Just bought a 03 V40 with 111K on the clock. Couldn't figure out the noisy engine at idle. It shifted fine, but yesterday morning it slipped badly leaving the driveway (30 degrees outside), then it ran fine. I'm hearing more and more whining from right over the driver's feet, and I have started to R&R the ATF with Mobil 3309. It was almost black to start with. Any prognosis? Any solutions?

Michael
life list: 240 wgn, 740T(wgn and sdn), 760 wgn, V70, V90

Well, the good news is that the trans is much better now--after a total of 15 quarts of ATF drained and replaced about 3 qts at a time over a 3 month period and about 3000 miles. It is red and transparent and smells like ATF should smell at last. The trans was always smooth, but made a whining noise in low gears that scared me. It still sometimes makes more noise than I think it should, but otherwise it is working fine.

Verify that the ATF level is good. I like to do it with a cold engine/tranny. Just pop the hood, start the engine, move the shift lever to all slots for 2-5 seconds, put it in park and check the level with the engine running. The cold side of the dip stick should be at or slightly above the max mark.

Klaus
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There is no present time, just the past and future

That does not sound good. You are doing the right thing by flushing the ATF. But, please check the level at both settings, cold and hot. Make sure the engine is idling when you check the level, and the car is level.

Klaus
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Did you do your Random Act of Kindness today?

Thanks Klaus. After R and R of about 2 qts of ATF and a couple of trips around the block, it reads almost in the hot range with the engine running and sitting in the carport. I'll check the readings again tomorrow and adjust as necessary. It ran fine with the new ATF, perhaps a little quieter, but that may have been my imagination. It actually left a little rubber once--just a test officer.... I'm planning to put a couple hundred miles on it, then R and R the ATF again. I've got almost 4 qts of 3309 left from the case I bought online. PS, it was a bit low when it was slipping.

The reason I asked about the level, when I picked up my V70 the owner said he flushed the tranny so I never bothered to check the level, just the color. When the outside temps went to -20F, the tranny made a terrible sound until it warmed up - about 100 yds in 1st gear.

I checked the level and it was 2 quarts low! I guess he flushed and forgot to add the last 2 quarts. It worked fine until the temp got really cold.

Your tranny should be just above the top mark on the hot side when very hot and at the top mark when cold and just started. Parked with the engine off and ATF cold, it should read over full by a lot.

Glad to see it is just ATF level,

Klaus

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Did you do your Random Act of Kindness today?

OK, stone cold on the carport, the ATF now reads half way between the cold range and the hot range on the dipstick. Fluid is still more brown than red, but I've got almost 4 qts left from the case. The problem is that last night on the beer run it slipped again leaving the driveway. Temp gauge was not registering any heat at that point. It is probably unrelated, but the clock and info center reset themselves yesterday afternoon. And the HVAC fan surges occasionally, even if it is set to something other than auto. Whine, whine, whine.