Transmission flushing at home: Really easy, really effective

I used the "Gibbons" method to flush my transmission this morning. Worked like a charm. Thanks Gibbons.

Two points:
I didn't have a helper so I placed a florescent drop light under the plastic tubing where it draped over the fender. That made it very easy to detect bubbles while sitting in the driver's seat.
I used Mobil ATF 3309. The back of the quart containers lists vehicles for which the fluid meets specifications. The listing includes the Volvo S60, S70, V70, C70, S80, XC90, S40, and V40. Through the local distributor it cost me $43 for a case of twelve quarts.

I have about 39,000 miles on the car and although the fluid was fairly opaque, it smelled fine. The magnetic drain plug had a small amount of the "black paste" described by Gibbons. The only thing I have left to do is to clean my wife's "pyrex cooking thingy." If she complains I intend to tell her Gibbons told me to do it.....

Bill

This sounds like great advice. Thanks for sharing your experiences! What I am wondering is what is the difference in this method vs. what they would do at a dealer or other shop. What does a power flush refer to? Also, when a dealer or shop does the flush do they actually flush out the transmission lines, etc. with something else before the new fluid is added?

It appeared that there were some other threads that focused on comparing the Volvo transmission fluid vs. other brands. I need to look at those to see how comfortable I am using something other than the Volvo stuff.

I have been trying to educate myself on the tranmission fluid change. ??? - Are there risks associated with changing the fluid? Why doesn't Volvo recommend doing this?

Thanks for helping us me understand this.

I am having trouble tracking this stuff down. The local auto parts store was no help at all. The guy behind the counter said its just Dextron III and I can't get this stuff. I said can't or won't, he proceeded to tell me if I need it so bad to go to the dealer and pay for the expensive label...

I proceeded to tell that not every car is built like a 72 Chevy pickup and that his limited knowledge of the precision components in today’s automobiles should cause him to question the validity of his career path....

I was having trouble also. I ended up going to the mobil website and looking up distributors. After calling three distributors, I finally found one three hours away that had a few cases.

I was wondering if you can use any of the Red Line ATF's in XC. Those ATF's are well known in the racing market and people who are into upgrading their cars usually favor this brand. Here is some tech info on Red Line http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/redtech4a.htm

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Nice job with the flush. Here's what I found out about Mobil ATF for 5 sp Volvo's (originally posted at: http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=41717)

Mobil 3309
http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Other_Products/Mobil_ATF_3309.aspx

http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lubes/PDS/NAUSENPVLMOMobil_ATF_3309.asp

Called Mobil, the cust srvc rep first said "just go to the dealer..." ($62/gal @volvo dealer here in Chicagoland--what's this stuff made of?). The high price is somewhat moderated by the long maintenance interval, but $15+/qt? Ford ($8/qt Premium ATF, Xpart# T-8-QAW for new Ford 500 w/6 speed; not CVT), Totota and Saturn ($11.95/qt) dealers have their versions. When pressed the Mobil contact dug around and reluctantly came up with Autozone, Kragen, or Murrays Auto Parts; none had it, the first two were clueless.

Enough of that, so I called Mobil's local commercial lube distributor, Boncosky Oil. They have it for $47.10/12 qts and will UPS it for another $15 or so.

There you go, best deal: find a friend or two and split a case. Or try your local Ford dealer.

FWIW, although I'm no fan of their stuff, Quaker State advertises a fluid for these vehicles.

My guess is that there are other offsets that will work, but not as well as the oem spec'd product.

The color of the transmission fluid may not be a true indication of its condition. There probably are stabilizers and or anti-oxidants in the formulation that when consumed convert to highly colored products, and it wouldn't take much of one (10 ppm) to discolor the whole fill. The ATF could (and should) have many, many miles left on it...

OK, I think I'm relatively mechanically inclined, but I can't find my dipstick for the transmission. Is it hidden somewhere?

On my 2001 XC the ATF dipstick is in the very front and at the very bottom of the engine bay near the center. If you stand in front of the open hood, lean over the top of the radiator and look straight down (a good light helps) you will find it. FYI it is NOT very easy to reach or remove but can be done with patience and some arm wiggle.

Apparently they do not invented dipstick tube extensions in Sweden.