S80 Non-Turbo Transmission. Should I worry?

trill2ride · Post by **trill2ride** » 10 Jul 2012, 09:48

Hey Guys,

So I have spent a lot of money on my 2000 S80 Non-Turbo this year for parts and repair. I have replaced the ignition cylinder and throttle body and now I need to replace the MAF and ABS module.

I know that the transmission on these cars is very weak. I do not have the money for a transmission rebuild.

What I want to know is it guaranteed that the transmission will fail on these cars eventually? The money I am spending right now on these repairs will go to waste if the transmission fails cuz I wont have the money to repair that.

Any suggestions?

hatpmv · Post by **hatpmv** » 10 Jul 2012, 11:13

been wondering the same thing, I too have an s80 non turbo, and been reading the horror stories after I bought the car.

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 10 Jul 2012, 11:20

You can be guaranteed the automatic transmission will "fail" on each and every car on the road at some point. Clutch plates, bands, solenoids, pistons, pumps, gear packs are all essential parts for the transmission to function properly. Failure of any one of these parts can lead to transmission issues. In some cases it might just be a drivabilty annoyance, or you might up with no drive whatsoever, its a crapshoot.

Your saving grace may be that the non turbo's torque curve is more along the lines of what the GM transmission was originally intended for. The T6 however puts out more torque than quite a few V8s and over a wider band often leading to premature death of the transmission. Its even worse with the XC90 T6 as it carries roughly another 1000lbs all day every day.

There is no way to know for sure. Solenoids can simply give up in any transmission for example. Inspecting the fluid color and smell and ensuring that at the very least you change the filter and fluid occasionally will give you your best chance of survival. Along with not beating it of course.

Short answer: Keep an eye on the fluid, don't beat on it and you'll probably be just fine.

trill2ride · Post by **trill2ride** » 10 Jul 2012, 11:31

How often should I be changing the ATF and the filter?

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 11 Jul 2012, 08:27

Once you get the original fluid exchanged out of there I think I would do a drain, fill and filter every 15K miles. Opinions vary but I think I would plan on doing mine every 15K...at least with Dexron III, with VI maybe push it out to 30K. I'm no transmission expert these are merely my hunches.

I think the ideal process would be...

Get a 5Gal pail of "generic" Dexron III fluid and a filter. (Oreillys have a 5gal pail of Dexron III for about about 70bucks).
Filterwise I believe you can use a filter from a '00 impala 3800.
Do a fluid exchange with the Dexron III(look up the flush article for the V70), replace the filter.
Drive for a week or 300miles (ish)
Do a fluid exchange and filter change with Dexron VI

Depends how OCD you want to be. Dexron VI is nice but pricy, if sticker shock is an issue for you (it is for me) then I would say that the frequency that you change the fluid is more important than the choice between Dexron III and VI.

There is a lot of debate that putting new fluid in an older transmission causes issues, sometimes by cleaning crud that was helping keep things together. I don't buy it, reason being the inside of a well running transmission is typically pristine there's little to no crud in there to displace. If your transmission has an underlying issue then that might be different.
Pays your money and takes your chance.

When I get Medusa ('99 T6 203K miles) running again I will be doing a fluid exchange with Dexron III, don't think I'll bother with the next step of doing another exchange with VI though.

trill2ride · Post by **trill2ride** » 13 Jul 2012, 13:29

So I just checked my transmission fluid level and I see some bubbles. Its not foamy or anything but there are a few bubbles. The color and the level look normal and there is no burnt smell.

Any ideas as to where the bubbles are coming from?

Post by **IdahoBob** » 16 Jul 2012, 23:50

Is this the same tranny on the 01-02, etc. 2.9 l (non-turbo) S80? If yes, look around this site for the very nicely done tranny oil change article done by Vegas Jet Skier. It's the same trans used by GM for some of their cars, and I've found the thing to be almost bullet-proof (210K miles on my 2002 2.9l S80), even with my bouncy, lead foot teenage daughter driving it the last two years. Small warning here: You'll think the trans is about to fall out, and Volvo wants $6K to replace it...have a look at your axles ($700 each for Volvo to replace with factory parts) or less than $100 each if you do it in the drive way with Chinese parts. Both of mine went out between 100K and 140K miles. I owned the car when the secodn one went out, and I thoguht the trans was trashed. Tooka chance, repalced the other axle, and 70K later still no trans worries. I did notice a difference when I changed out the trans oil 40 or 50 K miles ago. Not as noticeable as when changing oil onthe XC70, but some improvement. Conclusions: 1) It's a good trans, not the sad one in the XC's. 2) yes, change the oil, see Vegas, etc.'s article on this site. 3) Suspect axles if you think your trans is going kaputt. If you have to get it worked on, find someone who immediately recognizes it as the same trans in some of the Malibu's, don't reflexively let the dealer overcharge you as if it was something uniquely Volvo.

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 18 Jul 2012, 12:27

T6 S80 and T6 XC90 use the same GM transmission, however it is not identical to that found in the GM3800's, the valve body is different for sure. Between the XC90 and S80 T6, biggest difference is it hauls 1000lbs of extra weight in the XC.
Every "failure" is different, so judge each on a case-by-case basis.

Idahobob exactly what symptoms were you experiencing when you suspected the transmission at first?