2002 XC70 Transmission Nightmare - EVERYONE PLEASE READ!

[DanDanLongDan]

A big thanks to cattlecar!

His write up worked perfectly.

No thanks goes to the douchebag mechanic who flushed my transmission and straight out lied about taking the bolt out.

[gibbons]

Cattlecar, that's great! I didn't take my bolt out, but I enjoyed reading about and visualizing your fix. Thanks for posting it!

[Astro14]

Cattlecar - that is a great post...and you guys will love this thread from BITOG (one of the great internet fora by the way...)

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...&Number=996384

You gotta' read the questions: 2. From what I read on some Volvo forums, I replace the fluid thru the dipstick.
3. I don't know if you are familiar with the 850/S70 series, but I noticed a large bolt head staring right at me when I look at the transmission from above. I have one socket that's big (25 mm) and this bolt is not quite that large, but almost. I wonder if that's a fill plug. That would make life easier.



Fortunately, the response should cheer us all:

3. Without referencing the FSM, do not ever touch ANY bolts on a transmission. You'd be surprised how many 'release' something critical in the unit. Post a picture. But the drain is easy to find.

[skibo]

Did those 'DO NOT TOUCH' stickers ever come to pass?

Even with a 5 sided head, I can see someone managing to get that bolt loose.

The trouble with fool-proof designs is that fools can be quite ingenious.

[TBH94]

Volvo now puts the stickers on all of the remanufactured transmissions. They have also released a TSB about it.

It is a simple mistake. A lot of cars have a similar bolt that is used for filling a trans. It sucks that mechanics will lie to cover their butts. All people want is an honest answer and for the person to take some responsibility for what they have done. That's all. People understand mistakes happen.

[vengeanceis]

Fortunately, the response should cheer us all:
3. Without referencing the FSM, do not ever touch ANY bolts on a transmission...

The trouble with fool-proof designs is that fools can be quite ingenious.

skibo, this is brilliant! must be a Willy's quote.. ? I mean, Shakespeare.
i'll write this down.

thanks for posting. also "enojoyed reading" this..

[granlund]

If I have a 5-sided tamper-proof bolt on the top of the transmission in a 2001 XC, would that indicate that the transmission has been replaced at some point? As I understand it, the tamper-proof bolts did not appear until ~2003, right?

[Astro14]

My 2002s (both) have hexagonal bolts...so, I support your theory that yours has been replaced, but I can't verify it...

Don't you have the history on the car?

[granlund]

Yes, I have the full Carfax, but no mention of it. My father-in-law bought the car as a CPO at ~50k miles and had no problem with it. Now at 137k, there is an occasional 2-3 flare which I'm going to address soon with a new B4 servo cover and fluid flush.

In fact, Volvo would not let my father-in-law have the service history of the car prior to his ownership when he gave the car to me and my wife.

Another oddity is that there is a shoddy body repair with lots of Bondo on the left rear corner. Also no mention of it in Carfax. I can only speculate that it happened while the Volvo dealer owned the car and did not want to disclose a repair on a CPO vehicle because the dealer would take a larger hit on sales price than what it cost to patch it up.

[Handegard]

First off, after reading this whole thread, I went out side and looked at my grandfathers '04 XC70. I have no doubt that if this car came into my shop for a fluid change, I would have added it through that hole.

I am a full-time auto tech btw.

Another oddity is that there is a shoddy body repair with lots of Bondo on the left rear corner. Also no mention of it in Carfax. I can only speculate that it happened while the Volvo dealer owned the car and did not want to disclose a repair on a CPO vehicle because the dealer would take a larger hit on sales price than what it cost to patch it up.

Carfax doesn't track auto repairs. Title transfers, ODO tampering, emissions failures, and insurance claims.

If you get in a accident, and report it to the police and insurance, it will come up on a car fax.

However, if your daughter backs into your car, and you bondo it up yourself, it won't.

Repairs don't get reported to anyone, unless insurance is involved. I did replace the engine in a GS400 once, that was covered by the owners comprehensive service because she claimed it was a road hazard that caused the problem, and her insurance company sent a "forensics engineer" to our shop to determine the cause. Since he couldn't prove it wasn't a road hazard, they covered the claim, paid us, and I'm sure her Carfax would reflect that. But outside of these unusual circumstances, it wouldn't show up.