I'm moving to California from chicago, about a 2100 mile drive and will be towing a trailer to haul all my stuff. I just got the car about a week ago, figure I should do all the maintenance stuff before I leave. So I call up the dealer and ask if I need to change the transmission fluid before I leave (I have a manual). To my surprise, the guy said if I haven't changed it, it shouldn't be changed, esp since there is 90k on the car. He said Volvo doesn't have a scheduled maintainence for the transmission fluid and if I start changing the fluid now, it might lead to more problems than if I left it alone. He just told me to drive slower, to keep the transmission from over heating.

Hey, I don't know nothing about Volvos, but that sounded a little screwy to me. Just want to check with everyone first before I do/don't do anything to my car.

I have to agree with everyone else. Your dealer is nuts.

I do have a suggestion, however. About 20 years ago I made one of these moves, with a big U-Haul trailer towed by a Dodge Dart with a 318 V8. No lack of torque, but the car was never the same again.

You might want to considering renting a truck, and towing the Volvo behind it. Otherwise, everything that happens for the next few years (like when you replace the clutch) you'll blame on the tow.

-Phil Punxsutawney

Get a new dealer. HE IS WACKED. Yes Volvo doesn't seem to recommend a change interval on the M56, but they have been wrong before as well. At 90K don't sweat it, though. The Volvo special gear lube is synthetic (I'm pretty sure), and at 90K you should be fine.

There is never any harm (other than your pocket book) with frequent and proper lube changes in a manual.

Drive slower? Transmission overheating? He must have been thinking automatic or smoking crack.

Paul Seminara wrote:

> Get a new dealer. HE IS WACKED. Yes Volvo doesn't seem to recommend a

> change interval on the M56, but they have been wrong before as well.

> At 90K don't sweat it, though. The Volvo special gear lube is

> synthetic (I'm pretty sure), and at 90K you should be fine.

> There is never any harm (other than your pocket book) with frequent

> and proper lube changes in a manual.

The Service Manager at my local dealer (where they *do* actually change tranny fluid) said that the biggest reason that Volvo pulled the recommendation on the trannies was due to the risk of contamination and, with a 30k service interval, the probability of a contamination-related failure which would result in a warranty claim would be too high.

Does that mean you shouldn't change the fluid? No. Does that mean you should be careful? Yes. And make sure your dealer, or whoever changes your fluid, is too. This is especially critical in automatics where tolerances are SO close. (Contamination risk is also why there's no tranny dipstick--that's the single most common place for contamination.)

Change it, use the right fluid for the job, and keep your car alive.

-cj

PS My non-volvo is a 1988 Merkur Scorpio whose auto fluid has been changed pretty regularly at 30-40k intervals. Most folks get 120k out of these trannies, but mine's still doing alright at 150k. Clean fluid good. :-)

Sorry to tell you, but the Volvo 850 as well as many other models with auto trannies have dipsticks for the ATF.

He must be smokin' to be working at the dealer. This AWD/FWD forum stuff is weird. It's the Volvo twilight zone where nothing seems quite the same.

Rene

A dealer told me the same thing, that changing the fluid would cause leaking in the seals and other issues. But every independent I talked to told me otherwise. i had mine changed, I live in Chicago too, and it ran better, shifted better, no leaks. I plan on doing it again the next 30k I put on. Mine is a 94 turbo wagon with an automatic.

There's been extensive debate on this issue. I did not change my tranny fluid before my Dallas, TX to California trek (see "Re: What needs considered when adding a trailer hitch" I posted on April 11). I did have mine changed after the trip by an independent shop who used the power method described in other posts, most of which are in the archives. You can also find this procedure at http://www.volvospeed.com/bay13.htm. The BrickBoard archives also have descriptions about do-it-yourself power flushing techniques and discussions about why tranny fluid changes are not "required", as well as fluid recommendations.

My 2¢ is to have it changed beforehand by an independent who will power flush it, then again after the trip. Even if you use a non-synthetic fluid many folks are conviced you'll be far better off with fresh fluid every 15K miles than the aging original.

Have a great trip!

I looked for your post (April 11) re towing - no success. Please review and advise. Thanks.

John R -

It was April 10 and I have an automatic. Sorry for the confusion and for not paying closer attention. Never hurts to change the fluid and as John O stated it's much easier. My post is pasted below:

I pulled a 9 x 10 U-Haul trailer from Dallas, TX to northern California late last June with only one little problem that fixed itself (more on that later).

U-Haul installed the hitch and the only part visible is the receiver. You don't need the spend platinum prices for the Volvo hitch.

I did have Volvo install the wiring adapter thinking this would prevent any electrical problems on the road. While it works great I don't think I'd recommend it due to expense if an aftermarket unit is available. You need an adapter that uses the brake and turn-signal light circuit to activate the adapter's relay which then draws trailer light current from the car's battery so as to not add electical load to the car light circuit. U-Haul claims theirs works that way. (No, this is not a U-Haul ad.)

Since the loaded trailer weighed nearly as much as the car I had to make sure it was packed and balanced properly. In my case I drove I-10 when it was in the 90's and 100's but the engine temp never increased even going uphill with the A/C on. I also used "Sport" mode on the tranny to load the engine through higher rpm then let up on the accelerator slightly so the tranny could shift with less direct load. Mine was a 3-day trip with 12 hours or nearly non-stop driving each day and the car performed great with no suspension changes from stock.

The only little problem I had was when the tranny refused to upshift from 3rd to 4th gear and did not shift into reverse (from Park or Neutral). I received many helpful responses from this board as to possible causes, however despite the learned feedback no one was able to identify it. I parked carefully and continued the last leg in 3rd at 3500 rpm with no other problems. When I diconnectd the trailer electical (ignition off) at my destination and drove off all was normal again. The only cause I can figure is I was working the Winter Mode tranny switch, the brakes, and shifter almost simultaneously to get some breaking for a surprise downhill grade and must have confused the ECU. It's never happend on subsequent trailer hitch-ups on across-town hauls. If it does I'll just shut off the engine, disconnect the trailer electical, reconnect it, start the engine and all should be well.

Hope this was helpful, if not entertaining

It's a manual trans so there's no "power flush", just a drain and fill.

The fluid in manual trannies is synthetic and most dealers don't even stock it BUT there's also no reason why changing it could possibly do any harm whatsoever, that "logic" makes no sense to me.

I have two Volvos with the Manual 5 speed tranny. A 1995 Wagon (5 speed) and a 1999 Volvo S70 (5 speed.) Yes, as many people have noted, Volvo does not recommend changing the synthetic gear oil. Do I agree with this, well frankly no. They are trying to devise a maintainence schedule that makes it easy for the consumer and gives a resonable service life out of the tranny. The tranny does have a small vent hole to the outside which means over time dirt etc. does get in there. Not to mention after 60K even synthetic gets kind of nasty. I change the manual gear box oil every 60K. It is cheap insurance and my own European garage recommends the same on Audis and BMWs as well and I value their advice highly. Will you hurt you car by driving and towing without changing the manual tranny oil. I seriously doubt you would hurt it one bit, but I would consider changing at some point if you plan to keep the car long term.

Good Luck.

Nate