'05 V50 T5 M66, '04 XC70, '98 V70 AWD, various junk from other brands
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I’ll start this one with a little backstory. I bought my 04 XC70 a little over a year ago with roughly 187k miles on it for cheap because the transmission would shift like hot garbage after it was warmed up and was basically undriveable, but was mostly fine for the ~15 minutes of driving that it was still cold. Previous owner thought it needed a new trans, hence the asking price.
I immediately got to work fixing it. Thanks to some research on here and on other Volvo forums, I found that worn out solenoids in the trans were causing my issues. I pulled the cover (kind of a pain, but doable. A forum post that I’ve since lost and the VIDA instructions were key) and replaced the three main solenoids. Sealed it back up, put the car back together, drained and refilled the fluid to the same level with Volvo Genuine fluid (verified correct level on dipstick), reset the fluid counters with VIDA, and took it for a drive. It shifted kinda rough at first as it got used to the new solenoids, but after a week of varied driving, it started shifting pretty much exactly like my old 05 XC90 with the same drivetrain. Thought it was fixed, drove it over 10k miles no issues. Earlier this year when it was still cold outside it started shifting like crap when it was cold. Super rough shifts and the occasional flare, and delayed drive and reverse engagement. Once it warmed up, it drove fine. If I drove it in manual mode, it was way better when cold, so I’d drive it for like 5 minutes in manual mode and then it’d be fine. Checked the fluid level and it was spot on, and didn’t look very dark. Figured it was a quirk of the trans having 200k on it and called it good enough, since it was fine unless it was super cold.
Well, as it’s gotten warmer, driving it cold isn’t as bad, but still not great. Still the occasional delayed drive and reverse engagement that goes away when warm. However, it isn’t shifting great when it’s warm either. 1-2 is pretty hard sometimes, 2-3 flares somewhat (although not always), 3-4 usually flares, and 4-5 is still good. Mostly the same in manual mode, but not as bad, especially since I can correct for it with changing throttle. Downshifts in manual mode don’t really engage unless I get the revs up usually (when slowing down). When giving it a bunch of gas and downshifting, as if I was trying to pass someone (in both manual and auto), it takes a good second or two to fully engage, especially the 3-2 and 4-3. 5-4 is fine. Almost like it’s in limbo between gears. Also, I’ve noticed the torque converter lockup works fine on the gas, but you let off and the revs drop. Give it gas again and it goes up and then comes back down as the converter locks again. Let off again, same deal. Rinse and repeat. I don’t remember it doing that last fall.
I can get a video of it if needed.
Is there anything I can do to prolong the life of my trans? It doesn’t slip, just shifting isn’t great. I’d love to get at least a few more thousand miles out of it before I either throw a junkyard AW55 in it or tackle an M66 swap (which would be awesome, but not in the budget currently unless so can get parts cheap). I also don’t really have the time for another project right now (my V50 is currently taking up my lift with its own issues), and it’s my daily, so prolonging the original trans’ life is ideal.
Would changing the fluid help? How about running the adaptation with VIDA? I’ve already done the solenoids, so it’s unlikely they are the problem again, right? Especially since it’s different symptoms. At least I would think.
Where should I begin?
Thanks in advance
I immediately got to work fixing it. Thanks to some research on here and on other Volvo forums, I found that worn out solenoids in the trans were causing my issues. I pulled the cover (kind of a pain, but doable. A forum post that I’ve since lost and the VIDA instructions were key) and replaced the three main solenoids. Sealed it back up, put the car back together, drained and refilled the fluid to the same level with Volvo Genuine fluid (verified correct level on dipstick), reset the fluid counters with VIDA, and took it for a drive. It shifted kinda rough at first as it got used to the new solenoids, but after a week of varied driving, it started shifting pretty much exactly like my old 05 XC90 with the same drivetrain. Thought it was fixed, drove it over 10k miles no issues. Earlier this year when it was still cold outside it started shifting like crap when it was cold. Super rough shifts and the occasional flare, and delayed drive and reverse engagement. Once it warmed up, it drove fine. If I drove it in manual mode, it was way better when cold, so I’d drive it for like 5 minutes in manual mode and then it’d be fine. Checked the fluid level and it was spot on, and didn’t look very dark. Figured it was a quirk of the trans having 200k on it and called it good enough, since it was fine unless it was super cold.
Well, as it’s gotten warmer, driving it cold isn’t as bad, but still not great. Still the occasional delayed drive and reverse engagement that goes away when warm. However, it isn’t shifting great when it’s warm either. 1-2 is pretty hard sometimes, 2-3 flares somewhat (although not always), 3-4 usually flares, and 4-5 is still good. Mostly the same in manual mode, but not as bad, especially since I can correct for it with changing throttle. Downshifts in manual mode don’t really engage unless I get the revs up usually (when slowing down). When giving it a bunch of gas and downshifting, as if I was trying to pass someone (in both manual and auto), it takes a good second or two to fully engage, especially the 3-2 and 4-3. 5-4 is fine. Almost like it’s in limbo between gears. Also, I’ve noticed the torque converter lockup works fine on the gas, but you let off and the revs drop. Give it gas again and it goes up and then comes back down as the converter locks again. Let off again, same deal. Rinse and repeat. I don’t remember it doing that last fall.
I can get a video of it if needed.
Is there anything I can do to prolong the life of my trans? It doesn’t slip, just shifting isn’t great. I’d love to get at least a few more thousand miles out of it before I either throw a junkyard AW55 in it or tackle an M66 swap (which would be awesome, but not in the budget currently unless so can get parts cheap). I also don’t really have the time for another project right now (my V50 is currently taking up my lift with its own issues), and it’s my daily, so prolonging the original trans’ life is ideal.
Would changing the fluid help? How about running the adaptation with VIDA? I’ve already done the solenoids, so it’s unlikely they are the problem again, right? Especially since it’s different symptoms. At least I would think.
Where should I begin?
Thanks in advance