Alternative Transmission?

[BTI]

Is there an alternative transmission to the 4T65, from GM, which can be fitted to an XC90 T6 AWD (MY)2005?

My local transmission specialist took one look at what was on the car and said “I’ve only ever rebuilt one of these before and I said I’d never rebuild one of them again and I’m sorry to tell you that I won’t be doing this one, shame they spoiled a good car with it”.

I didn’t think to ask him if he knew of an alternative.

[June]

Take your car somewhere else. Their are tutorials on here on rebuilding the 4t65 without removal. If a backyard mechanic can do that, your guy is is questionable in my opinion. It's in a billion GM cars so you should be able to find a transmission shop that has rebuilt them before. June

[BTI]

Take your car somewhere else. Their are tutorials on here on rebuilding the 4t65 without removal. If a backyard mechanic can do that, your guy is is questionable in my opinion. It's in a billion GM cars so you should be able to find a transmission shop that has rebuilt them before. June

Here in the UK, the deisel version was far more popular and T6 auto transmission is a rare beast, most T6's were manual transmission. As yet I have been unable to find anyone over here who wants to take the job on but am still looking. The guy I took it to is very respected with over 30 years of experience, which is why I went to him. He's only seen 1 before and that was on an S80, shows how rare this trany is over here.

Thanks for your input and I will have a look for the tutorials you mentioned.

[June]

Take your car somewhere else. Their are tutorials on here on rebuilding the 4t65 without removal. If a backyard mechanic can do that, your guy is is questionable in my opinion. It's in a billion GM cars so you should be able to find a transmission shop that has rebuilt them before. June

Here in the UK, the deisel version was far more popular and T6 auto transmission is a rare beast, most T6's were manual transmission. As yet I have been unable to find anyone over here who wants to take the job on but am still looking. The guy I took it to is very respected with over 30 years of experience, which is why I went to him. He's only seen 1 before and that was on an S80, shows how rare this trany is over here.

Thanks for your input and I will have a look for the tutorials you mentioned.

We didn't get any standard T6 cars over here. I figured GM sold cars worldwide? June

[ggleavitt]

Parallel post on another site- https://forums.swedespeed.com/showthrea ... ansmission

[RickHaleParker]

most T6's were manual transmission.

There are lots of XC90 T6 AWD manual transmissions in the UK? .... If so, that is your best option, convert it to a manual transmission.

The GM 4T65E used in the 2003-2005 Volvo XC90 is a good transmission but it is not up to pushing around the heavy XC90, this is the configuration that Volvo got sued over for excessive transmission failure.

If you rebuild the 4T65E your not addressing the root of the problem and may very well see your investment go down the drain when the rebuild fails. Convert it to manual and the root cause will be addressed.

PS: The M66 AWD was mated to the 5 cylinder engines not the 6 or 8 cylinder engines. Still a T6 M66 AWD conversion might be the solution.

[SuperHerman]

What is wrong with your transmission? The GM 4t65E, although not a great transmission, is a pretty easy transmission to repair.

If you can tell me what is wrong with your transmission I may be able to give you some advice. Basically two things go wrong - the transmission clutch packs wear out due to design or actual hard parts in the AWD section fail. Most of the time the issue is worn out clutch packs caused by the car's weight and GM's design decisions for smoother shifting. Just replace these and drive it another 80-120k.

I have rebuilt the Volvo 4T65E in my 2004 XC90. The first time I did it I purchased a working spare and I rebuilt it in my garage. I had taken apart transmissions but never rebuilt one start to finish. After rebuild, I had a shop install it. I failed to torque one bolt to spec and the tranny acted up after 10 minutes. Unwilling to pay $2,000 to have it rebuilt I opted to do it myself. My mechanic was not interested in working on it other than a full rebuild from a shop he uses. Everything in the transmission was already replaced, all the updates were installed, all new solenoids ... No reason to pay $2,000.00 as I already bought everything.

After reading a couple of guys posts on the subject, mainly in the S80 forum (same transmission), I felt I could do it in car. No need for a lift - no removal of the transmission. Actually a very easy job which can be completed in one day. If you want to go extreme minimum on the repair I think it can be fixed for $250.00. Just buy clutch packs, maybe steels and some tranny fluid. If you want to update some of the inherent issues, order 2 clutches that are slightly thicker and two steels that are thicker. This fixes some of the design issues of the transmission. Looking back, other updates are available but I wouldn't do them save for those just mentioned (I did them all).

Back on track, I did not remove the transmission, rather I lowered the driver side of the engine, removed the valve body cover, valve body, and found my failure and the damage. In the end all I had to do was replace two clutch packs that got burnt. One needs an engine support for this, but one could be fashioned out of wood. Upon disassembly I learned that I failed to torque a single bolt (the most important one) and that was the cause of my failure. Because it was not torqued the transmission could not build pressure, the clutch packs slipped and burned. The needed clutches were less than $20 to replace. Put it back together and it has been flawless for 8,000 miles.

If you have VIDA look up how to remove the valve body - this is the hardest part. Basically pull the CV axles, disconnect the coolant lines at the heater core, disconnect the steering inside the car, pull some stuff up front, support engine from above, lower part of engine cradle, and get to transmission innards. Sounds worse than it is - actually all really easy.

Once the valve cover is off, one just takes out the innards of the transmission. A good video can be seen of a guy working on his Chevy Impala - exact same process. There are also some good strip down videos on the 4T65E, only you will be doing this in car. If you look up my posts, you will find my posts to another member (in England) that did his.

If you are interested in going this route I can provide you more information.

Otherwise find a shop that is familiar with the transmission and ask if they will do an in car rebuild (assuming your issue are clutch pack wear). I can provide more information here also.

I would just rebuild the transmission, with a few updates, and drive it another 80k or more until it fails. It will be cheaper.

[Rattnalle]

most T6's were manual transmission.

There are lots of XC90 T6 AWD manual transmissions in the UK? .... If so, that is your best option, convert it to a manual transmission.

The GM 4T65E used in the 2003-2005 Volvo XC90 is a good transmission but it is not up to pushing around the heavy XC90, this is the configuration that Volvo got sued over for excessive transmission failure.

If you rebuild the 4T65E your not addressing the root of the problem and may very well see your investment go down the drain when the rebuild fails. Convert it to manual and the root cause will be addressed.

PS: The M66 AWD was mated to the 5 cylinder engines not the 6 or 8 cylinder engines. Still a T6 M66 AWD conversion might be the solution.

I've never seen a manual T6 in Sweden. I'm pretty sure they don't exist.. Though the UK is always a bit different, driving on the wrong side and all. A small number of manual 3.2s do exist, at least as S80s, and that could perhaps be an option. The cars computer won't like a swap and I'm guessing that could make it hard to pass inspection since they check for error codes in Europe.

[RickHaleParker]

The cars computer won't like a swap

Yep, the software would need an edit. Also would need to look a the gearing ratios of the rear drive. It would need to be the same as what was used in the Diesel 2.4L AWD and the Bensin 2.5L AWD. Disconnecting the rear drive and running it as a front wheel drive ia a option.

[SuperHerman]

See this thread - it has everything you need.

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=63865&p=467454&hil ... ld#p467454