24 replies to this topic

[jefhon]

can it hurt the transmission in any way to have it too overfull? it seemed like a reasonable question & i knew this would be the place to ask it. i had a '94 AT put in my 93 850 & the jaggers way overfilled it. it seems to shift fairly roughly as well...dunno about this symptom...

piece & bubles

[Skyshadow]

Its not exactly a good thing to do, and it can cause bubbles to appear on the dipstick, as for shifting rough I doubt that's related to overfilling, I may be wrong but maybe its the torque inverter? how long has it been shifting like that?

Its not exactly a good thing to do, and it can cause bubbles to appear on the dipstick, as for shifting rough I doubt that's related to overfilling, I may be wrong but maybe its the torque inverter? how long has it been shifting like that?

i meant torque converter, its late

[jefhon]

the rought shifting started witht he tranny switch/change. the other tranny had its own problems but didn't shift this roughly...

[bergmjs]

At the least, you're gonna blow all your seals out, input shaft seal and both axle seals.

[winterhalo]

Yes. Check for foaming on the dipstick. If too full just drain a little.

[jefhon]

roger wilco. thanks for the input: i will mos def be draining some out within the extremely near future. !!

[Keaton85]

At the least, you're gonna blow all your seals out, input shaft seal and both axle seals.

Unlikely as the tranny as a vent...

[bergmjs]

Unlikely as the tranny as a vent...

Where the hell is the vent?

[Keaton85]

It's the little yellowish cap that sticks up to the left of the PNP switch (standing in front of the vehicle facing the engine bay). It usually get's caught up in the harness when you are doing anything with the tranny. You could fill the tranny to the top with ATF and it would just vent out that port, although NOT a wise idea haha.

Realistically, it won't harm the tranny in the long run. Better to have to much then to little!

(personal opinion only)

[survolvo]

[cheat2win99]

tranny will shift rough if overfilled, mine was overfilled a few quarts and it was hard as crap, drained it and fine.

[Keaton85]

Ummm, idono what is going on then. I had a tranny that was overfilled with 4qts and shifted fine. Also my parents XC is overfilled at times to 1-2qts without issue. Depends on the climate maybe?

[jefhon]

interestsing conversation and questions raised. its good to know there is a vent though; i can confirm this via visual signs of fluid leakage on undercarriage and other areas. also, it has been quite some time since the tranny was replaced/filled with no serious issues (seals blowing out would be classified as pretty serious i think there would be undeniable symptoms of this).

one related question: IIRC, accurate readings on these tranny dipsticks seems difficult. i drained and refilled with 7-7.5 qts (mitchell's manual calls for 8.0 even); but the dipstick never reads exactly within either the hot or cold range on the dipsitck. i believe that i do make out a visible "lumping" if you will within the hot or cold range on the dipstick. but as far as i remember, the readings on these tranny dipsticks never have the same consistency as the oil dip or other sticks. does anyone have advice or confident knowledge about this? about reading the tranny dipsticks on these vehicles accurately? update: i think what is adding to my confusion over these questions is this: Haynes specifies 8.0 quarts for a drain/refill; Mitchells (which is more official/from the manufacturer) specifices 3.3 QUARTS! Mitchells calls it a "fluid change" but is a drain/refill. also there is no filter change on these trannies...blahblah. now: 8.0 is the dry capacity, overhaul specification, etc. also, the fact that there is a vent points to the commonness of overfilling or something else. now: assuming i had the correct 8.0 qts after my new tranny was installed, this means that i now have 4 extra quarts of fluid in my tranny. (i put 7-7.5 qts in). so at the very least Haynes needs to either change their specification or change how they label their 8.0 qt. spec. also, it makes sense that i'm always reading overfill on the stick since upon any drain/refill, if i go by the Haynes manual specs, 4.7 quarts STAY INSIDE THE LINES/ETC.!! but if i go by the more official Mitchells specs, its still just a dilution at best of the fluid/not a very thorough channge and mos def not a real flush. its fucky. this is why i prefer the flush that someone on this forum devised...for obvious reasons. a drain/refill is a dilution at best...and i'm wasting good $ on good Mobile1 synthetic transmission fluid because its not a flush or even a thorough fluid change. (btw Volvo has no recomendation for any flushing procedures for the life of the tranny. drain/refill is the only "official" way to clean or replace the tranny fluid. the filter is up inside the tranny and does not get changed or easily cleaned/replaced. ) fuckyfucky, as bubbles would say! so i'm going to go ahead and drain 4 qts. tomorrow and assume that i'm somewhere near 8.0 qts. fucking wtf omg. actually all this makes a morbid sort of sense now: the vent probably filters the excess since the internal filter never gets changed or cleaned. so in other words the fluid level does reach its normal and correct operating level through the vent leakage. it still doesn't make a rational sense; but a morbid one anyway. i wonder if the EPA knows about this phenomenon with volvos....ha. call em up. but basically, the fluid does go through a sort of flushing, even though its not in the usual sense or commmonly used tactics...its still fucky bubbles.

also related: the tranny performance seems okay or better since the drain/refill. some slight hiccups at first but the shifting does seem smoother although from Park positin to Reverse is still rough...i'm not too worrried about this one since i have been noticing this particular symptom for a long time...even on my other tranny. plus i had a new PNP switch put in and all other symptoms remain the same or better with no severe symptoms or fails in evidence.

[Keaton85]

Your correct that the manual is wrong. even when you replace the tranny you will almost never get all of the fluid out. So you refill until you get to the correct mark, not refill with a set amount. As for drain and fill, it's about 4Qts that comes out either through pumping it out or draining it out. Also there is no need to use synthetic fluid on these trannys, they are very rugged and do just fine with regular DEXIII fluid. Keep it changed out and you will almost never have a single internal issue with these trannys.

As for reading the dipstick, you need to get the tranny hot from driving, park it and keep the vehicle running while you check the fluid. Make sure the HOT mark is facing the firewall and check the fluid level. It will read perfect this way! So, running, hot and on the hot mark. Don't mess with the cold mark or read it while it's cold or not running. It won't give a good reading!

Also it's not Volvo that designed the internal filter, this is a Asian Warner tranny that comes in a lot to vehicles like Saturns, Saabs, Toyotas and so forth. All with the internal filters... It's not even really a filter, as more of a screen to keep large particles out of the valve body. In this system a paper style filter really isn't needed in the first place and this internal screen won't get clogged unless you poor sand into the tranny!

[jefhon]

wow! awesome feedback. are you a tranny pro? it sounds like it. thanks a lot for that. now i know . and knowing is half the battle...GI Joe. ...

cereally though, are you a transmission expert?
piece.

[jefhon]

i also am seeing a weird symptom since the drain/fill: when i sit at long lights i put in neutral. well i notice that when i rev the engine up in neutral it lurches forward ever so slightly. is this cause for concern? it seems like the gears are "slipping" slightly but this could just be the tranny's way of working something out...vs. some severe & real concern. any feedback on this is appreciated...what could be causing it to actually move from a standstill in neutral when i rev the engine? its in neutral: it shouldn't move into other gears i wouldn't think...??

piece

[Keaton85]

haha, not a tranny expert. Ive just handled a lot of these trannys and researched a fair amount over time.

As for the above issue, personally, I would just keep it in drive and not put it in neutral is it's not needed.

[bergmjs]

Volvo service manual calls for 30 minutes of highway driving before checking the Hot mark.

[Keaton85]

That's excessive! I've never had an issue with just around the block a couple times as long as the motor get up to temp.

[bergmjs]

That's excessive! I've never had an issue with just around the block a couple times as long as the motor get up to temp.

Just saying what VADIS says