Someone gifted me a 2001 v70 with the automatic transmission. and all the inherent tranny problems. Ive changed the fluid and it worked well for a long while, but it started acting up again. Before the tranny fails completely i would like to have one ready to swap out from a newer model year that have ironed out the problems. Any suggestions? Will I have to change the computer? Will it have to be done by the dealer?

It depends on if you have a 4 or 5 speed tranny. Get newer if you can. The TCU does not need to be swapped. If you replace the TCU, you need to get to the dealer to have it updated, there are a lot of software updates that need to be applied.

Taking you current tranny to the dealer for software updates might be a consideration???
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My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic

Klaus, I took it to the dealer and had the software upgrades installed a few months ago. The mechanic drained the fluid from the tranny and replaced 3 or 4 quarts. It shifted great for a few months but now some hesitation is starting to reappear. Its been explained to me that a complete flush would be a very stupid thing to do, however if changing 3 or 4 quarts helped why wouldn't a complete flush be more beneficial? When I ask this question those who know roll their eyes, and suggest that the fluid would be too clean. Is there maybe a better typr od transmission fluid that would help? You have been a wealth of information to me the few times I've posted here over the years. So I am going to address another issue and hope you mike some sense of this as well. Sometimes its hard to push the brake pedal on my car. It usually happens after I've been driving a distance but not always. There is a moaning sound the car makes coming from a boot attached to the brake pedal in the cabin that goes into the firewall, i felt around and slid the boot up towards the firewall and the sound went away for awhile but it has returned, is there a clamp, a zip tie or something that goes bad and causes a vaccuum problem in this area? Could this vaccuum problem be associated with the tranny as well?

Tranny fluid too clean? How does it come from the factory, dirty? No, the oldtimers spreading wive's tales are talking about the old 2 and 3 speed Borg Warner trannies of old, where the sludge buildup was so bad that the introduction of new fluid would break up the sludge and block passages and kill the tranny. These newer cars are not like that.

Of course, you do not want to take your car to a place that uses a power flushing machine, they usually use too much force and that breaks internals. What you want to do is use the car engine and tranny pump to do its own flush. Or drain the fluid from the sump 3 weekends in a row. You can do either method in your garage or driveway. You will need a new crush washer for each drain or a new hose clamp for the flush.

The brakes. The pedal pushes a rod through the firewall and the rod extends into the vacuum assisted brake cannister to help push the brake fluid outward to the brakes. The black boot just sticks into the firewall to keep dust off the rod and air coming in from the hole in the firewall.
Shoving the boot back into place is good, but also consider spraying a little silicone on the rod behind the boot so the rod slides better.

If the brake pedal sometimes is hard to push, you have a vacuum problem in the engine compartment. Either the oneway valve in the booster vacuum line is broken or there is low vacuum in the intake manifold. I would look for cracked vacuum lines first.
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My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic