I called my mechanic today, he gets $149 for the trans flush service - the machine that you hook up to the trans line that flushes out the old fluid until you can see clean pink fluid come through. Someone on this board mentioned they took their 850 to the Volvo dealer and it cost them around $80 - so I called my local guy and he said they charge $90 for the fluid change. They do not have the machine. He did ask me how many miles were on the car (106K) and if the trans fluid was ever flushed out before, which I think it was but I got the car with 97K on the clock so I can't be sure (the fluid is not bad looking). He recommended I just change the fluid myself perhaps twice (dump and fill, then wait a few weeks and do it again until the fluid looks clean). He did not recommend the flush as an "old school" mechanic approach as to not knowing if the trans was flushed out before - his experience is that a flush may unclog clogged areas which may then start to cause problems/leaks on higher mileage cars that may never had this done before. I think I may go with this plan - change the fluid myself.

Thoughts? BTW, where is the trans drain plug, is it easy to get to?

Thanx.

Keith Ruff
95 850 Turbo Wagon

think the $80 is pure BS...my volvo dealer quoted me £170 for the fluid (thats about $250-300 without doing the job...and its wasnt even sythetic..i laughed (politely) and went down to my local shop and bought the fluid for £60 (circa $100) and away i went...unfortunately i had to buy the hose clip & o-ring from the dealer and that alone was £10 ($15-20)!

but as others have said DIY it...after all im goign to be going mine once a year or every 30k whichever occurs sooner so its worth havign the kit and the skill and sving yourself a shedload every year (or a potentially expensive trans failure) while your at it replace the top suspension bush - agian an easy job and cheap part and they fail frequently and this leads to a 'hard' shift...

I'd go a step further, and use synthetic ATF when I flushed.

You all mention the changing of the transmission fluid, but, what about the transmission filter, is there one? I have read where there is but I am unable to locate the item for purchase. What's the story?

As far as I know, the 850 never had a trans filter which is why it is critical to change the fluid every 30K.

To all that recommended the kit and DIY flush, thanx! Worked great! Tranny fluid was horrible, looked black! Nice and clean now, though it probably could have used another 2 qts to flush (I used 12 qts). Trans seems to be shifting a little smoother now.

I'll add my vote for Mobil 1 as an addendum to my post below. I used it for my last flush (80K miles, now 86k) and the trans smoothed out and my average mileage went up about 1.3 mpg, which speaks legions about friction reduction. Mobil 1 is a lot more expensive than dino, but when you do this yourself, it still is not an expensive proposition...

96 850 Turbo

I agree with Dick..if you can swing the extra $$ go with the syns. I flushed ours last year with Mobil 1 and the only way to tell when the tranny shifts is by watching the tach. Smooth! What sold me was the guys that run temperature gauges on their trannys see a 20-30 deg temperature drop with Mobil 1.

bruce

I agree with Dick..if you can swing the extra $$ go with the syns. I flushed ours last year with Mobil 1 and the only way to tell when the tranny shifts is by watching the tach. Smooth! What sold me was the guys that run temperature gauges on their trannys see a 20-30 deg temperature drop with Mobil 1.

bruce

I did the home flush also, using the clear tubing and a case of new fluid (actually, I used 14 quarts), as others here have said and it was very easy. Just don't let the pump pull any air, if you see bubbles in the hose shut the motor down immediately and refill the trans. If the pump is pulling air then it isn't being lubricated and it will burn up. I was a little leary like you, I did the flush right after I bought the car, with about 90K on the clock, and I believe it still had the original fluid in it. I heard all the stories about the trans getting worse after the fluid change when there's that much mileage on original fluid but figured it had to be done sooner or later. Did the change and what an improvement, the trans shifted much more smoothly and to date, about a year later, no slippage or problems (knock on wood).

ditto on my experience..mine had 60k on it and the fluid was nasty...

only thing I can add is to get a new hose clip & o ring and have a freind handy to stop and start the car...

also i would do the top engine mount at the same time...on he ground that if the fluid needs changing the engine mount does too!

Go to this site: http://www.volvospeed.com/Repair/Transflush.htm

This tells you exactly how to flush yourself. VERY easy. A mentioned in the previous post, get some 1/2 ID clear vinyl tubing from Home Depot, a spare hose clip from your dealer (in case you break the existing one or spread it too much) and go at it. I used a translucent 5 gal container, marked it off in 2 quart sections with a magic marker and proceeded according to the instructions on the site. Again, VERY easy!

96 850 Turbo

Or you can buy about 4' of 1/2" ID clear vinyl tubing at Home Depot for a $1.00. get a case of fluid and do it in your driveway in < 30 mins and never jack the car or get your hands dirty. Nothin to it. Takes about 11-12 qts. until the fluid runs out bright red.

bl

http://www.ipdusa.com/ProductsCat.aspx?CategoryID=1449&NodeID=4549&RootID=629

Kit costs about $12 and you can do it at home pretty easily.

And it works great.

And it works great.

And it works great.

And it works great.