Is something worn in my AW55?

[dikidera]

Ever since I bought the car last year, I have had hard shifting, recently I feel as though the gearbox isn't shifting when it should and tries to downshift more often even uphill and I also have poor uphill acceleration, compared to half a year ago.

In the timeframe the car has worked, which has been 6-7 months total for me, I have done several drain and fills, one more today doing 3.3l and added LubeGuard Red as a last resort, for a total of at least 11-12l over the last 5-6k km. The condition of the fluid then and now was always brown and muddy and not even a hint of reddish or transparent.
I mean I remember buying 4l of Mobil 3309, 5l of Aisin 3309 fluid and just yesterday Ravenol 3309 4l. So while I always had some leftover fluid, at least 10l should gotten flushed from the transmission.

My understanding is, that by now I should have seen clearer fluid than what I get all the time and that sticky solenoids might be the least of the problems. Does this mean I have worn clutch packs or something else?

Ambient temps today were 40c, after doing the drain and fill, and adding lubeguard, driving was slightly better, but the gearbox is reaching 105c, while the ECT was at 99c.I feel as though this was too high of a temperature, though possibly normal considering the smoltering hot pavement and ambient temps.

However if the gearbox temp was not normal, something must be happening inside to cause this much heat. The only culprits are slipping clutches or torque converter clutch for the lockup(I admit I know next to nothing on torque converters).

[xHeart]

Ever since I bought the car last year, I have had hard shifting, recently I feel as though the gearbox isn't shifting when it should and tries to downshift more often even uphill and I also have poor uphill acceleration, compared to half a year ago.

Ambient temps today were 40c, after doing the drain and fill, and adding lubeguard, driving was slightly better, but the gearbox is reaching 105c, while the ECT was at 99c.I feel as though this was too high of a temperature, though possibly normal considering the smoltering hot pavement and ambient temps.

How do you know ATF and ECT were 105ºC and 99ºC, respectively?

[dikidera]

By crafting my own CAN logger and specifically requesting the gearbox temp and ECT together via dynamic records, so I know the data is accurate.

There are a bunch more stuff I could probably get apart from the temperature such as lockup and various things I could use to assess the condition.

I should mention I had the AC on at the time.

[xHeart]

By crafting my own CAN logger and specifically requesting the gearbox temp and ECT together via dynamic records, so I know the data is accurate.

There are a bunch more stuff I could probably get apart from the temperature such as lockup and various things I could use to assess the condition.

I should mention I had the AC on at the time.

The consensus for AW55 among MVS is that it shifts best when ATF is hot-hot. I can feel the change of ATF fluidity during the daily urban drives (20-35-45MPH); the shift becomes barely noticeable. Our 2001 V70XC has seen many simple D&F -- one change of 3Qt annually for past 10 years.

At what ECT temp does the fan comes on; does your's have ATF cooler lines?

[dikidera]

My AW55 uses the engine coolant radiator to cool the gearbox oil. Fan comes on at 105c, at which point, the ECT had dropped to 99C while the gearbox temp remained at 105c, in that particular drive cycle. I had the AC on.

[xHeart]

My AW55 uses the engine coolant radiator to cool the gearbox oil. Fan comes on at 105c, at which point, the ECT had dropped to 99C while the gearbox temp remained at 105c, in that particular drive cycle. I had the AC on.

If you haven't already, I'll change the engine coolant thermostat and transmission torque mount. Unless ATF was fully drained (flush) the first time, there is no need for a fluid counter-reset; the drive cycles will be its re-Learn. Monitor ATF levels for both, hot and cold.

If AWD, it must have Haldex, has it been serviced?

[dikidera]

Not AWD. Lower torque mount was replaced less than 5000km ago with a Volvo genuine one, the thermostat is brand new, though aftermarket with the sensor and all.

In fact, all my engine mounts are brand new.

The shifts have always been bad, but getting worse over time. Each upshift is felt with a jerk, depending on how high the RPMs are, each downshift as well, especially kickdown mode, that one is not as instantaneous and definitely takes a while.

[firstv70volvo]

Ever since I bought the car last year, I have had hard shifting, recently I feel as though the gearbox isn't shifting when it should and tries to downshift more often even uphill and I also have poor uphill acceleration, compared to half a year ago.

In the timeframe the car has worked, which has been 6-7 months total for me, I have done several drain and fills, one more today doing 3.3l and added LubeGuard Red as a last resort, for a total of at least 11-12l over the last 5-6k km. The condition of the fluid then and now was always brown and muddy and not even a hint of reddish or transparent.
I mean I remember buying 4l of Mobil 3309, 5l of Aisin 3309 fluid and just yesterday Ravenol 3309 4l. So while I always had some leftover fluid, at least 10l should gotten flushed from the transmission.

My understanding is, that by now I should have seen clearer fluid than what I get all the time and that sticky solenoids might be the least of the problems. Does this mean I have worn clutch packs or something else?

Ambient temps today were 40c, after doing the drain and fill, and adding lubeguard, driving was slightly better, but the gearbox is reaching 105c, while the ECT was at 99c.I feel as though this was too high of a temperature, though possibly normal considering the smoltering hot pavement and ambient temps.

However if the gearbox temp was not normal, something must be happening inside to cause this much heat. The only culprits are slipping clutches or torque converter clutch for the lockup(I admit I know next to nothing on torque converters).

Has the car shifted hard since first buying it? Is this why the previous owner sold it? Wondering if the PO had some work done on it and it didn't improve the shifting. Maybe put in a subpar valve body?
Does the transmission ever feel like it's slipping, RPMs increasing during the shift? If any slipping has happened the transmission may require rebuilding. This transmission like most transmissions can be damaged in a short amount of time if slipping.
How are the garage shifts, P to R, P to D? Is there a delay and a clunk or harsh engagement? Any change in the garage shift quality when the transmission is cold vs hot? Quality of garage shifts gives an indication of the condition of the valve body and linear solenoid valves.

[dikidera]

The gearbox was already "faulty" when I bought the car, the fluid was likely never changed in my opinion. The previous owner sold it, because of a blown head gasket, worsening condition of the gearbox, and various other issues from neglect.

The "garage" shifts were ok-ish but recently it started clunking/kicking a lot. Recently, before I did the current drain and fill, I was at a gas station, it was hot outside again, nearly 40c. Had the AC on and idled for 10-15 minutes which I never did before in such smoltering weather, but needed the AC. After we were done, I moved the shifter to Drive and nothing happened, I pressed the gas pedal, nothing, and I mean no RPM increase either, and only after 3-4 second delay, then suddenly a jolt and off goes the car. Since then, it's been kicking sometimes between Park and Drive, it kicked once or twice from Drive to '4' and not mild kicks either.

So yes I am experiencing delayed shifts from Park to Drive occasionally, but not always. Presumably when the gearbox is very hot and has idled for some time.

As for increasing RPMs during shifts, I'd say no, but I have to make a video to compare really. What happens during up or downshifts, is as-if something is pushing against the car and only then it shifts. Worst offenders being 1-3 and kickdown so 5th to say 3rd or 2nd depending on how many gears it drops. Uphill has become a battle of me maintaining a lower gear and the gearbox wanting to go to a higher gear even with the gas pedal fully pressed down.

As I mentioned before, I've done 3 drain and fills for at least 10-11 liters of fluid, all JWS 3309 spec and as a last resort a LubeGuard red additive. The fluid always comes out brown and muddy and never a hint of reddish.

As for cold/hot garage shifts, I can't say for certain, I'd say it's almost random.

There have been issues where from being completely stopped I mash the gas pedal and the RPMs increase and then the engine boggs down and then suddenly the power comes on, not sure if related.

[firstv70volvo]

The gearbox was already "faulty" when I bought the car, the fluid was likely never changed in my opinion. The previous owner sold it, because of a blown head gasket, worsening condition of the gearbox, and various other issues from neglect.

The "garage" shifts were ok-ish but recently it started clunking/kicking a lot. Recently, before I did the current drain and fill, I was at a gas station, it was hot outside again, nearly 40c. Had the AC on and idled for 10-15 minutes which I never did before in such smoltering weather, but needed the AC. After we were done, I moved the shifter to Drive and nothing happened, I pressed the gas pedal, nothing, and I mean no RPM increase either, and only after 3-4 second delay, then suddenly a jolt and off goes the car. Since then, it's been kicking sometimes between Park and Drive, it kicked once or twice from Drive to '4' and not mild kicks either.

So yes I am experiencing delayed shifts from Park to Drive occasionally, but not always. Presumably when the gearbox is very hot and has idled for some time.

As for increasing RPMs during shifts, I'd say no, but I have to make a video to compare really. What happens during up or downshifts, is as-if something is pushing against the car and only then it shifts. Worst offenders being 1-3 and kickdown so 5th to say 3rd or 2nd depending on how many gears it drops. Uphill has become a battle of me maintaining a lower gear and the gearbox wanting to go to a higher gear even with the gas pedal fully pressed down.

As I mentioned before, I've done 3 drain and fills for at least 10-11 liters of fluid, all JWS 3309 spec and as a last resort a LubeGuard red additive. The fluid always comes out brown and muddy and never a hint of reddish.

As for cold/hot garage shifts, I can't say for certain, I'd say it's almost random.

There have been issues where from being completely stopped I mash the gas pedal and the RPMs increase and then the engine boggs down and then suddenly the power comes on, not sure if related.

I think your transmission would respond well to a rebuilt or new valve body, the question that always more difficult to determine is the condition of the rest of the transmission. If you do the work yourself, you can put a new valve body in for ~$500. The new valve body should fix the shifting problems but if there's other internal transmission problems it would need to be rebuilt, that gets more expensive. The new valve body may give your transmission and car more life but it can't fix everything if there's other problems with the transmission, such as worn out clutch packs. This is why I always ask if the transmission is slipping or not, if not there's a greater chance a valve body would be enough to get you going again. It all depends on how much work you do yourself, what you're willing to spend and if you want to take a chance on the valve body knowing it may not solve all the transmission problems.