2002 S60 Transmission issue, drain and fill vs flush

Belle1708 · Post by **Belle1708** » 18 Jul 2011, 08:27

Howdy folks, you've got yourself a noob here!

I have a 2002 S60, not a turbo. It has 118K miles on it, and I admit, I haven't been the best steward of it's care and maintenance. I bought it 5 years ago at 51K miles. I remember even then, when I would shift from P to D, it seemed like it lagged in getting into gear. Most of the time it was a soft shift, but it's gotten a little rougher, and shifting while driving has felt much rougher. I tried to read as much as I could, and decided on just doing a drain and fill, not a transmission flush. I just did that today, fingers crossed it helps. I am an admitted COMPLETE girl (my darling husband doesn't know much about cars either) when it comes to car servicing, but thankfully I have a car junky co-worker who also recommended just a drain and fill. I've read/heard that my car doesn't have a transmission filter, is that true? The shop I took it to didn't mention it, and, frankly, I'm too embarrassed to call back and ask them. I was pleased enough that they were willing to just do the drain and fill and not a flush. Did I do the right thing? It was replaced with synthetic fluid, and I was surprised at how inexpensive it was. The cost makes me suspect to it not being enough. It only cost about $65 for the drain and fill.

Post by **jimmy57** » 18 Jul 2011, 08:35

The filter is inside but is not accessible without a full teardown. Filters on a high percentage of late model vehicles are strainers to prevent the fluid pump from picking up particles large enough to be a problem. The filtration is actually by letting the particles settle to bottom of gearbox near the drain which is an area where the fluid is not active and the stuff will just sit on bottom.
Flushing seems to be all the rage but if you do not drain the fluid via plug you are leaving the sediment in the gearbox.
DO you know if the fluid change has made a difference?
How many quarts did you add back to get it to full after your drain?

Belle1708 · Post by **Belle1708** » 18 Jul 2011, 08:42

WOW! Thanks for the super quick reply!

I haven't really driven the car to know whether it's driving better. I just did the drain and fill this morning, and the shop is literally right behind where I work, so I've only driven it 100 yards. I believe they put in 4 quarts of fluid, at least that's what the receipt says. Again, I hate to admit it, but I am such a girl when it comes to car repairs.

marcus · Post by **marcus** » 18 Jul 2011, 13:34

What I heard they can pump out rest of oil, what left after drain it out. Do they can and is efficient I don know? I would say no. When oil in my trany was changed new oil was dirty as before change. It is impossible to drain all oil from the transmission.
What I am doing is I am draining oil from the pen, next I am adding what is missed in the transmission and I am taking out hose after radiator at the input to transmission. I am running engine and letting them drain, adding occasionally until I see new clear oil.

You can check how clear is the oil. But remember the layer of the oil on the stick is so thin that always the oil looks some what transparent and clear.

If you change first time oil after prolonged time do it again after couple thousand miles.

eomutlu63 · Post by **eomutlu63** » 05 Sep 2014, 02:32

jimmy57 wrote:The filter is inside but is not accessible without a full teardown. Filters on a high percentage of late model vehicles are strainers to prevent the fluid pump from picking up particles large enough to be a problem. The filtration is actually by letting the particles settle to bottom of gearbox near the drain which is an area where the fluid is not active and the stuff will just sit on bottom.
Flushing seems to be all the rage but if you do not drain the fluid via plug you are leaving the sediment in the gearbox.
DO you know if the fluid change has made a difference?
How many quarts did you add back to get it to full after your drain?

So, removing the oil pane (atf chamber) while flushing the gearbox is best to get rid of particules since the filter is not accessible? Am I right?

eomutlu63 · Post by **eomutlu63** » 05 Sep 2014, 02:33

So, removing the oil pane (atf chamber) while flushing the gearbox is best to get rid of particules since the filter is not accessible? Am I right?

Post by **regent** » 05 Sep 2014, 06:02

Welcome aboard!

For a fluid change on a "filterless" transmission , you do not have to open anything at all. If you are doing a fluid change for the first time at this (mile)age, your best option is the incremental drain-and-fill method (just by the drain plug).
You can search the forums for complete details, there is plenty of useful information and step-by-step instructions.

Post by **abscate** » 06 Sep 2014, 03:52

Welcome aboard Belle and kudos for getting under you car !

Here's a link to a thread on doing a drain/fill on an S60...it is pretty simple.

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... ll#p317013

Used search terms ' S60 transmission drain fill'

Post by **JRL** » 06 Sep 2014, 09:59

BTW no one mentioned that you need to do at least THREE (3) drain and fills (if you're actually doing that) to get pretty much all the fluid out of there.

A single drain and fill is helpful but will not solve the problem