What are the symptoms? If it's rough 2-3 shifts, and some other roughness, it's the valve body, not the whole transmission.

IF, the rare chance you actually need a transmission, it'll have to be from another XC90 V8. You'll want to source one from a 2008 or newer.

 

Same thing happened to my 08 when it hit 120K.
I found an independent mechanic who would rebuild it for around $3500 but only warranty it for a year.
Another who would order a remanufactured unit for around $4800 but he would only warranty it for 3 years.
I ended up having Volvo do it. I'm pretty sure they only install remanufactured transmissions because they no longer make the TF80-SC transmission. it was around $6500 but I had a loaner XC60 for the 2 weeks it was in the shop, and it has a lifetime warranty on parts and labor so the next time it acts up it won't be up to me to fix it.

 

I did the same with my 07 XC90 V8, went with Volvo dealer to replace mine with life warranty on part and Labor, cost me about CAD $7000

 

It's flaring up, hasn't started to do hard shifting yet but it's slipping pretty bad.

 

Valve body. There's a thread about it in the R forum.

A transmission flush may fix it, but if not, just need to replace the vb. Overfill by about 1/2qt, then change atf every 30-50k.

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Valve body. There's a thread about it in the R forum.

A transmission flush may fix it, but if not, just need to replace the vb. Overfill by about 1/2qt, then change atf every 30-50k.

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It's actually recommended to overfill when experiencing valve body issues? I haven't seen that before.

 

You can DIY a 100% fluid change pretty easy, just get a $3 5gal bucket from the hardware store and graduate it with a sharpie, in 1 qt intervals, up to 15. Then pull the top trans cooler hose, get about 5 ft of 1/2" (IIRC) clear vinyl hardware store hose (it fit snug into the top radiator connection), run the other end into the bucket, then run the car until 2 qts come out, stop, fill 2 qts, etc. until the fluid runs red.

 

Hey thanks you guys for the helpful tips and info. I?ve been doing a lot of research about this. Yes I?ve must?ve read that thread about how to flush your system like 50times or more. I ordered a case of the mobile 3309 transmission oil (should arrive on Friday) and got a bottle of that Lucus transmission stuff so I can do a flush this weekend.

What I?m still struggling with is that back in 2014 when it was last seen at a Volvo dealership it was noted that there was an issue with the transmission. I actually called the dealership and talked to one of the service guys and asked if he could read me the notes over the phone because they weren?t allowed to send me copies of the service records without written permission from the owner(hello I am the owner now) at the time. Back in 2014 the car only had 134k on it. When I bought it ?as is? two months ago it had 142k on it, and now as of yesterday it?s has 145k on it. The service guy shocked to know this when he said? humm it only lasted that long?. Something seems fishy here now. It just doesn?t seem right, because one would think that A. That the dealership if they owned it in 2014 should have fixed it in order to sell it. B. they should have disclosed that info and then eventually that would have been disclosed to me. But with out knowing who the registered owner was I?m just pissing into the wind now and have to suck it. Well, now onto the next cheapest way of trying to fix the problem.

 

If that car has spent a lot of time in San Francisco I think you might be in for a transmission change. Hopefully the fluid change and conditioner will get you some more miles but if the fluid does not come out black it has already been changed.

 

Transmission problems are not always that easy to diagnose. Most likely it's just the valve body, which is a common issue on these transmissions. It's also very hard to replicate the problem unless it's really really bad.

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I had similar issues with my '07 3.2. There is a way to tell from your transmission serial number if the valve body is the early style that is succeptible to wear. Mine luckily wasn't, but it still showed valve body issues. I drained and filled using the transmission cooler method, combined with draining from the pan. Relatively easy. Use a long nut (coupling nut) to open the drain rather than buying some special tool. Just get a nut that fits and use a wrench on the part that sticks out due to the length of the nut. My best suggestion, though, is to use half a bottle of LubeGard Red instead of the Lucas stuff. I used Toyota type IV fluids instead of Volvo stuff and have been nearly trouble free (just a little excess hunting for gears when I head up into the mountains) for over 2 years now.

 

Shoot that?s what I paid for the car. If I had known that I would have had to put another $7grad into this car I should have bought something newer. I?m an outta work single dad. $14,000 is a lot of money for me to spend in two months time. But I see your point in having the dealership do the repairs. It?s just to bad that class action lawsuit that Volvo lost a few years back over this exact same issue did apply to all the 2003-2007 models regardless of how many miles were on them.

 

Buy 12 quarts of fluid from FCPEuro.com and a bottle of Lucas Transmission Fix. You'll be in for about $90 total. Start doing drain and fills. When you get to the final one, add the bottle of Lucas. Just changing out the fluid will make a difference.

 

Yup that?s exactly what I?m doin today. I got the tranny oil on Friday. It?s not raining today. My kids are with my ex. See if this works.