Magnefine Filter for 2006 s60 AWD

moncureww · Post by **moncureww** » 06 Oct 2020, 17:47

I have stage-zeroed my 2006 s60 2.5t with every fluid change on the vehicle, and was wondering the hive mind's thoughts on adding a Magnefine filter to an AW55 trans cooling line. I was wondering who may have experience and input on this. Everything functions well and I just hit 214k today, and we did a trans drain / fill about 1500 miles ago.

Post by **SuperHerman** » 07 Oct 2020, 23:34

I have one sitting in a box some where which I intended to install after reading much doom and gloom. In the end I learned the better approach was to put in an in-line transmission filter as it is more effective. After that mental exercise I did a valve body rebuild, including solenoids and started changing the fluid (drain and fill 15k miles). The Magnefine was never installed.

The solenoids were updated by 2006 and do not suffer the sticking as much as the earlier iterations. So to answer your question, I would leave it alone and increase the frequency of drain and fills. Now if after a few more you find the transmission fluid consistently dark a filter would not be a bad plan.

ignatz · Post by **ignatz** » 08 Oct 2020, 05:10

A couple of drain and fills gets the transmission fluid more "red", and you get to clean the magnet on the plug. My Volvo's get a drain and fill once a year during an engine oil change. Its pretty basic, but should help the cars transmission life span.
Today, I'm doing a 300+ mile fall foliage drive in my 01 V70 T2.4. Watch out for the old dude in the Volvo!

moncureww · Post by **moncureww** » 08 Oct 2020, 17:20

Awesome! My mechanic did a drain/fill about 1,000 miles ago, with a transmission with 214k on it, and we're not sure when it was last changed, but it probably was drain/filled at least 2x based on the thorough maintenance records I saw from the PO (which they still haven't mailed me nearly two months after buying the car). It's pretty clean right now - he drained and filled it with a BG friction reducer added the last time around just for good measure. He said he always did that at the dealership where he used to work as a Volvo technician.

I am doing another drain/fill myself with the car on ramps - sometime in the next 1000 miles, then I'll do one at every 3k oil change for the next year or so. I anticipate putting about 20k a year on the car of mixed city/highway driving (1/3 city, probably 2/3 highway). How many miles does your V70 have on it?

I noticed after the first drain fill about 1000 miles ago it started to shift more smoothly. Here is the photo after we drained it before topping it up again:

I'm thinking that an in-line filter would mitigate the opportunity to clog the inaccessible transmission filter in the AW55. I was going to go grab a pick-a-part trans line and splice one in sometime in the next couple weeks.

ignatz · Post by **ignatz** » 09 Oct 2020, 05:21

On the three Volvo's I currently own, a 01 V70 2.4T, a 02 V70 2.4T and a 05 S60 2.5T awd, when I first got them I started doing drain and fills. The original oil comes out looking mostly black and the drain magnet pretty crapped up. As several drain and fills go by, the transmission oil starts showing more red and the drain magnet stays cleaner. At some point, I stop doing drain and fills and start using the car.
For me, around Thanksgiving my cars get an oil change and a yearly transmission drain and fill. That's my sorta wacky way for transmission maintenance.
The comment I want to make, is that the color of your transmission fluid looks brown, where mine looks dark red, too all red. Maybe someone else could comment on this, but it looks like antifreeze is getting in your fluid. Are you loosing any coolant?

moncureww · Post by **moncureww** » 09 Oct 2020, 06:31

Yeah - that's what I thought when I first saw the coolant! I think that was the photo angle - it was sort of brownish pink and it was sitting a couple days at that point I imagine by the time of the photo. It did not look like it had moisture or something blended into it when I actually got up close. If it ever did at all, it would have been through possibly the original radiator that has since been replaced with a brand new Nissens (since the original cracked at the top coolant hose hookup when we redid all the radiator hoses). So it's now been 1500 miles since my last drain/fill and the radiator replacement, and it's pretty red now and has stayed that way. We had a coolant leak through the thermostat that has since been replaced, but 4000 miles into ownership with no smells, funny shifts, anything - no evidence of leaks. I check the trans fluid every day as well. It concerned me when I first saw the photo, but when I saw it in person I saw that it was just "spent" and the photo from my mechanic was from an area with bad lighting and probably came from his camera flash. Again - it may have also been through the radiator - and I've heard of that happening before - as a very minor leak that could get worse. Good thing we replaced, basically the whole cooling system. It also could have been draining and filling before with different spec trans fluid as I see it?

Sounds good about the yearly trans fluid change. I think I'm going to do drain fills for the first year at every oil change or so with the Aisin 3309 stuff, then back off and do them once every 20k miles or so (once/year) like yourself.