ATF info

Post by **JRL** » 12 Jan 2009, 06:42

Blah blah blah.
The answer is simple.
3309 and 3309 ONLY in the AW55 5 speed (and 6 speed) and Dexron 3 in the 4 speeds.

That being said almost ANY (approved) fluid will work in the 4 speed including 3309.
I ran 3309 in my 850R to initially help a slightly hard shifting transmission (fixed by flushing with 3309)

Japedo · Post by **Japedo** » 12 Jan 2009, 09:30

Ya, I don't care waht kind of tranny fluid I put in my 850T. I was advised to only run 3309 in my 01 XC so thats what I do. The four speeds arn't fussy.

japedo
01 V70 XC
94 850 turbo

volvomileage · Post by **volvomileage** » 14 Jan 2009, 14:24

just for information purposes

with the high mileage i got on this car and to protect the tranny i have added the lucas additive in the tranny with the recommended tranny oil....and shifting is smooth....does not seem to harm at all...i am not a professionnal mechanic but i would doubt that with the correct type of oil and the recommended specs and also with a good or superior quality it would harm the tranny....unless it had something wrong prior to the oil change

volvo recommended the Fluid type: ATF Dexron IIE and Mercon.

cheers !

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 14 Jan 2009, 20:37

Dexron III superseded the IIE and anyway the IIE and Mercon is harder to find while the Dex-III you can buy anywhere. I've never heard anyone having trouble out of their transmissions with the Dex-III or Mobil-1 Synthetic (which I run) which is also Dex-III compatible.

Seth77 · Post by **Seth77** » 18 Feb 2019, 14:56

Volvo 1161521 and 1161540
just switched to valvoline max life for my 95 850 T5 for $18/gallon at Walmart delivered
I love it so far!

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Valvoline-Ma ... n/15125768

tardcart · Post by **tardcart** » 18 Feb 2019, 16:30

Im nervous about putting the much stronger additives of the newer fluids in my 850. There is no more dextron 3, only fluids that say FOR Dextron III. meaning it could be anything made in gina as our president would say. In my 940 that calls for dex 1, I put some old dex 1 in I found at an estate sale. Ive heard dex 3 will kill the seals in the 940 as its much more aggressive.for the 850 Ive got a few cans of dex 3 in the old pierce top cans and am looking for more. Ill start the flush with that. In a nutshell, find old stuff or save your money for a rebuild. the old seals are just rubber from the rubber tree. You might get away with a 1/3 flush with new stuff. There is reams of stuff out there on this, but ive distilled it to a paragraph. Its possible some of the synthetics and industrial fluids are perfect but no one knows. maby even straight 20 wt oil. but im not trying it.

Post by **dyn blin** » 27 Feb 2019, 00:23

Only 1 data point, but I've been using Valvoline Max Life ATF in our 97 850 for 75k now (on 280k mi overall) original AW50-42. Drain and fill every other oil change. Old (3 years ago) hard shift between 3 and 4 is gone and no leaks. Mostly commute & city driving with a couple 1800 mi runs per year up to see family in ID & MT from NorCal. Stock transmission cooler through radiator and no filter. No towing, but fully loaded with 3 adults and filled wagon space on the long trips.

I switched the 04 Hyundai Sonata the kids drive to Valvoline Max Life 2 years ago at 120k, now at 180k and no issues with similar profile to above for yearly driving. Those transmissions have a lot of lore about implosion on non-Hyundai fluid, but so far so good. Same drain and fill regimen with drain and fill every other oil change (~10k).

I guess that's 2 data points.

Seperate from the manual transmission needs on hard driven p80's & p2's, I think the issues on the autos stems from 100k + "lifetime" fluid expectations from the dealer propaganda. Like anything else on an older ride, consistent & fresh fluids are key, and for the cost, certainly don't hurt.

ATF info

Re: ATF info