 ? (probably the prior)
The 4 speed uses DEX III or DEX IV which is backwards compatible.
A 5 speed uses synthetic ATF. which must be JWS 3309 compliant.
Check out the MVS repair database transmission section for info. Lots of stuff there to help you.

oldironsights · Post by **oldironsights** » 29 Oct 2015, 07:18

Mission is the four speed GM type & uses the Dextron III - Mercon ATF.

jbkeene · Post by **jbkeene** » 29 Oct 2015, 08:13

I asked about materials for a good reason...you made some good choices!
These cars can sometimes be a little finicky.
On my 2000 NA, water pump gets replaced only at 2nd timing belt change...maybe different on 2001, but probably can't do any harm.
I've been using Liqui-Moly full syn engine oil...I am convinced it's the best out there for my Volvo...without question. Tried it in Subaru...not worth it.

I also have the GM tranny.
I drained the tranny, did filter, replaced the volume (3.5 l) with Castrol DEX IV syn blend.
The oil was dark, but not completely burnt. How was your oil?
Drove a few months. Used vacuum pump and pulled 2l out...put 2l back in.
Have done this about 4 times now, and now when exchanging the fluid, am going to Castrol DEX IV Full Syn.
I know, I know, everyone on here cautions about trans fluid, flushes, etc., and all the scary stories.
And Volvo says the fluid never needs to be changed!
My pump-outs yield slightly darker oil than brand-new...a couple liters at a time, every 3-4K miles or so has worked well for me.
When I did the initial drain/filter and topped it up, I then had 50% standard fluid--50% synthetic.

I didn't notice any new noise from tranny...maybe the new components are breaking-in?
Maybe it's getting clean and starting to sound normal?

SLOWLY this mix cleaned out the trans innards...no issues as a result.
I'm now at 80% full syn and it runs smooth as butter...can barely feel it shift once it's warm.
I also plan to drop the pan again soon and do the filter to remove any gunk the synthetic washed out.

oldironsights · Post by **oldironsights** » 29 Oct 2015, 08:35

JB, my ATF was bright red & clean when I removed the pan.
Normal amount of sediment in the pan, but a heavy buildup of very fine sludge stuck to the magnet.
No metallic particles large enough to reflect light like glitter.
I want to use the normal Dex3 until I know I have no leaks.
Synthetic oils tend to exploit any small leaks that exist & make them much larger.