Today I began getting my 1996 850 road worthy. (This is a non-turbo w/ a MANUAL transmission). I replaced the wheel bearing (ended up having to drill the bolts out) and replaced the outside CV boot. I also replaced the brake pads (Hawk HPS) and rotor (brembo).

When I pulled the half shaft out of the transmission (this being on the driver side), a ton of grey liquid started pouring out. I assume this was transmission fluid, but I've never seen it look so bad and why was it coming out - was it too full and above the fill line? When I have changed manual transmission fluid before on other cars (Audis), it still retained its color and looked fine.

What I saw is transmission fluid, correct? I saw two bolts on the driver side of the transmission, are they the drain and fill bolts? Any recommendations on what fluid to use, I usually use Redline products but I can't find it locally.

Thanks in advance!

The oil from the dealer is recommended. I've been changing mine at the 100k mark (279k now). The oil is a light brown clear fluid that is indisquingisable from the Redline MTL I use in my 240. The gray stuff you saw may have been worn rubber from the seals, or indicate a more serious problem. If the oil resembles metallic paint when you drain it it is a sign a bearing is going bad.

Oh man, mine was definitely a grey metallic. I really hope a bearing in the transmission isn't going bad. I guess that would call for a new transmission or a complete rebuild?

Are these cars known for a certain bearing going bad?

Thanks!

I had this issue on a SAAB 9000 at 170k -- Pulled transmission and replaced the bearings. started missing shifts into fifth. Found the countershaft retaining nut had lost its preload as the bearing it loaded had grooves ground into the rollers. Surprisingly little damage for a lot of metallic in the oil. Unfortunately the Volvo manual says no individual parts are available and does not give disassembly instructions, leaving dealer exchange as the option. Used transmission (for mine) runs $1670 - http://www.everdrive.com/partdetails.aspx?sku=299001

The tranny oil is replaced via the plugs on the left side of the tranny.

I afraid I won't provide much clarity on the type of oil to be used.
I replaced the fluid in mine a couple years ago when I had a halfshaft out. Per a rather official looking Volvo document I purchased two quarts of Type F ATF for the job. Imagine my surprise when a light colored oil came pouring out (think fresh 5W-30). The ATF went in and is doing fine so far. I would NOT use gear lube unless you find something official that says so.

With the axle pulled it's a great time to replace the oil seals on the tranny.

-Will

You can use the following link to help you out.

Volvo calls for a GL5 or 80W.

you can use a 75W-90, 80W-90 weight product. See links below for more info.

http://www.weareoil.com/products/amsoil_svg.htm

Make sure your use reference zo#531585 when ordering.

There are drain and fill bolts on the driver's side (US) of the transaxle. many people remove both to drain the system and then close off the lower bolt and remove the reverse lamp switch and fill it from the top until it hits the bottom of the upper fill plug.

There is a ton of conflicting information on the boards as to what to use to refill it, some of the pros say Mobil 1 5W-30 synthetic and others say 75W-90 gear lube. There is a big spread there.

I will just buy the stupid expensive stuff (1161423) part number from Volvo when I change mine.

...Lee

Ozark Lee, when you do this, please post to the board what the fluid you buy from Volvo actually is. It should say all the specs on the bottle and it is good information to have for the rest of us. Esp those of us who live a good distance from a dealer and like to get fluids from local parts suppliers, who often sell the correct grades/specs of fluids - we just need to know what we're looking for.

I recently paid ~$40 CAN for a jug of fluid for the bevel gear in my '98 AWD, and the bottle had printed exactly what it was on the side - I can buy it at the local NAPA or Canadian Tire for less than half the dealer's price.