Alright brickers,
I see every which and way to do a transmission flush on an automatic (done one myself), but I never see anything about the mannual version. I got a 96 850 with, you guessed it, a 5-speed. I want to go ahead and flush her out since I bought the car used and they have no record of doing it. So is it the same idea as the auto or different?
Thanks,
Blake

...since a manual gearbox is just (get ready!)... a metal box full of gears half-filled with oil. There aren't any pumps or passages or valves like in an automatic.

It doesn't get dirty unless you introduce dirt into the box ... like, by changing the oil, and it should be chemically stable for about the next 100,000,000 years!

I've also read the Volvo gear oil is just overpriced 5W30 synthetic motor oil (wink wink, nudge nudge).

My indy Volvo shop highly discouraged me from the idea of changing the gear oil.

-BTC

'98 V70 T5 5-speed, 166k mi, front IPD stabilizer bar, rear factory HD bar, Bilstein HD, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, e-codes, V-1, Mobil-1 since new

"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair." -- Douglas Adams (1952-2001)

I had my manual transmission flushed/refilled at 140k while my 1995 850 was in the shop having the clutch replaced. Pressure plate fingers failed, fortunately I was able to get it to work with an independant transmission shop a block away. I bought 3 quarts of Redline MTL from FCPGroton (part 83522-50204, $10/quart) and had them do it while the transmission was apart. Made a huge difference in the shift quality - i couldn't believe how smoothly it shifted! Highly recommended if you're having transmission work done, otherwise the giant drain/fill plugs are a pain to remove.

It wouldn't hurt to have it done, especially if you're paying $1200 to get the clutch done at the same time.

It's called a "drain and fill" and be sure to use the correct Volvo synthetic trans fluid from your dealer.

Idea on the cost on it? Do I have to get it at the Volvo dealer (it always smells like pork..)?
Thanks again,
Blake

You can change out the fluid in it if you want but, truthfully, the two that I did in my shop were absolutely perfect. I mean they were so good that I don't even bother with upselling it on the occassional one that will come through the shop. Of course we check them when they are in and the levels are up and the fluid looks like it was poured in there yesterday. To answer your question on the fluid, the Volvo blue book calls out "All-Synthetic 5W/30" p/n 1161423-7, volume 2.1 litres. I would price it with Volvo and if it is outrageously priced you might want to consider a synthetic alternative like Mobil 1. They list "All-Synthetic" just like that, like it might be a brand name or something but you never know. It could be just another one of their "Swenglish" translations too.

Mark